Engineering salary information is a key aspect to any job search, no matter where you fall on the engineer pay scale. We all expect to be paid a fair amount for our skill set, experience and education, and we want the engineering salary to be based on our city’s current cost of living as well. That’s why it’s so important to gather engineer salary information before conducting a job search, interviewing for a position or considering a job promotion or relocation.

Professional engineers' salaries run the gamut, depending on job level, industry and location. However, you can use these basic tips to help you find the engineering salary information you seek:

1. Use online salary tools to determine the average engineer pay scale based on several variables.

2. Consider your state or city's cost of living when assessing median engineering salaries.

3. Search online job boards for salary examples that fit your job description, experience level and location.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Determine a fair engineer salary based on job description

What's the difference between a business engineering salary versus a chemical engineer salary? What is the pay scale for a novice versus someone in upper management? Find out all this and more with online salary tools.

I recommend: Salary.com allows you to create a Personal Salary Report based on such factors as job location, title and description. PayScale also provides a search function for engineering salary information plus graphs that show median salary based on years of experience. The U.S. Department of Labor publishes a detailed survey of engineering salaries.

Use engineering salary tools to calculate what you should earn based on where you live

Whenever you attempt to compare salaries, it's important to factor in location. Use helpful cost-of-living calculators to determine the average salary for the city or cities in which you're focusing your job search.

I recommend: CNNMoney.com and Sperling’s BestPlaces can show you how salary in one city translates into that of another location.

Compare engineering salaries on national job boards

Often, business engineering salary tools and calculators work within 'best-case' scenarios, whereas listings in your local newspaper's classified section or on national job boards provide real salaries for real positions. Create a log of the salaries you see over several weeks to come up with a good range to use as a basis of comparison.

I recommend: Compare engineer salary information on engineering job boards, such as InterEC.NET, Engineer.net or Dice Engineering. Also, check out popular industrywide job boards.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Consider joining one of the professional engineering associations, such as the American Engineering Association or the National Society of Professional Engineers. These groups offer great opportunities for networking and ensuring your engineering career stays on the right path. This is also a great forum to discuss engineer salary benchmarks and strategies for negotiating pay.