How much is a UK graduate engineer’s salary in 2018?

The Engineer's Salary Survey has found that graduate/junior engineers earn, on average, £30,557 per year in 2018; compared to an average of £47,972 for senior engineers/managers and £72,072 for engineering directors or above.

Graduate/junior engineer£30,557
Senior engineer/manager£47,972
Director or above£72,072

*All data from The Engineer Salary Survey 2018. 

As in 2017, junior engineers in the chemicals, pharmaceuticals and medical industry had the highest average salaries in 2018, at £36,838. This is once again over £10,000 more than the average salary for junior engineers in the telecoms, electronics and utilities industry, who took home £25,958 in 2018.

Chemicals & Pharma/Medical£36,838
Aerospace£32,920
Oil & Gas£32,846
Materials£32,739
Energy/Renewables/Nuclear£32,581
Automotive£32,163
Rail/Civil & Structural£29,194
Defence & Security/Marine£29,158
Academia£28,818
None of these£28,446
Food & Drink/Consumer Goods£27,802
Telecoms & Utilities/Electronics£25,958

*All data from The Engineer Salary Survey 2018. 

Routes into the engineering industry

When it comes to choosing their route into the profession, engineers are remarkably consistent.

Just as in the previous two years, half of all engineers surveyed have a degree. Meanwhile, 38.9 per cent of engineers entered industry through an apprenticeship scheme, a very similar figure to last year (38.5 per cent).