New MechEng graduate with offer in the engineering and tech group. 110k starting salary with no bonuses or anything. Not sure about CL level though. What should my starting CL be? can such be negotiated? should I counter the offer, does hr negotiate?
Thanks, happy to join EM
Hi,
This board can be really useful but it’s frustrating to see so many responses that aren’t actually helpful. Will try to answer your questions without emotions or opinions. I started as a ChemE in the org that is now Eng & Tech (used to be Research & Engineering) 15 years ago. I still work for the company but not in Eng & Tech anymore so info may be a bit dated.
That sounds like a typical offer. We’ve never done bonuses or signing bonuses to my knowledge. I’ve never heard of or seen successful negotiation at the college hire level. I was politely told no when I tried to negotiate mine. But, doesn’t hurt to try.
Your starting CL will be 23 with a BS. If you got a MS, you’d be 24. Typically within 1.5-2 years, there was an automatic promotion that would bump you up 1 CL. Starting CL cannot be negotiated as a college hire. It is simply based on your degree level. Promotions are not coincident with job changes, rather they are CL bumps. With a CL bump, you could expect a higher raise. To give you an idea of how many promotions you could expect over your career, the average Engineering employee in my experience typically retired at CL 27-29.
In my experience there was very little salary difference between BS and MS. Someone else said you’d be better off working for those 2 years and that is completely true. You’d likely be making more $ as a BS after 2 years than an MS coming in.
Salaries curves are benchmarked against similar companies in the industry. Individual salary increases are based on merit and tied to your ranking results. It is possible for inflation to be high, but if their salary survey says XOM salaries are above industry average, then your raise could be little to nothing. That happened with 2022 raises; average was ~2.5%. I’m sure competitors like Shell and Chevron are compared against, not sure who else, but they did say at one forum that we don’t compare ourselves to tech companies. (Despite many former employees leaving for tech companies.)
Hope this helps. Good luck!
@1ryv The kid asked for guidance on whether to take a job offer, not for political opinions or instructions on how to live their life.
@OP The guy I’m replying to is a good example of what you’ll have to deal with daily (i.e., grumpy old men). If you think that’s worth $110k per year and upending your life to relocate, by all means, take the offer.
Bear in mind that Exxon and peer companies work with antiquated and/or obsolete technologies, and that few if any skills learned are transferable outside of O&G. You also won’t have a long-term career at Exxon or any other company like it due to permanent restructuring being the de facto business model across the entire industry.
My suggestion is to start your career in a different industry, especially as a MechE.
You can make more money as an hourly operator or maintenance technician for the number of hours you'll work. At least the hourly folks get paid overtime.
Forego the M3 and keep driving Mom's 10 year old Civic so you can pay off any student loans. The lying SOS in the WH can't make $20k go away. Pay it off and relieve yourself of that albatross. It'll make life easier later on.
Instead of a MS, go to tech school and learn to weld, be a machinist, or be a fabricator.
MS engineering won't help. MBA might help shift from technical to commercial if you desire to move out of engineering. High performance will help you far more than a Masters...if you dedicate the time you spend on a masters and work instead, you will be rated higher and earn far more money. Work your a-s off the first 5 years to get on a fast track...then get masters
Eh, you’re a mechE, xom holds ChemE to a such higher regard so just come to terms with that now
If you went to a shi**y school, then yes. If not, then no.
Of course you should! You deserve this place…
Yes. No further explanation needed.
@OP You asked this question already and got a bunch of answers.
The bottom line is that Exxon is a lousy place to work, and there’s no future in O&G. Only take the job if you really need the money.
Since you’re likely a 22 yr old kid here are some real answers.
You’ll likely start at CL 23. That’s the classic CL for a new hire ME bachelor right out of college. Don’t be surprised if you out you in a group that doesn’t relate to what your bachelor degree.
Your CL doesn’t necessarily mean more money. Plenty folks go up a CL with no raise. CLs are salary bands and also determine your ranking group. CL 26,27,28 ranked against each other 23-25 etc.
if you stay in CL 23 for 5 years and get raises each year close to 5% you’ll be paid out of 23 band and into 24 band. I made more than my CL 25 buddy as a CL24. I had a good manager during my CL 23 years.
The only way to negotiate is if you have another offer from a competitor, but they will likely get bu-t hurt and rescind the offer. In a way, your demonstrating doing what best for you but also that you aren’t going to be easy to groom into a push over “yes wo/man”.
If you don’t have any other offers, take it and get as much training and self training you can. Find a good mentor. Variety is the spice of life. Get a Masters in PE or an MBA. Stay your 1 year after graduation so you don’t have to pay them back and GTFO.
Not sure if you should ask about CL coming in. I got the impression it was taboo as my manager was reluctant to provide the information. Anyone else want to comment?
Take it if you really need the job. Get the experience. Keep in mind O&G goes through cycles and it is a shrinking industry. Many of the the new hires were PIP during COVID or they quit. The ones that were PIP really should not have been.
Don’t get too fixated on pay or CL. Go for opportunities to to gain skills to build a long term career anywhere.
Regarding the MS degree, it only enables getting a foot in the door if it comes from the right school. No added value after that.
Raises are frequent and good 1st 5 years.
1st 5 years is mostly an evaluation period. You will be more susceptible to layoff
I have an MS. It does not help your career. If you think you can succeed with a BS, the 2 years worth of work experience and promotions are worth more than any slight pay increase.
ExxonMobil pays based on YEE….which is age-18. So if you took 2 years to get your MS, your starting salary would be slightly higher… but it is really just because you are older.
My experience is that few companies pay extra for an MS degree. You may still want to get one, but do it for personal reasons instead of pay/career.
Yes. If you taken advice from a layoff board that is the best deal you can get in the industry
Only join if you have a burning passion for the oil and gas industry. There is a lot of burdensome corporate BS here. Most people hate it. All young people seriously hate it. Only a passion for your work will see you through. Also, only take a position at a facility or manufacturing site. The Spring campus positions are poorly defined in general, but, esp for new hires. The money is good, but your day to day will svck. If the position is Spring campus then take the money if you have to and have a two year exit plan. Good luck
How do you feel about hotdesking?