re: Electrical Engineering

Engineering firms won't have pensions. 401k match yes. All are a little different. Current one I'm at does 100% for first 3% and 50% for next 2%. 100% vested immediately.

Mine does. I work for a top 3 Oil Major.

I'll break down my compensation package for you.

My base salary is $123600k. I have a bonus target of 15% annually. It's based on my performance and the company performance. I've had it as low as 8% and as high a 26%. I get 300 shares of preferred stock annually.

I get 4 weeks of vacation based on my years experience, not my time with the company. Will go to 5 with 20 years experience and 6 at 30.

I have a 401K that in year 2-5 of employment is funded with 2.5% of my salary regardless of my contributions. Years 5-9 is 5%. Year 10 and beyond is 10%.

I also have a pension that is based on a point scale. My points equate to my age plus years of service. At 80 points, I've bypassed the point of deductions in my pension, however, there is a sticking point that for every year before I'm 59.5 they deduct 5% of my pension. My pension is an annuity. It's 60% of the average of my final 3 years salary.

Once past 30 years of service I retain my medical benefits.

I have several friends that work for other oil majors and all our packages are relatively similar with relatively similar pay scales.

With time, you could easily get to $175k with a 20% bonus target and 600 shares of stock. To progress past that point you'll need to move into a management role.