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Mechanical engineers earn above average starting salaries and can increase their salaries significantly over the course of their career - even without a doctorate.
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Salaries of mechanical engineers in industry: From career entry to management
Generally speaking, mechanical engineers earn comparatively high salaries. The amount earned is primarily related to supply and demand: On the one hand, mechanical engineering is a demanding field of work, which means that many people are unwilling or unable to gain the required level of technical understanding in this profession. On the other hand, there is high demand for mechanical engineers in the labour market, so potential employers compete for the available resources and pay accordingly.
According to estimates by the Association of German Mechanical and Plant Engineering (VDMA), around 27,000 jobs in the German mechanical and plant engineering sector had not been filled at the end of 2017. This has had a positive effect on salaries. The salary analysts at Compensation Partner have reviewed 127,638 data points and created a new Industry index 2019. This report found that: In the field of mechanical engineering, employees earn around 27% more than employees in all other industries. This means that salaries in mechanical engineering are highest among all of the industries examined.
The specific figures according to a survey conducted by the salary portal gehalt.de for 2017 are summarised here:
- On average, mechanical engineers earned EUR 67,718 gross per year.
- However, the often more meaningful median, which does not take low or high extremes into account, was significantly lower at EUR 60,328.
- 25% of mechanical engineer salaries were below EUR 51,247, while another 25% were over EUR 75,027.
Starting salaries in mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineers can expect to start their career with relatively good salaries. The salary depends on the following factors:
- Type of degree
- Additional qualifications
- Industry, task and field of work
- Size of company
- Region
- Research or business
According to a VDMA salary study conducted in 2016, the average starting salary for students with a bachelor's degree is EUR 45,000 per year at the start of their careers, and master’s students can expect at least EUR 48,000. However, these amounts vary widely.
What mechanical engineers with professional experience earn
The salaries of mechanical engineers tend to rise significantly as their professional experience increases. As reported by absolventa.de, the average salary increases to EUR 57,151 after three to five years of work, to EUR 67,262 after six to ten years and to EUR 80,510 after more than ten years of professional experience.
Salaries in management positions
Mechanical engineers who work in management positions usually earn significantly more money than a normal employee with professional experience. However, salaries at the same level can vary significantly according to the VDMA salary study.
- For example, plant managers receive the highest salary of all departmental managers, receiving more than EUR 130,000 a year.
- Heads of accounting and finance departments are in the middle at EUR 100,000.
- Heads of department in production planning receive an average annual salary of around EUR 85,000.
Salaries in mechanical engineering by federal state
The salary of a mechanical engineer also depends considerably on the federal state in which they work. According to gehalt.de, salaries can differ by EUR 19,000 annually. The generally lower earnings compared to the average figures stated in the above-mentioned study are due to the fact that no management positions were taken into account in the calculation.
Average gross annual salaries of mechanical engineers by federal state
| Federal states | Average gross annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Baden-Wuerttemberg | EUR 53,558 |
| Bavaria | EUR 51,875 |
| Berlin | EUR 46,609 |
| Brandenburg | EUR 38,939 |
| Bremen | EUR 47,277 |
| Hamburg | EUR 52,230 |
| Hesse | EUR 54,468 |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | EUR 37,470 |
| Lower Saxony | EUR 45,285 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | EUR 49,714 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | EUR 48,518 |
| Saarland | EUR 46,870 |
| Saxony | EUR 39,432 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | EUR 38,918 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | EUR 43,556 |
| Thuringia | EUR 39,983 |
Source: gehalt.de (as of February 2019)
©academics
In general, lower salaries are paid in structurally weaker areas and there is also a city/country divide. Companies located in or near to major cities often pay more than companies in rural areas. According to the VDMA salary study, salaries are 16 to 19% higher in cities.
Special services and bonuses
In mechanical engineering, special benefits and variable salary components such as bonuses are often added to fixed annual salaries. According to the VDMA, more than 90% of companies in mechanical engineering and plant construction used employee participation in the company's profits as an instrument of remuneration policy in 2014. Over 80% also offered additional benefits. However, bonuses varied widely, ranging from one to twelve percent of annual salaries in most cases.
Pay gap in mechanical engineering
The salary differences between women and men in Germany were recorded in the Payment Monitor 2018. In mechanical engineering, employees with a relatively low annual salary (between EUR 30,000 and EUR 35,000 gross on a median basis) have an adjusted gender pay gap of 3.3%. For employees with a relatively high salary (gross median between EUR 55,000 and EUR 60,000), the pay gap rises to 7.1%. These considerations also refer exclusively to the incomes of employees without supervisory responsibilities.
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Earnings of PhD graduates in mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineers with a PhD tend to be rare, as the labour market is open to university graduates without doctorates. Nevertheless, those who invest the time in a doctorate are usually rewarded financially. According to the VDMA study, qualifications generally determine salaries in mechanical engineering to a much higher degree than other aspects, such as the applicant's age.
For example, graduate mechanical engineers can expect to earn an average annual starting salary of more than EUR 50,000. Over the course of their career, this value is expected to more than double, as mechanical engineers with PhDs tend to seek well-paid management positions.
Salaries of mechanical engineers in academics
Not all mechanical engineers aspire to a career in industry, as some are attracted to research and teaching. However, according to a report by ingenieur.de dated 1 January 2013, only about 4% of all engineers aspire to enter the academic field. Jobs are offered at universities and non-academic institutions, especially in industry-related research institutions. Jobs in science are aimed at research associates and professors.
The work of professors is paid according to the W salary band. There are three levels: The lowest (W1) regulates the income for junior professors, while W2 and W3 salaries apply to all other professors with civil servant status. University of applied sciences professors and their university colleagues are paid at salary grades W2 and W3. However, W3 at universities of applied sciences is very rare.
Salaries differs significantly from one federal state to another - by more than EUR 1,000 a month in the case of W3 - as demonstrated in the salary ranking of the German University Association (DHV) 2018. Bavaria is a frontrunner for basic W3 salaries at EUR 7,017.65 (more than EUR 84,000 per annum), while salaries are much lower in Thuringia at EUR 6,100 per month (more than EUR 73,000 per annum). The basic salary is usually boosted with individual benefits.
Researchers at a university or non-university research institution are usually paid according to pay grade 13. This is true for postdocs, PhD students and secondary school teachers in their first position. Their salary is collectively established, but also depends on experience levels. Read more in the guide "Academic salary in Germany".
Authors
Florian Heil
Source
academics - April 2019
Mechanical engineer: jobs and vacancies in Germany
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