Job satisfaction depends on several factors, only one of which is actual pay. Some major ones are hours of work, job autonomy, job security, work environment and mentoring from superiors and coworkers.
According to Payscale.com, America's best jobs offer great pay, work that's satisfying and big growth opportunities. Three engineering fields made it to the top ten - environmental engineer (5), civil engineer (6) and biomedical engineer (10).
Engineering jobs that fall between the $80,000 and $100,000 range are considered to be high income jobs in this field. According to a survey, in terms of what industries tend to pay for engineering talent, the highest paying industries are computer/peripherals, semiconductor and communication systems, in which salaries average out at about $103,000. The lowest paying industries are instrument/test equipment, machine tools and contract manufacturing, with an average salary of $74,000.
Among engineering jobs it has been noted that while on the money front petroleum engineers lead the pack, it is chemical engineers who walk away each day with the highest job and career satisfaction.
According to the U.S. Dept of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual wages for May 2009 were as follows: petroleum engineers ($119,960), computer hardware engineers ($ 101,410), chemical engineers ($ 91,670), electrical engineers ($86,250), mining and geological engineers ($ 82,080), civil engineers ($ 81,180) and mechanical engineers ($ 80,580).
The average starting salary offered to college graduates with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering in 2010 was nearly 32 per cent higher than the average for engineering majors overall.
As far as job satisfaction goes, an article in Mechanical Engineering based on a survey found that more than one out of five engineers said they were ''very satisfied'' with their job. Male chemical engineers led all groups, with 28 per cent reporting a high level of job satisfaction while the figure for women was 19 per cent. Men and women reported similar levels of being ''very satisfied'' with their jobs in the other three engineering fields: civil & architectural, electrical & computer and mechanical.
Data from the Design News Salary and Career Insight Study 2010 reveals that 59 per cent of design engineers say the role of the engineer in their company is well respected and 63 per cent say they personally feel appreciated at their jobs. However, 49 per cent feel underpaid and overworked and only 44 per cent feel they are fully using their engineering skills.
Of those who are most satisfied with their jobs, the principal reasons are that their work provides them a sense of accomplishment, and the freedom to design and make a contribution to the company's viability. Those who are somewhat or not satisfied most often cite offshoring/outsourcing as the primary reasons for their discontent, as well as company politics and bad management.
Retention is another key issue in measuring job satisfaction. According to a survey, within three years of graduation, 71 per cent of men and 61 per cent of women who earned a bachelor's degree in engineering were still in engineering jobs.
