Soldworks Pay

It depends. Are you a degreed engineer or a CAD operator? Can you run a whole project (BOM development and tracking, material selection, testing, etc) or do you need substantial oversight from someone more experienced in the job? Big company or small? Are you fast, slow, or average? How are your problem solving skills? How are your interviewing skills? How are your negotiating skills?

We have a hard time finding new associates with the right mix for our company. We rely on our designers to be engineers first and CAD jockeys second. It easy to teach someone which buttons to press but difficult to teach someone design engineering.

In southern CA, 55k would be near the bottom of the market for a talented design engineer with 3 years experience. If you can't get that, you're not all that good, aren't trying that hard, or don't know the right people. If you don't have a degree (BSE or equiv, and not from Univ of Phoenix or the like), I wouldn't expect 55k to be within your reach with the same 3 years. I know it's "only a piece of paper", but so is a $100 bill. It matters.

In the midwest that number might be the middle or top of the market. I don't know since I don't live there. Geography does seem to be a huge factor in this industry and salary survey's don't adequately capture this.

MHill