$$ ￡￡ Do We Pay Our Engineers Enough ?
Listening to BBC Radio 4’s today programme this morning I heard an interview with a “process engineer” explaining how money was tight and he was having difficulty making ends meet and was renting and without a lodger he’d be out on the street. Then there was the article in a newspaper recently of a chemical engineer having to use a food bank. Now I know “engineer” is now a wide term but it makes me wonder if we are paying our engineers enough for it to be sustainable ?
Surely we should be saying to industry its important to pay our engineers a minimum wage which is consistent with them being able to pay off debts from going through university and to have a reasonable life so as to encourage others to follow in their footsteps ?
My institution, IChemE, talks about a typical starting salary of 30k but this is not high for anyone living in the south of england and some big cities and nowhere near the starting salary of say a GP which I believe is about 60k. Many could earn 30 k in a middle management supermarket role without ever having to go through university and running up a lot of debt.
Is it not time for our big engineering institutions to say to employers we will only give you accreditation and allow you to publicise your company through us if you pay a decent sustainable minimum wage to our engineers ?.
As a US university professor said recently “when employers say there is a shortage they usually mean they are just not prepared to pay enough”
And many senior engineers do wonder why so many chemical engineering graduates turn their back to engineering vocations upon graduation. If you don't pay your young staff well but work them into the ground they will get disillusioned and leave, its not hard to understand. It is a real kick in the teeth when I see store manger roles for Aldi/Lidl that pays much more than most of the process engineer roles advertised currently. All the benefits of cost savings and process optimisation projects just seem to be heading in one direction, to the shareholders, maybe if the engineer is lucky you will get a pat on the back.
at Simulation Engineering
7 年All in line with the diminishing recognition of technologists in this oh so clever world! Just watch how they will squeal when there is no fuel at the pump or clean water from the tap or ......
Managing Director at AD Consulting & Engineering Ltd - Energy Security and Storage Training Creator for the Energy Institute, UK. Independent Consultant
7 年Professions such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc are protected by their governing bodies and laws in their respective countries. Such is not the case for engineers in many countries. This results in almost no recognition for qualified and Chartered Engineers. Until this situation exists, I am afraid, engineers are likely to be poorly rewarded.
Green Chemical Engineer
7 年Interesting points above and my experience is engineers in Europe are held in much higher regard. I believe 3 things cause this, I’d be interested to know other opinions and how this differs in Europe : 1) Our UK institutions are asleep and do little to uphold the interests of members, indeed mine has been broadening and diluting the definition of an engineer (plumbers welcome next maybe) and insists members interests must come second as it is a charity, so why bother being in one?. 2) Legally anyone can sign off many key engineering documents, I've had unqualified bosses forge my signature when in lead roles . Our institutions chose not to push for change on this so we will keep the same stature as a washing machine repair engineer. 3) UK engineers have not learned when to say “no” when offered a low salary, try finding a doctor, accountant or lawyer who will work for peanuts. Our engineering institutions decline to use their influence to help make salaries sustainable and decent.
Director
7 年Professional Engineers are no longer valued in the UK - it reflects the UK's decline generally. The standard of education in the UK is apalling and standard accepted as professional declining (In my opinion)