Your first real raise feels like oxygen. The second is smaller. By year five you are the dependable mechanical engineer who closes DFMEA gaps, babysits packaging drop tests, and herds signatures through ECO gates. The number on your pay stub stops moving like a career and starts moving like inflation, see Reason #18.
The public data tell you why. The median annual wage for mechanical engineers was $102,320 in May 2024, with the top tenth clearing about $161,000 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], 2025). Electrical engineers report a $111,910 median, electronics engineers $127,590, and chemical engineers $121,860 in the same period. Software developers live on a different curve entirely: a $133,080 median with a 90th percentile above $211,000 (BLS, 2025). The spread matters. For mechanical engineering, the 75th percentile sits around $127,000, which reads like a ceiling you can touch (BLS, 2024). Your raise potential compresses just when your peers’ curves start to pull away.
The structure of the work keeps the lid tight. You are hired into cost centers, not profit centers, so your value is framed as overhead, see Reason #23. When a casting tolerance shifts, a technician shims the fixture to keep the cell alive; you rewrite the validation plan so the data survives review. The vibration rig queue dictates your calendar; your authority extends to the test slot you begged for, not the design decision you would change. See Reason #20 at https://100reasonstoavoidme.blogspot.com/2025/08/reason-20-plant-picks-your-zip-code.html.
Oversupply flattens raises too, see Reason #1 and Reason #24. When new graduates can slot into your seat, managers feel little pressure to bid up your compensation. NACE’s latest update shows engineering starting offers essentially flat for the Class of 2024, up less than one percent, while computer and information sciences remain the top-paid category despite a small dip (National Association of Colleges and Employers [NACE], 2025). That is how a plateau begins.
Early optimism fades in the pipeline. Year after year you push REACH certificates, chase ERP/BOM mismatches, and schedule thermal soaks so a unit can limp through review. Promotions track paperwork ownership, not design authority. If you want real headroom, you often leave mechanical engineering.
You will work harder for smaller increments, and the market will call it normal.
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Mechanical engineers. Occupational Outlook Handbook. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/mechanical-engineers.htm
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Electrical and electronics engineers. Occupational Outlook Handbook. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electrical-and-electronics-engineers.htm
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Chemical engineers. Occupational Outlook Handbook. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/chemical-engineers.htm
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024). Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2023: Mechanical engineers (percentiles). https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes172141.htm
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers. Occupational Outlook Handbook. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/software-developers.htm
National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2025). Average starting salary for Class of 2024 shows mild gain. https://www.naceweb.org/job-market/compensation/average-starting-salary-for-class-of-2024-shows-mild-gain
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