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.