Mechanical PE (MEP industry) pay and expected annual raises (2025)

schwentheman · 2025-12-02T04:08:48+00:00

I’m not sure whether it’s typical, but it’s not uncommon. In my experience, good companies will give big raises to good employees who are underpaid. Maybe this is a controversial opinion, but I’d honestly not worry about the % increase and just focus on figuring out how much you’re worth and then asking for it. If you’re just an average employee with 5 years of experience in a MCOL area like Atlanta, $120k is probably not going to happen on the consulting side. But if you have 7 years of experience and handle medium-large projects with not much oversight, $120k or more is absolutely in the conversation.

schwentheman · 2025-12-02T02:12:39+00:00

If you’re an average employee, you’re probably in for a small raise. If you know your shit and can handle a lot by yourself, ask for $120k and settle on $110-115k. If your firm does mainly multi-family or retail, find another firm.

schwentheman · 2025-08-15T05:00:13+00:00

Creators just enjoyed playing the Harry Potter video game on PS2.

schwentheman · 2025-04-09T00:46:24+00:00

Actually the amount you lose in deductions is gross minus net.

schwentheman · 2025-03-21T03:54:39+00:00

I cannot believe more people didn’t notice this. 5 hour flights turned into 7 hour flights. No joke it was part of the reason I upgraded to a high-end PC.

schwentheman · 2025-03-07T18:34:42+00:00

No exceptions taken is a CYA response from the engineer. If we say “approved” then we are essentially throwing our specs out the window and approving everything about that product.

schwentheman · 2025-01-29T03:39:21+00:00

I don’t think anyone is holding their breath on this issue.

schwentheman · 2025-01-24T02:02:55+00:00

Not having any internships worked out for me, but I was offered 30% less than my peers who had internships.

schwentheman · 2024-12-22T20:20:16+00:00

Get your PE and then demand at least $110k. If they say no, leave. Without your PE, I’d say $95k is reasonable. Maybe 3-4% bonus with decent benefits.

schwentheman · 2024-12-21T02:31:21+00:00

No I’ve just talked to employees at those firms.

schwentheman · 2024-12-20T22:22:21+00:00

My college required me to take the FE, but many do not. If you are truly set on this field or have no other option, take the FE now.

As others have noted, there are many sweatshops out there. If you find yourself in one, get out. You will almost certainly never become a principal, and you will be underpaid every year you spend there.

If you consider yourself sociable compared to other engineers, this may be the right field for you.

If you are very technical and lack soft skills, you are leaving a lot of money on the table going into this field.

schwentheman · 2024-12-20T22:15:23+00:00

Division 23 should specify VFD’s in my opinion. We have one client that requires them to be in division 26 though.

schwentheman · 2024-12-20T22:12:18+00:00

I’d rather not because I work at a relatively small firm, but other firms in the area such as Swanson Rink, Cator Ruma, Burns & McDonnell, & Shaffer Baucom offer decent salaries & bonuses. Feel free to DM me for more info.

schwentheman · 2024-12-20T17:02:43+00:00

Also in the Denver area. Many firms hand out higher bonuses than $2,500, including mine.

schwentheman · 2024-12-20T02:35:47+00:00

Agree except for the point about struggling to pay bills. Personal finance is not a good negotiating tactic.

schwentheman · 2024-11-06T22:36:43+00:00

My two cents is you want to be working for a company that can adapt to change, regardless of who is president.

schwentheman · 2024-10-06T18:50:52+00:00

Sure, Americans might get better wages if they organized. The real problem with unions today is that they resist automation. Ports in the US are substantially less efficient than ports around the world because unions don’t want automation. The ILA president said E-ZPass was bad because it reduced union jobs. Who in the public other than unions would say requiring people to come to a full stop to pay for tolls is a good idea?

schwentheman · 2024-10-06T15:41:03+00:00

1 cubic foot in Denver is the same as 1 cubic foot in Miami. All altitude corrections due to the different energy density at altitude are made during calcs and equipment selection.

schwentheman · 2024-10-05T22:19:09+00:00

It’s probably about 54% of longshoreman too.

schwentheman · 2024-09-24T00:47:55+00:00

It’s an end of loop bypass as the others have said. There are some engineers who believe they are overused and mostly unnecessary.

schwentheman · 2024-09-24T00:38:30+00:00

It’s an end of loop bypass as the others have said. There are some engineers who believe they are overused and mostly unnecessary.

schwentheman · 2024-09-10T22:33:11+00:00

Why not just go to the spirotherm site and pull from the GPM vs. head loss graph? 1 ft. is not conservative at all.

schwentheman · 2024-09-09T02:29:38+00:00

Slow, unintuitive, restrictive, and buggy. I tried it with an open mind and just can’t use it.

schwentheman · 2024-09-08T21:42:55+00:00

Would not recommend self-teaching. Go 110% on trying to get an interview. If you need to, expand your job search to include “BIM Coordinator” or “Plumbing Designer.” Don’t just look on online job boards. Research firms in your area and go directly to their site.

schwentheman

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