What Factors Affect a Structural Engineer's Salary?

Structural engineers are professionals who help to design buildings and structures such as bridges and assess whether edifices are being established according to sound industry practices. The expectation for how high a structural engineer’s salary will be depends on an employee’s level of education as well as his or her amount of industry experience. Achieving field certification and living in a large city versus a small town also positively affect a worker’s pay in this career area.

A structural engineer’s salary is primarily dependent on his or her educational achievements. To find a job in this industry, a person usually must have a minimum of a four-year bachelor’s degree in this field. Earning a higher two-year master’s degree, however, makes this individual more attractive to employers. An individual who earns a master’s degree typically is compensated for his or her higher level of education because he or she can contribute more to an organization by working in a research or consultant role rather than simply in an engineering job. Doctoral degree programs that last four years to five years also are available and increase workers’ salary opportunities by making them eligible to assume high supervisor or university teaching positions.

The number of years an individual in this industry has spent in the field also contributes to his or her salary. For example, a person who possesses less than a year of experience in this career area easily can earn three times less than somebody who has two decades or more of expertise. An employer is typically willing to pay a larger structural engineer’s salary to a more experienced worker because he or she simply knows more and can do more for the company.

Achieving industry certification additionally has an impact on the amount of pay a person in this vocational area receives. Although licensure is typically required and involves passing an exam offered by an organization in the industry, certification is voluntary. A structural engineer’s salary might be higher for someone who pursues certification by a professional society because this demonstrates to hiring managers that the person is not only well-versed in the field, but is also passionate about his or her work. Being certified also makes a job applicant eligible for managerial positions, which pay more.

Employers in urban areas tend to pay larger salaries to their employees in this line of work as well. A manager is willing to provide a higher structural engineer’s salary to a staff member at a company in a metropolitan area because a larger city creates more demand for services, so the organization is usually more profitable than it would be in a rural location. In fact, employees in a large city can earn up to twice the amount that an employee in a smaller town would receive.