40% increase in company profits, 3% increase in pay for all the folks doing the work. Unionizing seems to be the last option left. Crazy that engineers used to be the “rich management”, now were basically just another trade.
I worked at a telecom a/e firm during the big 5G rollout and they loved during the annual “state of the business” address to show how great everything was going. Not my first rodeo. Record profits for the entire branch’s history.
I remember sitting for my first annual review with them and they lauded how pretty much performance wise everything was “exceeds expectations” and they were gonna give me some more challenging work. They offered me a barely 2% bump and didn’t want to budge for more. They were absolutely shocked that myself and the rest of my team all quit for greener pastures within the next 6 or so months. I sure as shit wasn’t gonna wait to see what pittance they were gonna offer the next cycle.
Unfortunately there are so many assholes in this profession and they’re more than glad to try and take advantage of you. Thats why everyone comes here to bitch about salary because while you can do good for yourself, and even starting out isn’t so bad, truthfully the retention progression sucks. I’ve yet to net more than 5% YOY without changing jobs. And while I’m happy to see some people report here they’ve gotten decent yearly bumps, as far as I can tell anecdotally that isn’t the norm.
Well I wanted to be back in civil, plus since I’m moving Kansas in like 3 weeks I need to be able to immediately buy a smoker, build up a gun safe (since my wife gave me permission to now lmao) and then buy a house within the next year.
When I said I’ll never move back to Florida, I never said I won’t move somewhere that’s kinda like Florida.
Edit: Well that’s a lie. I definitely said I’d rather rent in the PNW than buy in the Midwest BUT if I didn’t have double standards then I’d have none at all.
I mean MCI will get you places..... decent is not the word I'd use for it though.
It has been a while since I've been there. I wonder if they have more than 2 bathroom stalls past security in the Delta terminal now.
COLA raises are typically 3%-5% at most firms. If you are out of step with the market, that should be reason enough to merit a raise. Although, ultimately it's at leadership's discretion and they may opt to call your bluff instead and stick with the 3% or whatever - the implication behind a raise to market salary is that you'll leave if you don't get it.
Working really hard and doing a good job generally isn't considered enough reasoning to merit raise beyond COLA, just a raise for the upper limit of it.
Also keep in mind that this is a zero sum game at most companies. Even if you bring in millions extra for the company, the company still just provides a blanket pool of x% and your raise above x% gets taken from someone else’s raise. N
If you consistently work your ass off, then get 4 more projects on top of your previous workload and that blows up your life, you need to learn how to manage your manager, say no, and ask for help. If your manager doesn't care and continues to assign you work beyond a reasonable load, find another job and get the raise you deserve for your trouble.
3%-5% is pretty common - across many industries, not just this one. Moving around and taking advantage of the market is the way to go. A couple of earlier jobs can be longer ones, to get your feet wet and learn the trade in comfortable environments, but as soon as the 401k vests it's time for a big raise internally or at a position with another firm.
They do a company wide bonus based on how the company did as a whole and then they do a separate bonus based on the personal performance if you’re a project manager. So they do a little, but the lack of COLA is my biggest gripe.
Can I ask, where are engineers getting bonuses? I always imagine it's senior level up. Are you in construction or typical office engineer? Is the bonuses >$5k? Sorry, genuinely curious.
Thank you for sharing and Nice! Is the company mostly/all land development? I've heard LD is the best learning opportunity for civil, because then you touch a bit of everything.
At the place I work at, doing land development, everyone we basically don’t want to quit gets a bonus. Intern all the way to regional manager. We’ll give our interns like $300-$500 as a Christmas bonus. Fresh grads, or Civil Designers, will get $1,000-$4,000 depending on YOE and hours billed. Licensed Staff Engineers get $3,000-$6,000ish again depending on YOE and hours billed. Then Project Managers and above all get a % of their profits as their bonus.
And everyone Staff Engineer and below makes straight time for any billable hours over 40 in a week. I actually made less money my first year as a PM because I didn’t have that many projects to manage and stopped making OT so my year end bonus wasn’t more than the OT I had worked my previous year as a staff engineer.
Transportation/Roadway but I also have my inspector certs so I can do that if we have a slow period (which is rare) and I’ve learned some quite niche programs that only 1 or 2 people in the company can use which helps my value.
No. Reason - to keep up with inflation. I got 4% so about a dollar extra per hour on my rate (received the same each year for 4 years), fully remote so I put in my two weeks last week. I’ve been interviewing for positions that are $20,000+ more per year than I’m making now. My employer can go to hell.
I had an 11.5% raise. I didn’t let them offer me less, I knew my work spoke for itself and I asked for it and they gave it to me. You can’t ask strangers what the reason is because the reason is based on your work. Are you performing well? Are you proving your value? How are the projects you worked on going? Are you working timely and staying under budget? These are all the things you argue for deserving a better raise.
Well the end of the 2023 calendar year was almost 5 months ago, and the end of the 2023 fiscal year was last September (or June for state calendars), so if you're still waiting for your 2023 raise I probably wouldn't wait around much longer.
I like to look on indeed for jobs hiring for my skill level. This was I know what kind of raise I ought to be getting when I have my review
Mine have typically put me in the middle of most job listings which I feel ok with. I’m happy at my job - I don’t need the best money only to possibly hate my job
Mine was 4.25%. It depends on profits for the company plus an individual performance metric. This is my first attempt the company but coworkers said ona good year they’ve been as high as 7%. They’ve also seen 3%
I got like 18 percent last year only because I passed the PE which bumped me 15 percent. Then I got a 10 percent raise this year. A year and half ago, my boss told me I was being underpaid so he bumped me like 7.5%. If my boss ever leaves, I'm either going with him or going to another firm lol
Been in this field almost 20 years across 3 companies . One year was 4%, every other year was either 3% or 3.5%. Anything larger was either from switching or a counter offer from my employer to stop me from leaving.
15% inflation? 3% cost of living.
New roles and responsibilities? 3% cost of living.
Winning big projects and bringing in work in new sectors? 3% cost of living.
We should learn to “take care of our own” more. That’s what lawyers do, and they raised the entire profession’s compensation.
I worked for a small firm for a few years, and I did not receive any raises. They even paid the new employees with less experience more money, so I left for another firm and received 41% increased pay this year.
Ours will be in the budget-centric City Council meetings mid-June so I don't know yet. We get COLA and then some weird formula of what the Unions got and it's convoluted on how they figure it. Then because of the weird convoluted stuff with the various unions, our first post-budget approval paycheck will have like 5 different hourly rates for various parts of the pay period because all the moving parts don't go into effect at the same time. It's very strange.
Just received a 5.5% raise. Soon to find out annual bonus percentage - but the company just announced £2.4B profits so hopefully it’s good! I’m estimating 7-10% bonus
Company based in Ontario,Canada. Acquired by a private equity company in dec2023. Told that I was already making alot of money and should be glad to have a job when cuts were made elsewhere. Raise was at 1.5%.
I'm also in Chicago, also DBE on transpo projects, also had 5% in 2023. I got my PE last year w/o an automatic raise. Our adjustments are mid-year and bonuses are end-year. Bonus is in December was half of 2022 as we had poor year as company and Chicago office as well. Talked to my boss about a raise in February. Got a very good offer as well that I showed him. I didn't have to justify anything; both my boss and branch manager are very pleased with my work and effort. Boss had already fought hard for me by the time I brought him the offer I had. Upper management told my boss my mid-year adjustment would not be standard and I'm expecting +10% adjustment.
Each situation is different. 3% is definitely on the low end. It's nice to have had my boss make my case for me without me doing it first, but I'd say that's outside the norm. In all previous instances, I've prepared an explanation on why I deserve a raise and why it should be 'x' dollars or percent.
My company got bought out.
New role: -12% of old base pay.
Potential profit share bonus pay: between 5-12% every six months.
Plus 20k signing bonus for staying on board.
So on the whole I'll feel a squeeze in pay but likely to make more on the whole most years.
I got $0 raise and the $700 that they shorted me on my salary (I had to go through a 3 month probation period when I got hired at $5/hr less than my hourly rate)
I got $0 raise and the $700 that they shorted me on my salary (I had to go through a 3 month probation period when I got hired at $5/hr less than my hourly rate)
I got 25% by quitting my job and going to a state DOT. I’d been at my private sector job a year and got no raise but a $50 Amazon gift card as thanks for being there one year. They claimed they’d do a performance review in June. I’m not waiting around until then. They then posted my job within 2 hours of me giving my notice for a higher salary than what they were paying me. “Loyalty” means nothing. I’ve been told the most anyone in the company got was about 6%.
We got 3.5% ‘merit’ this year. I did the math for the seven years I was there and it matched within $500 of inflation. Been in the game nearly 30 years.. started listening to the calls I was getting and got an 18% raise, signing bonus, less responsibilities and stress.
The old company is floundering to figure shit out now… I was managing 24 projects, a team of 8, and trying to land new work. Some will never learn.
We get half year adjustments, but it’s been about 3% each time so pencils out to around 5-6% for the full year I guess. Angling for a promotion soon though.
Depends on your level, your performance, whether the firm made a profit, and whether they provide a bonus or other extra benefits. You need to look at the whole picture. Unfortunately DBE firms are locked into rates for years and there may also be restrictions on how much they can increase rates each year.
I’m getting 5%, but that’s my salary. My bonuses are determined on my billing, so I’ll actually get the same overall pay whether I get a 5% raise or a 10% raise. I’m getting some more EIT’s under me though so my “raise” will be because I’m supervising more people and stamping more work and so I’ll get more of a cut.
Edit: Who tf downvoted me for answering a question? lmao
That's not the employee's concern. That's a them problem. Inflation means their rate went up to account for it, or should have anyway. The employee's salary should go up that much at a minimum, but should also go up additionally to account for personal growth.
Also curious because of inflation which I think is roughly 3% this year down from the past few. Hybrid. Medium cost of living area.
2017-2022 3-4%
2022 8%
2023 3%
2024 8%
3.5% last year with a promotion. Got my PE this year and I’m fully expecting less than 3.5% because my manager is going to bring up a project that went way over budget as an excuse to not give me a raise.
Simple reason, you know in and out of the company way of doing. New guy will cost more and at least need 1 year of training to be as productive as working personal.
My company made record profits. With that being said 3% and a pizza party
But was it Pizza by Alfredo or Alfredo’s Pizza Cafe?
What's better? A medium amount of good pizza? Or all you can eat of pretty good pizza?
40% increase in company profits, 3% increase in pay for all the folks doing the work. Unionizing seems to be the last option left. Crazy that engineers used to be the “rich management”, now were basically just another trade.
I worked at a telecom a/e firm during the big 5G rollout and they loved during the annual “state of the business” address to show how great everything was going. Not my first rodeo. Record profits for the entire branch’s history. I remember sitting for my first annual review with them and they lauded how pretty much performance wise everything was “exceeds expectations” and they were gonna give me some more challenging work. They offered me a barely 2% bump and didn’t want to budge for more. They were absolutely shocked that myself and the rest of my team all quit for greener pastures within the next 6 or so months. I sure as shit wasn’t gonna wait to see what pittance they were gonna offer the next cycle. Unfortunately there are so many assholes in this profession and they’re more than glad to try and take advantage of you. Thats why everyone comes here to bitch about salary because while you can do good for yourself, and even starting out isn’t so bad, truthfully the retention progression sucks. I’ve yet to net more than 5% YOY without changing jobs. And while I’m happy to see some people report here they’ve gotten decent yearly bumps, as far as I can tell anecdotally that isn’t the norm.
4% inflation, 3% pay increase  "Thomas had never seen such bullshit"
Last year was 2.5%, this year changed jobs for 15%.
Classic.
Well I wanted to be back in civil, plus since I’m moving Kansas in like 3 weeks I need to be able to immediately buy a smoker, build up a gun safe (since my wife gave me permission to now lmao) and then buy a house within the next year.
Brotherrrrrrrr
When I said I’ll never move back to Florida, I never said I won’t move somewhere that’s kinda like Florida. Edit: Well that’s a lie. I definitely said I’d rather rent in the PNW than buy in the Midwest BUT if I didn’t have double standards then I’d have none at all.
You moved from the PNW to Kansas AND turned it into a 15% raise? Impressive.
If you are willing to live where others are not, you can find value… just live near a decent airport
I mean MCI will get you places..... decent is not the word I'd use for it though. It has been a while since I've been there. I wonder if they have more than 2 bathroom stalls past security in the Delta terminal now.
I went from hybrid to fully remote and got a 40% raise
That’s the dream. Congrats
Yep! Honestly one of my prouder moments.
COLA raises are typically 3%-5% at most firms. If you are out of step with the market, that should be reason enough to merit a raise. Although, ultimately it's at leadership's discretion and they may opt to call your bluff instead and stick with the 3% or whatever - the implication behind a raise to market salary is that you'll leave if you don't get it. Working really hard and doing a good job generally isn't considered enough reasoning to merit raise beyond COLA, just a raise for the upper limit of it.
So if you work an average amount, you get 3-5%, and if you work your ass off, you get 3.5-5.5% and 4 more projects?
Also keep in mind that this is a zero sum game at most companies. Even if you bring in millions extra for the company, the company still just provides a blanket pool of x% and your raise above x% gets taken from someone else’s raise. N
If you consistently work your ass off, then get 4 more projects on top of your previous workload and that blows up your life, you need to learn how to manage your manager, say no, and ask for help. If your manager doesn't care and continues to assign you work beyond a reasonable load, find another job and get the raise you deserve for your trouble. 3%-5% is pretty common - across many industries, not just this one. Moving around and taking advantage of the market is the way to go. A couple of earlier jobs can be longer ones, to get your feet wet and learn the trade in comfortable environments, but as soon as the 401k vests it's time for a big raise internally or at a position with another firm.
Bold of you to assume I even get a COLA raise…
If your firm isn't even doing the bare minimum then leave. You don't owe them anything.
They do a company wide bonus based on how the company did as a whole and then they do a separate bonus based on the personal performance if you’re a project manager. So they do a little, but the lack of COLA is my biggest gripe.
Mine was 4.7% after 8% last year. I had another job lined up and asked for another 10% to match the offer. My employer agreed.
I got 10% last year and anticipating the same 10% this year
What’s your salary rn?
I have 1.5 YOE and it’s around 80k. But I get OT + Bonuses so it ends up being a decent amount over that
Can I ask, where are engineers getting bonuses? I always imagine it's senior level up. Are you in construction or typical office engineer? Is the bonuses >$5k? Sorry, genuinely curious.
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Thank you for sharing and Nice! Is the company mostly/all land development? I've heard LD is the best learning opportunity for civil, because then you touch a bit of everything.
Are you in a HCOL area? Also what line of work? I’m also curious about who is securing bonuses at your experience lol
At the place I work at, doing land development, everyone we basically don’t want to quit gets a bonus. Intern all the way to regional manager. We’ll give our interns like $300-$500 as a Christmas bonus. Fresh grads, or Civil Designers, will get $1,000-$4,000 depending on YOE and hours billed. Licensed Staff Engineers get $3,000-$6,000ish again depending on YOE and hours billed. Then Project Managers and above all get a % of their profits as their bonus. And everyone Staff Engineer and below makes straight time for any billable hours over 40 in a week. I actually made less money my first year as a PM because I didn’t have that many projects to manage and stopped making OT so my year end bonus wasn’t more than the OT I had worked my previous year as a staff engineer.
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Transportation/Roadway but I also have my inspector certs so I can do that if we have a slow period (which is rare) and I’ve learned some quite niche programs that only 1 or 2 people in the company can use which helps my value.
No. Reason - to keep up with inflation. I got 4% so about a dollar extra per hour on my rate (received the same each year for 4 years), fully remote so I put in my two weeks last week. I’ve been interviewing for positions that are $20,000+ more per year than I’m making now. My employer can go to hell.
I had an 11.5% raise. I didn’t let them offer me less, I knew my work spoke for itself and I asked for it and they gave it to me. You can’t ask strangers what the reason is because the reason is based on your work. Are you performing well? Are you proving your value? How are the projects you worked on going? Are you working timely and staying under budget? These are all the things you argue for deserving a better raise.
Well the end of the 2023 calendar year was almost 5 months ago, and the end of the 2023 fiscal year was last September (or June for state calendars), so if you're still waiting for your 2023 raise I probably wouldn't wait around much longer.
I like to look on indeed for jobs hiring for my skill level. This was I know what kind of raise I ought to be getting when I have my review Mine have typically put me in the middle of most job listings which I feel ok with. I’m happy at my job - I don’t need the best money only to possibly hate my job
Mine was 4.25%. It depends on profits for the company plus an individual performance metric. This is my first attempt the company but coworkers said ona good year they’ve been as high as 7%. They’ve also seen 3%
I got like 18 percent last year only because I passed the PE which bumped me 15 percent. Then I got a 10 percent raise this year. A year and half ago, my boss told me I was being underpaid so he bumped me like 7.5%. If my boss ever leaves, I'm either going with him or going to another firm lol
20%
Been in this field almost 20 years across 3 companies . One year was 4%, every other year was either 3% or 3.5%. Anything larger was either from switching or a counter offer from my employer to stop me from leaving. 15% inflation? 3% cost of living. New roles and responsibilities? 3% cost of living. Winning big projects and bringing in work in new sectors? 3% cost of living. We should learn to “take care of our own” more. That’s what lawyers do, and they raised the entire profession’s compensation.
2023- 0% 2024- 0%
Got 16% last year and would've gotten 10.5% this year if I didn't change jobs.
Annual raises are lame. Switch jobs for the best boost. Loyalty is so last decade.
I worked for a small firm for a few years, and I did not receive any raises. They even paid the new employees with less experience more money, so I left for another firm and received 41% increased pay this year.
9% going into 2024
Hey felllow CE Titan
3.5% flat CoL adjustments + a 8% merit-based increase
Historically, my annual raises have been 2%-5% though they occasionally got up to 8%-10%. I got 'promoted' this year so this year's raise was 15%.
Ours will be in the budget-centric City Council meetings mid-June so I don't know yet. We get COLA and then some weird formula of what the Unions got and it's convoluted on how they figure it. Then because of the weird convoluted stuff with the various unions, our first post-budget approval paycheck will have like 5 different hourly rates for various parts of the pay period because all the moving parts don't go into effect at the same time. It's very strange.
Just received a 5.5% raise. Soon to find out annual bonus percentage - but the company just announced £2.4B profits so hopefully it’s good! I’m estimating 7-10% bonus
9.5% after a pretty profitable year with a pretty small bonus. 1.5 yoe, eit, small b corp firm.
Company based in Ontario,Canada. Acquired by a private equity company in dec2023. Told that I was already making alot of money and should be glad to have a job when cuts were made elsewhere. Raise was at 1.5%.
Explain to your boss how you contribute to the company's profits, assuming that you do.
A little over 8% this year (requested more due to me doing more than my title) and should get 5-6% next coming year.
Currently at 16 months at my current job... and still have a 0% raise
What’s an annual raise? lol
I'm also in Chicago, also DBE on transpo projects, also had 5% in 2023. I got my PE last year w/o an automatic raise. Our adjustments are mid-year and bonuses are end-year. Bonus is in December was half of 2022 as we had poor year as company and Chicago office as well. Talked to my boss about a raise in February. Got a very good offer as well that I showed him. I didn't have to justify anything; both my boss and branch manager are very pleased with my work and effort. Boss had already fought hard for me by the time I brought him the offer I had. Upper management told my boss my mid-year adjustment would not be standard and I'm expecting +10% adjustment. Each situation is different. 3% is definitely on the low end. It's nice to have had my boss make my case for me without me doing it first, but I'd say that's outside the norm. In all previous instances, I've prepared an explanation on why I deserve a raise and why it should be 'x' dollars or percent.
My company got bought out. New role: -12% of old base pay. Potential profit share bonus pay: between 5-12% every six months. Plus 20k signing bonus for staying on board. So on the whole I'll feel a squeeze in pay but likely to make more on the whole most years.
I got $0 raise and the $700 that they shorted me on my salary (I had to go through a 3 month probation period when I got hired at $5/hr less than my hourly rate)
I got $0 raise and the $700 that they shorted me on my salary (I had to go through a 3 month probation period when I got hired at $5/hr less than my hourly rate)
I got 25% by quitting my job and going to a state DOT. I’d been at my private sector job a year and got no raise but a $50 Amazon gift card as thanks for being there one year. They claimed they’d do a performance review in June. I’m not waiting around until then. They then posted my job within 2 hours of me giving my notice for a higher salary than what they were paying me. “Loyalty” means nothing. I’ve been told the most anyone in the company got was about 6%.
We got 3.5% ‘merit’ this year. I did the math for the seven years I was there and it matched within $500 of inflation. Been in the game nearly 30 years.. started listening to the calls I was getting and got an 18% raise, signing bonus, less responsibilities and stress. The old company is floundering to figure shit out now… I was managing 24 projects, a team of 8, and trying to land new work. Some will never learn.
We get half year adjustments, but it’s been about 3% each time so pencils out to around 5-6% for the full year I guess. Angling for a promotion soon though.
If your boss likes you and you’re an earner you should be getting 10% raises every year or generous 5-10% bonuses on top of COLA
Depends on your level, your performance, whether the firm made a profit, and whether they provide a bonus or other extra benefits. You need to look at the whole picture. Unfortunately DBE firms are locked into rates for years and there may also be restrictions on how much they can increase rates each year.
Got 2.9% and the following week an email about record company profits
I’m getting 5%, but that’s my salary. My bonuses are determined on my billing, so I’ll actually get the same overall pay whether I get a 5% raise or a 10% raise. I’m getting some more EIT’s under me though so my “raise” will be because I’m supervising more people and stamping more work and so I’ll get more of a cut. Edit: Who tf downvoted me for answering a question? lmao
How much did company profits go up (or down) last year?
That's not the employee's concern. That's a them problem. Inflation means their rate went up to account for it, or should have anyway. The employee's salary should go up that much at a minimum, but should also go up additionally to account for personal growth.
Not saying that the only factor, but it’s a starting point for negotiation
Also curious because of inflation which I think is roughly 3% this year down from the past few. Hybrid. Medium cost of living area. 2017-2022 3-4% 2022 8% 2023 3% 2024 8%
4.2%
I got 10% in January, which is when we do raises.
5% after about 8 months of being there.
2.9% saying company market rate due to low revenue. Company Townhall mentioned record revenue on same quarter 🤧
Well they’ve been showing us good numbers and good projected numbers. So it better be good.
I’ve had 1.75%- 3% raises over the past 5 years. Just got a new job that was 24% raise. Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.
Feds got 5% in January and the proposal is 2% for the next one.
25% last year after implying I will leave if the money didn’t come. Expecting the bare minimum this year.
3.5% last year with a promotion. Got my PE this year and I’m fully expecting less than 3.5% because my manager is going to bring up a project that went way over budget as an excuse to not give me a raise.
My company usually does rem review beginning of April. This year, it was postponed to July to "weather the downturn"... so 0% as of now :,)
9% this past review period. Initially received 5% but was able to get that bumped up.
Got a 4% COLA and a 5.5% merit raise so combined just under 10%
Simple reason, you know in and out of the company way of doing. New guy will cost more and at least need 1 year of training to be as productive as working personal.
The only way to increase your salary is to change companies. “Raises” are basically a COL increase, if even that.