Plus car will be gone :(. I thought I would like to make a meaningful contribution to this thread because I'm finding a lot of the information here quite useful.

Please do NOT leave the job though before finding another one first. Starting my career with a couple of years of international experience was also a good motivation for me. A real pleasure to work with as well ; ).

It's funny how you graduates think you know everything. I completed a Mechanical Engineering Degree (Honours) and have worked in WA since graduating. All I can say is I'm in the wrong field of engineering after reading this thread! If your office-based, it will always be less. All my school mates with local education background (high school + uni) are earning $100k+ now.Guess I just have to catch up with hard work then. I spend a lot more time talking dollars and contracts. http://www.robertwalters.com.au/files/salary-survey-2012/Australia-salary-survey-2012.pdf. I have always felt gov jobs to be a 'tail end of career' role. very much so, though there is only one operator I want to work for... Also having said that I've just been promoted to the job I want to be doing... which is another pay-rise and in a few years I don't think that salary could be matched too easily. interesting thread. Here's hoping their grad program pays just as well. LOL. There is so much more to a career than how much you earn. A lot of that will be site allowance though. ..plus him wanting to teach me new stuff which leads me to believe he wants me to stay on... but just today I had a prettt bad day. ). She complains how most of her seasoned colleagues are well paid bludgers. Why not 40k? I am looking at getting into the O&G business in South Australia. I emphasised Seattle cause you're working there & i've got a v. good friend living there. It doesn't help at all without extra information. As above, if you're on 26K for 6 months work, you're doing well. so what's the catch if the pay is better, hours are less, etc? Computer technology helps mechanical engineers create and analyze designs, run simulations and test how a machine is likely to work, interact with connected systems, and generate specifications for parts. I work as a Technical expert for a Teir 1 construction company. Its about the person, the academic grades, the networking skills, the interpersonal skills and how well a person fits into an organisation. I'm still on the $65.7k package (like I said the changes happen beginning in July). To let you know the following comes from an engineer with a very diverse experience, truly at every management layer (even at government level). Big mortgages leverage you – great in a rising market, less in a falling market. Yes but considering the roles and responsibilities I have and the experience I'll have after 3 years..... You are looking too far into the future in my opinion. So here's some projections I did using Matlab (PM me if you want the script). What's your point? Straight out of uni (if lucky enough to get such a role as there's only a few companies where you can get them given the relatively small number of upstream operating oil and gas facilities in Australia at the moment) you're looking at 100-110k base (120-130k package).

bonus, health insurance etc) – about 107k base. I like to think I'll end up staying with a company for 10 years, but I know it's unlikely. Eng in the city can earn $45k to $100k after 10 years, compared to regionals who will get 80k to 150k. It spans the design, installation, operation and maintenance of manufactured moving parts. I might be wrong, but I don't think many people get into engineering for the money. The Student Room, Get Revising and Marked by Teachers are trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. These apprenticeships can start at the age of 16, are studied part-time at college or university and typically take between one and five years to complete.

Every project I've ever worked on has been massively understaffed so everyone is doing the role of the person above them.

Mobile phone, laptop etc are all paid for from day 1. Is mechanical engineering a good degree for me? To get the ball rolling, I'm on $85K in NSW.