<p>I am currently a Sophomore in a Chemical Engineering Program at a state university. I was wondering: Is it possible to earn a 6-figure starting salary once graduating and getting a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering? </p>
<p>I hear of people in Finance who do this, by interning at a firm, and doing so well that after they graduate, the firm makes them full time, and gives them a 6-figure starting salary.</p>
<p>I was wondering if this can happen in Chemical Engineering as well. Is there anyone here who has had the experience? From statistics, I know that there are people who get about 100k starting, but I can't seem to figure out what it takes. Any licensing? Anything I can do while in college or at an Internship site?</p>
<p>I’ve heard of it once. It was during the crazy hiring boom of 2000 and went to a guy hired by a patent law office in Silicon Valley.</p>
<p>Do people claim it happens? Every day. </p>
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<p>Nope. Wharton had 1 student claim to make $100,000 at graduation last year. And if you know anything about self-reported salary surveys, you can usually throw out the top 5% or so. </p>
<p>A 6-figure starting salary is quite difficult to obtain. But a 6-figure starting total compensation is doable. See below. </p>
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<p>Well, actually, I strongly suspect that many Wharton BS grads make 6 figures to start. Not 6-figures in starting salary, mind you, but 6- figures in total compensation. The figures shown in the above link deal only with salaries, which exclude the large bonuses paid within the finance positions that many Wharton graduates take; those bonuses will often times exceed the actual salary itself. </p>
<p>Granted, bonuses are stochastic in nature. You might get zero. On the other hand, you might receive a windfall, as investment banks have returned to paying record bonuses. </p>
<p>Now, if one means to make 6-figures to start while working as an engineer, you can easily exceed that threshold of pay by becoming a sales engineer and working on many successful accounts. As a sales engineer, much (perhaps most) of your compensation will be based on commission. I know some sales engineers who made 6 figures in their first year out of school: I believe one even made more than $250k in his first year (although, to be fair, that was his peak year when he landed some large accounts when the economy was hot; he never hit that commissions peak again.}</p>
<p>Granted, some people don’t consider sales engineering work to be ‘real’ engineering. But I do. Most such jobs require engineering degrees and/or significant technical knowledge if, for no other reason, than to be able to hold your own against the engineers of the clients. Furthermore, you tend to be involved in technical problem solving that is characteristic of engineering work.</p>
<p>However, I agree that few BS-level chemical engineers who work in operations/manufacturing or R&D will make 6-figures to start.</p>
<p>What about working at Exxon on offshore Oil Rigs? Could be possible if you had been interning there for a while and had great credentials. Maybe not now with the state of the economy though.</p>
<p>average for petrol is 80k … if your on the high end, or figure cost of living/higher salaries in some areas, or working in highly undersirable areas such as in the middle of the desert, six figure may be possible. </p>
<p>A chem E i know claimed he’s making over 100k at monsanto straight out of undergrad; i believed it sense fertilizer companies like oil companies post ridiculous profits</p>
<p>note: petrol is upstream I think, so i’m not sure if that 80k figure accounts for downstream refinement jobs (chem E)?</p>
<p>I dont want to sound like complainer or anything but if your main attentions of doing chemical engineeering are for the money, then don’t bother. If you are doing it for the money, then your most likely not going to last at any engineering school worth its weight. Im tired of people saying that engineers dont make that much or you can’t become rich off of it. But really there is a lot of CEO’s of fortune 500 companies with engineering degrees. And coming out of college with $50,000 is WELL enough to support yourself. Sorry for the rant, but I do fell like it was needed.</p>
<p>The reality is that the vast majority of students, 99.9999% are not going to see 100K starting salaries. There are a few ways, like those mentioned above. The only people I’ve ever known to do this went over to the middle east a few years ago right out of school. One, now pulls down 240K two years out of school. Keep in mind, he lives in a bunker type facility that is mostly self supported for security reasons, in the middle of the desert - not a whole lot of fun as you can imagine.</p>
<p>In any case, chemE’s make decent money - but if you’re in it for the money you probably won’t be an actual chemE.</p>
<p>I’m an engineering recruiter. I have 5 - 10 year ChemE superstars who are not earning that. ChemEs do a little better than other engineers…but not THAT much better…Mr. Payne is right…in the middle east…perhaps.</p>
<p>Then you’re not recruiting the right people. Even my mediocre ChE’s were over $100,000 at 10 years. In fact, that’s very standard in chemicals and in oil. In carpet, food, or pharmaceuticals you’ll find somewhat lower salaries, but not that much lower.</p>
<p>If you interned every summer in the drlling department with shell, bp, or exxonmobil, and they offered you a job as a offshore drilling engineer in the middle of nowhere, then you could earn 100k starting.</p>