Engineering school salary: how much do you earn after graduating from an engineering school?

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What is the ranking of business schools by professional insertion criteria?

If there is one sector that is enjoying great success, it is the engineering sector. The demand for enrollment is constantly increasing and ensures one of the highest recruitment rates in higher education. From then on, we can make a ranking of business schools based on three criteria:

  • The most popular employment sectors for students
  • the percentage of students hired before the end of the program
  • Average gross salary at first job

    – ECE – Engineering school – Digital Engineering, Information Technology – 98% – 44,850 euros
    – École des mines, ParisTech – Service, industry – 84% – 43 700 euros
    – SUPELEC, Gyf sur Yvette – Energy consulting – 68% – 42 900 euros
    – ENSTA, ParisTech – Finance, aeronautics, automotive – 43% – 41 400 euros
    – ESPCI, ParisTech – Energy, chemistry, automotive – 42 % – 41 000 euros
    – École des ponts et chaussées, ParisTech – Industry, construction and public works – 70 % – 40 000 euros
    – Télécom, ParisTech – Consulting, Information Technology – 66% – 40,300 euros
    – Chimie ParisTech – Chemistry, energy, eco environment – 56 % – 39 000 euros

Unsurprisingly, establishments from the Ile de France region are at the top of the list in terms of level of integration and salary at first hiring. The reputation of these establishments has been proven and marks a real difference in treatment compared to provincial establishments. We can see how the influence of an engineering school, with the same curriculum, can have a strong impact on the compensation of new employees.

What is the average salary of an engineer when first hired?

If there is one sector that has not suffered from the pandemic, it is the engineering sector. On average, a freshly trained engineer earns a salary of about 32,250 euros net per year, or 16.54 euros per hour. Of course, remuneration in this sector is extremely progressive and can triple over the course of a career. However, this is an average made from extremely variable data. Engineering includes many professional fields and salaries fluctuate depending on the field, school of education, level of experience as well as the size of the company.

Are there differences in salary depending on the school from which the engineer comes?

Depending on the school a student attended during their education, companies may award more significant compensation for the first hire. Indeed, the prestige that certain institutions of higher learning may represent has a direct impact on the value attributed to new employees. Here is a non-exhaustive ranking of gross salaries awarded upon first hire, according to the training institution:

  • École Polytechnique – 59 500 euros
  • ENSAR PAris – 59 500 euros
  • École des ponts Paris Tech Marne la Valée – 58 700 euros
  • Télécom Paris – 51 400 euros
  • CentralSupélec – 51 333 euros
  • École des mines ParisTech – 50 448 euros
  • ECE – Engineering school – 44,850 euros
  • IMT Atlantique – 41 600 euros
  • École centrale – Lyon – 41 400 euros
  • École centrale Nantes – 38 675 euros
  • INSA LYon – 40 315 euros

Are there differences in salaries according to the specialties of the engineers?

The engineering function is distinguished by the multiplicity of specialties within the sector. Thus, it is difficult to define a precise salary for this job as it is full of different functions. However, a recent study determines the average compensation by type of engineering specialty, from entry level (first column) to the most experienced (second column):

  • Chemical Engineer – 3500 euros – 8000 euros
  • Materials engineer – 3100 euros – 7500 euros
  • Aerospace engineer – 3500 euros – 7600 euros
  • Aeronautical engineer – 3400 euros – 7600 euros
  • Cybersecurity engineer – 3200 euros – 7000 euros
  • Home automation engineer – 3100 euros – 7500 euros
  • Computer engineer – 3100 euros – 7000 euros
  • System and network engineer – 3200 euros – 6700 euros
  • Embedded System Engineer – 3100 euros – 6500 euros
  • Modeling engineer – 3000 euros – 6400 euros
  • Telecommunications engineer – 3200 euros – 6200 euros
  • Computer engineer – 3000 euros – 6000 euros

There is therefore a significant difference in salary between specialties. Biochemistry tops the list, followed by aerospace and IT. Again, the industry offers a comfortable salary upon hire, and has one of the most significant salary growth prospects of any industry.

What level of salary can an engineer expect during his or her career?

While the number of specialties makes it difficult to determine the median salary of an engineer, studies have determined that a general average can be created, including the salary at the beginning of the career up to the most experienced position.

According to a statistic calculated between the highest and lowest salaries, the average engineering salary is 52,000 euros gross per year, or 3170 gross per month. Compared to the French median salary, this represents 830 euros more.

Still taking into account the different levels of experience in the whole engineering sector, a beginner earns on average 37,800 euros gross per year.

With an experience of 5 to 10 years, an engineer can expect a salary of 47,000 euros gross per year. Finally, for the 10+ year career, compensation can rise to a much higher level. On average, we are talking about 130,000 euros and more, depending on the size of the company and the employee’s specialty. For the most experienced, this salary can amount to 180,000 euros gross per year.

Does going abroad allow an engineer to increase his or her salary more quickly in the job market?

The phenomenon of the exodus of recently graduated engineers seems to be increasing year after year. According to a recent study, one engineer out of six goes abroad to work. This represents a total of 124,000 engineers out of the 780,000 trained in one year.

Mapping the area, we have

  • 34% of engineers working in Ile de France.
  • 50% in the provinces and in the French overseas departments and territories
  • 16% abroad

The host destination for engineers trained in France, expatriates are located :

  • In Europe – 70,000
  • United States – 24,050
  • Asia – 17,750
  • Africa – 8050
  • Oceania – 3650

It is interesting to question the motivations of young graduates to leave their country of training. Within the country itself, there are already significant regional differences in wages. The Ile de France region gathers the companies paying the most, marking a strong difference with the provinces.

According to the engineers surveyed,

  • 64% of those who have already left the country feel that the quality of life is much better elsewhere
  • 71% of them think that there are more job offers beyond France.
  • 79% of those surveyed believe that the salary is much better

Indeed, a recent study shows that the median salary of engineers going abroad is 85 000 euros gross compared to 56 000 euros gross in France.

  • Of all French expatriate engineers, 37% do not wish to return to their country of origin.

Although Ile de France seems to be very prosperous and generous in terms of supply and salary, the overall gap between the foreign and our country is very significant. It is easy to understand that after a tedious and demanding course of study, a young graduate decides to leave in order to obtain a more advantageous salary, commensurate with his or her skills.

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Updated 2 January 2024