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Materials engineer: Salary and conditions

• Range of typical starting salaries: £22,000 - £28,000 (salary data collected July 2009).
• Range of salaries with several years experience: £30,000 - £40,000 (salary data collected July 2009).
• Those with 10 - 15 years' experience can earn up to £60,000 (salary data collected Aug 2009).
• Salary levels may be influenced by the exact area in which you work and are often higher in what are considered to be 'leading edge' technologies, such as telecommunications and biomedical engineering.
• Although materials engineering employs more women than other fields of engineering, women are still under-represented. Organisations such as Women Into Science, Engineering and Construction (WISE)  and The Women's Engineering Society (WES)  campaign to promote the profession and support female engineers.
• Work generally takes place in regular daytime hours, but may sometimes involve shift working.
• The work is mainly based in offices or laboratories but will involve liaising with and visiting suppliers of raw materials or manufacturing sites.
• Technological advances are fast in this field, which can make career breaks difficult.
• There are two main options for self-employment, both of which are more likely once significant work experience has been gained. You can set up your own business, e.g., a consultancy or small specialist practice, or work as a freelancer/ contractor, moving around different organisations as work becomes available.
• Materials engineers are involved with new developments that impact on the competitiveness of their organisation. Indirectly, they carry high levels of responsibility but are rewarded by seeing the direct results and impact of their work.
• There are occasionally opportunities for overseas travel. In global companies where technology is mainly controlled from the UK, frequent overseas visits may be required.

AGCAS

Written by Anna Lomas, University of Manchester

Last updated:

July 2009

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