Engineers in global development: How much do they make?

The persistent perceived notion about working in global development is that it means earning a low income. So it’s not surprising if professionals from the private sector would have second thoughts about joining the development industry. But is that the case for engineers? In a recent Devex webinar on STEM careers, Khanjan Mehta, founding director of the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship Program at Pennsylvania State University, shared that salaries of professionals he interviewed for a book he released in 2015 ranged wildly — from $30,000 to $300,000 a year depending on experience, education level and employer. The book, “Solving Problems That Matter (And Getting Paid for It)” includes profiles and salaries of 100 science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates at different types of global nonprofit and for-profit organizations, based mainly in the U.S. Curious what some engineers working in global development actually make? Here are some examples of real professionals from the book. A senior program manager for a professional association focused on international development engineering Location: United States Years of experience: ~10 Education: BS, Mechanical Engineering Salary: $80,000 to $100,000 An executive director for a professional association focused on global sustainable engineering Location: United States Years of experience: ~5 Education: PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering and BS, Engineering Physics Salary: $40,000 A technical officer for water supply and sanitation with a multi-lateral international health organization Location: Switzerland Years of experience: 20+ Education: PhD, Environmental Engineering and MSc, Environmental Engineering Salary: ~ $140,000 A division chief of higher education solutions for a bi-lateral aid agency Location: United States Years of experience: ~15 Education: PhD, Polymer Science and Engineering, BS, Material Science and Engineering Salary: ~$100,000 A senior associate and innovation consultant to multi-lateral international food agency at a large consulting firm Location: United States Years of experience: ~2 Education: BS, Civil and Environmental Engineering Salary: $75,000 A project manager for product development for an international NGO Location: United States Years of experience: ~20 Education: MBA, Entrepreneurship, BS, Product Design Engineering Salary: $500 a day A cold chain technology and innovation analyst for an international NGO Location: United States Years of experience: ~4 Education: BS, Mechanical Engineering Salary: ~$55,000 A sustainability engineer for a development consulting firm Location: United States Years of experience: ~10 Education: MBA, Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise, BS, Environmental Engineering Salary: ~$70,000 An associate director for a local NGO Location: India Years of experience: ~10 Education: PhD, Computer and Information Science, BE, Electronics Engineering Salary: ~$55,000 – 65,000 Tell us, do these salaries sound to high, too low or just about right for global development engineers? Please leave your comments below.