by Chris Moulder » Thu Feb 18, 2010 4:35 pm
PhysGuy wrote:Guest wrote:Does anyone know the typical starting salary out of college for the DOD for someone with only an undergraduate degree.
I think BS is an automatic pay grade of GS 6. I think masters is GS 8 and Ph.D is GS 11. (I'm not positive of the Masters and Ph.D levels)
Okay, here's most of the stuff regarding pay:
There are two systems that engineers use right now, YD and GS. GS is the old system, YD is the new one that congress just killed.
GS has 15 grades and 10 steps within each grade. Under this system, starting salaries for engineers are almost universally lower, and you get step increase every certain number of months. There are also QSI, Quality Step Increases, within your grade for performance. To receive a higher pay grade, you either need a more advanced degree, have to work an ungodly number of years, or receive a promotion. Unfortunately, you can't just be promoted because you deserve more money, there has to be an available position. Most BS right out of college engineers enter as a GS-8, which will pay somewhere between $45k and $70k.
YD is a pay band system with 3 grades and some number of steps in each grade covering a wide pay range. Increases are merit based. You will not get a step increase because you have worked some number of months. Under this system, most BS engineers right out of college will be YD1 target 2 or YD2.
To put it bluntly, pay will vary greatly. If you're an engineer on the GS system, I feel very sorry for you. If you're lucky enough to get on the YD system (none of you will because new hires are frozen sometime in May). There are a few bases that are the exception. For instance, at Edwards, going back to the GS is unacceptable, however, because they piloted the YD system (on a slightly different scale) they might be able to switch back.
In my case (Edwards AFB), my starting salary will be between $62,000 and $68,000 depending on my GPA. I have a friend who will be making ~$45,000 on the GS scale (sorry, forget the base).
Basically, it's the luck of the draw. But regardless of what happens, most of you will only be required to work 1 or 2 years. After this point, you can either move to the private industry and have more experience than any of your peers, or you can start shopping around on
www.USAJobs.gov for a base willing to bring you in at a higher grade.
[quote="PhysGuy"][quote="Guest"]Does anyone know the typical starting salary out of college for the DOD for someone with only an undergraduate degree.[/quote]
I think BS is an automatic pay grade of GS 6. I think masters is GS 8 and Ph.D is GS 11. (I'm not positive of the Masters and Ph.D levels)[/quote]
Okay, here's most of the stuff regarding pay:
There are two systems that engineers use right now, YD and GS. GS is the old system, YD is the new one that congress just killed.
GS has 15 grades and 10 steps within each grade. Under this system, starting salaries for engineers are almost universally lower, and you get step increase every certain number of months. There are also QSI, Quality Step Increases, within your grade for performance. To receive a higher pay grade, you either need a more advanced degree, have to work an ungodly number of years, or receive a promotion. Unfortunately, you can't just be promoted because you deserve more money, there has to be an available position. Most BS right out of college engineers enter as a GS-8, which will pay somewhere between $45k and $70k.
YD is a pay band system with 3 grades and some number of steps in each grade covering a wide pay range. Increases are merit based. You will not get a step increase because you have worked some number of months. Under this system, most BS engineers right out of college will be YD1 target 2 or YD2.
To put it bluntly, pay will vary greatly. If you're an engineer on the GS system, I feel very sorry for you. If you're lucky enough to get on the YD system (none of you will because new hires are frozen sometime in May). There are a few bases that are the exception. For instance, at Edwards, going back to the GS is unacceptable, however, because they piloted the YD system (on a slightly different scale) they might be able to switch back.
In my case (Edwards AFB), my starting salary will be between $62,000 and $68,000 depending on my GPA. I have a friend who will be making ~$45,000 on the GS scale (sorry, forget the base).
Basically, it's the luck of the draw. But regardless of what happens, most of you will only be required to work 1 or 2 years. After this point, you can either move to the private industry and have more experience than any of your peers, or you can start shopping around on www.USAJobs.gov for a base willing to bring you in at a higher grade.