Salaries
Professional Engineers are well paid in the UK. Chartered engineer status is a solid foundation for a well remunerated career. In their latest 2024 Survey The Engineer magazine quoted a mean average salary of £64,869. This compares with the average salary of the UK population as a whole in 2023 of £29,669.
Graduate starting salaries in engineering and technology with a good degree average £28,000 (March 2025. Source https:// standout-cv.com– search Graduate Statistics for the UK Section 4)
Comparative Salary Levels
Typically, the comparative salary levels of practising professional engineers from the highest down are:
- Electrical/Electronic Engineering
- Nuclear
- Chemical Engineering
The above disciplines are now very close in remuneration.
Followed by;
- Energy
- Software Engineering
- Mechanical
- Civil Engineering
Salaries by industry sector
Combined average annual earnings across engineering in The Engineer 2017, 2019,2022 and 2024 surveys for chartered and non chartered engineers salaries taken together are listed below 58% of The Engineer salary responses in 2024 were from engineers over the age of 40 so fairly experienced which will be reflected in their surveyed salary average being £64,869- up 13% on the previous year.
Salaries
by industry sector
Combined average annual earnings across engineering in The Engineer 2017, 2019,2022 and 2024 surveys for chartered /non-chartered engineers salaries taken together are listed below.
|
Engineering Sector |
2017 |
2019 |
2022 |
2024 |
|
Oil and gas |
54,461 |
57,161 |
58714 |
81559* |
|
Energy/Renewables/Nuclear |
51,953 |
58,695 |
62709 |
66193 |
|
Chemical/Pharmacy/Medical |
51,750 |
56,206 |
61331 |
66214 |
|
Materials |
48,318 |
48,773 |
57892 |
** |
|
Automotive |
48,100 |
49,736 |
57996 |
63295 |
|
Defence/Security/Marine |
46,838 |
50,206 |
57533 |
66780 |
|
Telecoms/Electronics/Utilities |
46,567 |
51,825 |
58682 |
70023 |
|
Food and Drink |
46,460 |
52,877 |
50589 |
60719 |
|
Aerospace |
46,362 |
50,284 |
51914 |
62277 |
|
Rail/Civil and Structural |
44,890 |
46,369 |
53244 |
63475 |
|
Academic |
43,809 |
43,830 |
47999 |
58584 |
*The Oil and Gas figure is significantly higher than the 2022 Survey result which may reflect a more senior group of respondents in 2024 hence the significantly higher average
**The figures for Materials seem disproportionately high in 2024 Survey which may have reflected the small sample of respondents who may have mostly been senior personnel and we have not included it in the Table
The Survey states:-
“In common with last years survey the largest segment of respondents work in Engineering Design (37%). This is followed by R and D (16%) and Production ( 13%) “
Chartered Engineers' Salaries
Engineers whose experience has enabled them to achieve registered Chartered Engineer status (CEng) under the Engineering Council will be earning salaries significantly higher than the averages across engineering in the above tables as they progress through their careers. Notably, around 62% of engineers at Director level are Chartered and earning the highest tabulated average salaries.
There are significant numbers of Chartered Engineers working in Scotland whose salaries are in excess of £200,000 with some significantly higher than that of the Chief Constable of Police Scotland.
Salary Growth with Increasing Experience
2022 figures listed by Jobted a prominent salary search engine (https://uk.jobted.com/salary) – their latest available, provides data on how salaries grow as experience increases.
Taking Electrical Engineering as an example, they quote "A mid- career Electrical Engineer with 4-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of £51,600 while a Senior engineer with 10-20 years of experience makes on average £91,000. Electrical Engineers with more than 20 years of experience earn £120,000 on average". The highest salaries can exceed £170,000.
The following table lists the Jobted salary data for some of the main engineering disciplines. It does not separate Chartered from non- Chartered salaries.
Engineering discipline |
Years of experience |
|||
|
4-9 |
10-20 |
20+ |
Highest |
Electrical Engineering |
51,600 |
91,000 |
120,000 |
>170,000 |
Chemical Engineering |
47,400 |
84,900 |
97,800 |
>150,000 |
Mechanical Engineering |
46,000 |
75,300 |
96,000 |
120,000 |
Software Engineering |
46,300 |
79,200 |
89,000 |
130,000 |
Civil Engineering |
43,600 |
74,000 |
94000 |
110,000 |
Structural Engineering |
42300 |
76000 |
87100 |
110000 |
Production Engineering |
38660 |
58940 |
64910 |
100,000 |
Nuclear |
49800 |
83000 |
108000 |
> 160,000 |
Energy |
48500 |
81600 |
102100 |
> 165,000 |
Engineering Average |
45700 |
76400 |
94500 |
> 150,000 |
Engineering Salaries- Regional Averages
The Engineer 2024 Survey provides the following comparisons for regional salary averages across the UK and for UK engineers employed abroad
Outside UK £80951
London/South East £68901
Midlands/East Anglia £64575
Scotland/Wales N Ireland £61287
N England £60505
S West England £59425
Salary Calculators
You can find useful salary data directly from some of the leading engineering institutions
Eg Institution of Chemical Engineers https://www.icheme.org -Salary insight-how much do chemical engineers earn.
Or search“Chem eng salary calculator”
The Institution advises that from its 2023 Survey Chartered engineers earned an annual median salary of £85,000 compared with non Chartered engineers earning £47,000.
Institution of Civil Engineers https://www.ukcivilengineering.co.uk -Civil engineering Salaries in the UK.
Or search “Inst civil engineers salary data”