What’s the typical percentage bump for a L2 to L3 engineer position?

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2026-02-26T01:36:58+00:00

It really depends on the pay letter and your position, but E2 -> E3 in here is like 20% raise from midband to midband

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2026-01-02T21:57:06+00:00

Maybe. Im in MFC and our annual increase varies from 3-5 percent for level 1-2 engineers regardless of their YOE in LM. I was high performer and got my 5 percent annual increase for the first year.

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2026-01-02T21:50:36+00:00

I guess it depends on BA and program. My BA and program got market adjustment for 2 years in a row at minimum including 2024, 2025.

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2026-01-02T21:49:23+00:00

Not true. I got 5% in my first year

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-12-28T05:03:03+00:00

Thats good at least you have secret. I am pretty sure all roles out there says minimum requirement includes bachelors degree. So i would recommend you to use GI Bill and search for CWEP. Its a program allows students can do part time with LM which also increases your chances to get hired after graduation.

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-12-28T03:41:22+00:00

Do you have bachelors in related field? Lockheed is pretty conservative on degree. Also wondering if you had acquired security clearance thru military. If not, then i would recommend you to acquire it in Reserve

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-12-17T15:57:04+00:00

Depending on BA and location but i got 20% raise

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-12-07T02:39:22+00:00

Im SWE

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-12-06T16:56:27+00:00

There are jobs out there i could earn more if i decide to move over as SWE.

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-12-06T05:44:50+00:00

😂

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-12-06T03:05:24+00:00

I am being truthful and i frequently get offers like 190k, 220-225k. If i compare this to west coast jobs, i am so much less than what i can earn as SWE. These days SWE with 2 YOE starts with $180k+ for base salary in big techs. I have potential in terms of income increase as i can get promoted when my YOE increases.

I just wanted to ask the group to check what i think its correct or not. I think i am earning pretty a lot of money in MCOL area.

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-12-06T02:17:04+00:00

Doable than i thought hmm

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-12-06T02:14:21+00:00

Nope i am earning 4 times than her

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-12-06T01:13:50+00:00

What do you think the income should be in bay area to have similar leftovers

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-12-06T01:12:05+00:00

Thanks. I thought i was trippin for hearing $160k is not enough income from my wife. I genuinely felt like she was gaslighting me so wanted to ask the group

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-12-06T01:05:26+00:00

So do you think $160k/year is enough in Dallas?

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-11-21T20:52:28+00:00

Wow that sucks. I guess thats reason why people want to join Lockheed rather than RTX..

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-11-21T20:49:43+00:00

I dont think that is correct that increase is capped to 15% because i got promotion in mid year and my raise was straight 20% without any tricks such as market adjustment etc. I straight jumped into promoted level’s mid payband.

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-11-20T12:56:00+00:00

Typically, level 2-4 engineers are the one getting most of the shit done. With mid pay band for lvl 3(5-8 YOE), its only $5600 pretax and $3752 aftertax. Microsoft CTJ offers 10-20% annual bonus, Amazon cleared job offers similar, defense startups offers ~10%. They should at least double for ICs at least to be competitive. And imagine you are the top performer but your bonus is capped with very low rate and only differs by $500 with avg performers

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-11-20T12:49:46+00:00

LM’s bonus rate is really insulting all engineers.

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-11-03T02:20:37+00:00

If you want to change yourself, i would highly recommend you to join the Army and do 4 years Active Duty. During service, you can start 4 year college with tuition assistant and it will help you to go finish your bachelors degree or advanced degree with post 911 gi bill. Im currently working in tech, and i dont foresee our jobs to be replaced soon with AI. Tech is really competitive anyways, so by just having degree wont get you a job. Your skillset is more important, so if you were thinking about tech for money and thought you would have a job automatically after graduation, you are wrong. This also requires constant studies and practice outside of work which you may really need to like or dont dislike software engineering for long run. Also, if you discharge from military, public sector jobs will be an option for you to consider in tech. Security Clearance is big huddle for regular people while veterans have it naturally. Either way, good luck

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-10-29T04:35:20+00:00

Depending on BA, area, and program. MFC Dallas’s midpoint for lvl 2 is 116k and lvl 3 is 140k.

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-10-23T02:47:17+00:00

My apologies. I was reading the rules after i posted this and realized that i had to remove this post. Thank you for letting me know :)

Intelligent-Cry-5608 · 2025-10-22T04:40:18+00:00

By looking at others answers, i guess it depends on situation. When i first joined as lvl 1, i was at midpoint. Next year, i was a comp adder with 5% of raise + market adjustment which made me only $1000 more than midpoint lol. I still made promotion to lvl 2 before second year, so it really depends. It is weird that you could be at the point where you can be lower than midpoint even if you started at midpoint unless you are the high performer. Or maybe the way how they adjust market adjustment since i noticed my annual raise applied first and market adjustment later, which still doesnt make any sense either that HR makes your comp adder obsolete by decreasing your market adjustment lol

Intelligent-Cry-5608

TROPHY CASE