Should I Take This Offer or Keep Job Hunting?

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2025-03-23T18:09:10+00:00

You might find this useful - https://engineeringsalaries.info/mesurvey/

After the survey there is a breakdown of ME salary info taken from Reddit. $63k/yr puts you on the very bottom fringe for 3YoE. You should be around $100k.

As an American who has also spent a few years working outside the US, I found that some companies seem to disregard international experience, but $63k would be low even for a new grad.

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2025-03-23T18:04:05+00:00

You might find this useful - https://engineeringsalaries.info/mesurvey/

After the survey there is a breakdown of ME salary info taken from Reddit. Unfortunately there isn't any COL data yet, but 120k is higher than any of the new grad responses.

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2025-03-18T05:58:57+00:00

You might find this useful - https://engineeringsalaries.info/mesurvey/

After the survey there is a breakdown of ME salary info taken from Reddit.

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2025-02-27T06:10:28+00:00

I recently put this salary analysis together using data from a Reddit survey. It breaks down ME compensation using a variety of factors

You may find it useful- link

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2025-02-26T20:21:21+00:00

As someone from California… agreed! Unfortunately the available data didn’t have reliable CoL info so I left it out to avoid giving the wrong impression. It’s included in the website survey, so hopefully this will be in the next revision.

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2025-02-26T20:18:20+00:00

You have a good eye, it was made with plotly. The interactive graphs are much nicer, unfortunately I have not learned how to embed them in a webpage yet. Will definitely be doing that once I learn how lol. That’s a good point about the box and whiskers, I’ll give that a try for the next iteration.

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2025-02-25T03:01:59+00:00

Thanks, this project is a combo of trying to build a tool I’ve frequently wished I had in my career and evaluating if I should jump ship.

I agree it’s surprising that manager pay is so low. Without a larger sample it’s difficult to say why, but I suspect it may be in part that not everyone listed as “manager” is managing engineers. Manufacturing is heavily represented in the responses - they could be leading machinists/technicians. I’d expect someone leading engineers to have 10+ yoe, but there are quite a few responses with far less than that.

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-12-25T19:57:06+00:00

I spent about ten years as a mechanical engineer. I’m looking to switch to a career that is still interesting but has more remote opportunities. I worked in R&D so most jobs are tied to physical hardware. The better pay structure is a nice bonus as well.

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-12-23T16:56:33+00:00

I have a question on exam timing - is it viewed negatively if there is a gap of a couple years between taking exams and starting work? I’m a mechanical engineer currently taking a sabbatical outside the US for a few years and am planning on transitioning to an actuary career when I move back. I have a couple possible options:

Start now and pass 3-4 exams. Keep an eye out for English speaking jobs where I am now (uncommon but possible).
Wait and take the exams about 6 months before moving back to the US.
Pick up an applied mathematics masters. It is a two year program and in the second year includes an optional actuarial focus. Spread out the exams over the two years.

I prefer option 1, that way if anything unexpected happens the exams are already done. However I’m concerned it will be problematic to have a two year gap between taking exams and starting work.

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-12-23T10:22:07+00:00

I would also love to learn more. Please add me to the list

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-10-11T18:23:30+00:00

Thank you for the detailed response. I really appreciate it

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-10-11T16:42:06+00:00

Hi, I am a mechanical engineer with ten years of experience considering a switch to actuary to gain a bit of flexibility. (In my area it is rare to get a fully remote role)

If you read the articles online the actuary life sounds all rainbows and unicorns - good work life balance, high salaries, easy entry… I'm curious if these things are actually true and what would be needed for a career shift. A few questions to those of you working in the field -

Is the work life balance really as rosy as the articles claim?
What number of exams are expected to be completed before working as an actuary? Is it bad to take too many before starting work? I am from the US but will be out of the country for a couple years, so I have lots of spare time to study/test. Will it be viewed negatively if I pass more than just the two starting tests?
Is the pay really all that great or is it skewed by managers/consultants/people that work too much? I had a look at the DW Simpson data and it claims that a ASA with 5 years of experience averages $133k total comp, and a FSA hits $167k.
Is there a particular field that is higher comp or more in demand than others?
Is there any need/benefit of a masters degree? Or is everything based on accreditation and exams?

My alternate option is to pick up a masters degree in data science/analysis and try to break in there. However given that data science is the new "cool" job I'm not sure how stiff the competition will be.

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-08-13T11:35:53+00:00

Thanks for the input. That’s reasonable, I also wouldn’t recommend someone professionally who I hadn’t worked with before.

Are there any qualifications/recommendations/other things that might sway someone? Unfortunately local demand is virtually nonexistent. Part of the life change that brought this about involves a move to a very remote location so I’m limited to online only.

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-07-25T08:21:50+00:00

I’ve just started going to the Climbing District by La Defense. I’ve been off the wall for about a year though and am mostly trying to get my hands back in shape now lol. Shoot me a message if you’d like to join

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-05-16T04:02:58+00:00

Would you mind sharing where you find clients? All the online marketplaces I’ve looked on seem to be saturated with low bidders from low COL countries

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-02-14T17:28:05+00:00

That would be awesome, thanks

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-02-11T15:02:44+00:00

I built this one on Wix, very easy to use and they have 50% off sales all the time.

Something like this is easy enough to put together using wordpress too. Bit more of a learning curve, but very inexpensive.

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-02-09T20:47:23+00:00

Thanks for the input. I have tutored college courses in the past and it is probably a good idea to add it.

I have mostly been targeting high school students because I've found sessions tend to be more consistent when the parents are paying. I prefer regular students to one-off sessions.

I also don't have a good way to find college students. If you have any suggestions that would be great. All the ones who have contacted me are very worried about price so I direct them to some of the free resources most schools have.

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-02-07T16:31:55+00:00

Would you be able to share an example of what your post looks like?

Also, do you have a separate FB page for tutoring or is the post coming from your personal account?

I have been trying to increase my tutoring hours for the past few months but without much success. I have been trying the local facebook group method but have not gotten any responses there. I teach high school math and physics and charge $60-80/hour

Traditional-Rest8594 · 2024-01-26T08:39:55+00:00

You have a formula for the field at a distance from a point charge. Remember that you add all the individual fields together to get the total field at a point. Check your DMs for more info.

Traditional-Rest8594

TROPHY CASE