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3t3d

Diamond
Joined
Nov 1, 2004
Location
WI
This is a (very) open ended question...
What kind of salary ranges are there for Engineers, and Managers in the field of robotics, and factory automation?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Just trying to start a short discussion.

Thanks.
 
Engineering degree? Specific training in mechatronics?

Someone graduating from a 4 year University with mechatronics focus or ME/IE/EE/CSE with specific automation labs and classes will start in the 70’s and work their way up based on capability. When you are 15-20 years in you should be close to double that with any field work or bonuses if you are an effective engineer and good at problem solving, creating solid solutions. If you are mediocre you split that range, if you are less than that but reliable, you will be stuck below $100k.

Every person is different . . . some have the knack and are well worth the higher range, others even with many years of experience seem to lack ability, are painfully slow at accomplishing work, and wind up getting to do grunt work because you can’t afford to put them on solution synthesis projects because the number of hours they require to get anything done kill the budget and the schedule.
 
Pay (and cost of living) here's a little lower than Guru's neck of the woods, but with a degree starting's about 65 and top end doing real work (rather than engineering manager) about 125k.

Obviously there's going to be some guy doing all the work of an automation engineer for $12 an hour somewhere and there's some spreadsheet jockey somewhere making $300k specifying 1/4" pneumatic fittings but those are outliers.
 
Motion Guru got it right other than the size of the company also plays into it a bit. I'm in a lower cost of living part of the country than him and those salary ranges (or slightly higher) are what I'd expect at a large company that attracts top notch talent. Smaller companies tend to pay less. But the overall point is the same - the range varies wildly based on the talent and effort of the engineer. We have engineers who are content to sit in a cubicle all day. They do solid, competent work but they don't leave their cubes much to help with debug in the shop or travel to customer sites. They have one skill - for example mechanical or electrical design. They're paid at the lower end. At the other end of the spectrum are those rare superstars who have broad and deep skills. They can do creative design, debug hardware, write software, program vision systems, and follow the design from concept to installation and support. They're the ones who solve the hard problems that nobody else can figure out. They are system thinkers. They get paid very well. Most fall somewhere in between. They can do more than one thing. For example, they can draw schematics during design, write software, and be sent on installation trips. They are mostly self-sufficient in bringing a machine up from build to install but they need help here and there when they get stuck. They're paid somewhere in the middle.
 
I cannot thank everyone enough for the responses so far.
Very helpful and informative.
 
.... Smaller companies tend to pay less.
Strangely here it is the opposite. Smaller companies tend to pay more than the big guys but with less job security.
Agree with the ranges but you have to have some real time in to make decent money.
Baby steps......
If more looking to hire a Tonytn36 or Motion would be way higher than any 3 years out of school guy.
60K bottom to 120K in my world for a decent in either worker bee or manager.
The mentioned above would be above that.
Degree level also makes a difference if this is more about looking for job.
Bob
 
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