- Mechanical engineers fresh out of college and looking for their first positions in the industry may expect to earn an annual salary between $46,379 and $59,766 during their first year of employment, as of December 2010, according to PayScale. After the first year on the job, mechanical engineers' annual salary range increases to $50,912 to $64,579 for the next three years of their careers.
- After a mechanical engineer becomes established in his field, his annual earnings increase significantly. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook reports the average yearly earnings for all mechanical engineers was $74,920 as of May 2008. Half of all mechanical engineers of all experience levels earned between $59,230 and $94,400, with the highest-paid 10 percent earning more than $114,740.
- How much an entry-level mechanical engineer earns is affected by the market in which he practices his trade. Salaries for mechanical engineers vary greatly between cities, with those in Houston averaging an annual salary of $110,771, which is the highest in the nation, as of December 2010, according to Salary Expert. The least favorable local economy in which a mechanical engineer may work is Orlando, Florida, where average annual salary is $75,254. The state with the highest mean annual salary for workers in the field is Alaska, with median wages of $98,790 each year as of May 2009, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
- Mechanical engineers' salaries are highest in fields many may not associate with that type of work at all. Mechanical engineers employed by the telecommunications industry earned the highest mean annual wage, $95,160, as of May 2009, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Those employed in the spectator sports, software publishing and computer periphery manufacturing industries were also among the field's best-compensated workers.
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