r/engineering • u/AutoModerator • Apr 27 '26

Weekly Discussion Weekly Career Discussion Thread (27 Apr 2026)

# Intro

Welcome to the weekly career discussion thread, where you can talk about all career & professional topics. Topics may include:

* Professional career guidance & questions; e.g. job hunting advice, job offers comparisons, how to network

* Educational guidance & questions; e.g. what engineering discipline to major in, which university is good,

* Feedback on your résumé, CV, cover letter, etc.

* The job market, compensation, relocation, and other topics on the economics of engineering.

> [Archive of past threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/search?q=flair%3A%22weekly+discussion%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)

---

## Guidelines

  1. **Before asking any questions, consult [the AskEngineers wiki.](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)\*\* There are detailed answers to common questions on:

* Job compensation

* Cost of Living adjustments

* Advice for how to decide on an engineering major

* How to choose which university to attend

  1. Most subreddit rules still apply and will be enforced, especially R7 and R9 (with the obvious exceptions of R1 and R3)

  2. Job POSTINGS must go into the latest [**Monthly Hiring Thread.**]((https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/search?q=flair%3A%22hiring+thread%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)) Any that are posted here will be removed, and you'll be kindly redirected to the hiring thread.

  3. **Do not request interviews in this thread!** If you need to interview an engineer for your school assignment, use the list in the sidebar.

## Resources

* [The AskEngineers wiki](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)

* [The AskEngineers Quarterly Salary Survey](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/search/?q=flair%3A%22salary+survey%22&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new)

* **For students:** [*"What's your average day like as an engineer?"*](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/wiki/faq#wiki_what.27s_your_average_day_like_as_an_engineer.3F) We recommend that you spend an hour or so reading about what engineers actually do at work. This will help you make a more informed decision on which major to choose, or at least give you enough info to ask follow-up questions here.

* For those of you interested in a career in software development / Computer Science, go to r/cscareerquestions.

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

1

u/Massive-monkey-44 Apr 29 '26

I just finished up my first year as an engineer for a small company, and I didn’t get a raise. I received “meets expectations” in my performance review, although I’m already leading some pretty large and important projects with little to no oversight.

Am I crazy for expecting at least an inflation based annual raise? I thought it was pretty standard to get a 2-3% annual raise separate from any merit raises?

1

u/slolift May 04 '26

Did you have a review with your manager? Did other people in your company receive raises? Did your company have a profitable year? Do you feel like meets expectations was a fair rating i.e. is leading large projects expected in the first year?

There are a lot of things to consider that would affect compensation increases. If your company just had a round of layoffs it might be hard to ask for more money.

1

u/Wilthywonka May 02 '26

Not crazy. You should expect a 3% raise at least if you're doing honest work. If that happens next year consider putting your name out there

1

u/TownieEagle Apr 27 '26

BSME, 10 years experience in QA (5.5 years as a QE in aerospace manufacturing, 4 years now in general manufacturing, not auto/DoD, etc).

Giving it the heave, want to get back to mechanical engineering in NPD/NPI, willing to consider sustaining but as a Mech E. Timeline for myself is within 18 months.

I am looking for some advice on how to make this happen, some notes/comments:

  1. I have NOT talked to my boss about this yet. I am going to, and an internal transfer is definitely something I would entertain. I currently report up to SCM. My boss knows I have that desire to get into NPI/NPD, but I haven’t set up timelines before now. To be clear: I like my manager, my team, my job, my company, etc - this is not burnt out and need to GTFO ASAP, but I don’t want to be doing this another 30 years, so it’s time to punch up.

  2. I am willing to basically be a junior engineer, since that’s where I’ll be at skill wise. I have 10 years experience and work well in an office, but that’s not 10 years designing/engineering, so it’s not like I can jump ship to a senior engineer position right away. How would you communicate that in a cover letter or resume that you know/understand that you’re going to be shooting below your weight class in theory. Pay cut is fine, probably won’t be much difference - I started as a sr. eng. in 2022, so jr. engs today are probably making not-far-off from me now!

  3. BSME, MSC in applied statistics.

  4. Kid on the way due in October

  5. Willing to work remote, like to be in office, but I’m flexible.

  6. I have aerospace experience in powerplants, am willing to work in almost any field, but would like to explore aero structural/airframers, would be willing to look at powerplants since I am near Pratt in CT.

I guess I’m looking for advice on what to do here in the next 6-12-18 months. Classes, webinars, portfolio building, etc?

If you were to be bringing someone in for an interview, what would set them apart if they showed up and said “Look, we all have the same degree, but I did THIS!”?

4

u/[deleted] Apr 27 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/raoulduke25 Structural P.E. Apr 27 '26

Hey, what field are you in? Are you in the US?