Wondering how your pay stacks up against industry standards? Use these graphs to compare engineering salaries by role, region and industry.
Engineering organisations are facing some of the most acute talent shortages in Australia, new research from recruiter Hays reveals.
An overwhelming majority (93 per cent) of engineering employers report skills shortages – the highest of any sector surveyed. However, even as employers compete for talent, salary growth remains relatively modest.
More than one in four (28 per cent) engineering and construction professionals received no salary increase over the past 12 months, and just 41 per cent of engineers reported being satisfied with their current salary.
“Employers are facing acute shortages, but ongoing cost pressures and budget constraints are limiting broad-based salary increases,” said Clare Weston, Business Director – Engineering at Hays.
“Instead, organisations are taking a more targeted approach – directing higher pay toward critical, specialist roles where skills gaps are most acute, rather than lifting salaries across the entire workforce.”
To help engineers understand where they stand in the current market, use the graphs below to compare typical engineering salaries by location, sector and discipline.
Infrastructure, energy and resources
The civil, mechanical and electrical engineering sectors are experiencing the most severe talent shortages, with Hays putting this down to intense cross-industry competition for talent.
That said, salary increases across related fields such as infrastructure, energy and resources have been inconsistent.
“The strongest salary increases in engineering are highly targeted [and] concentrated in specialist and technically critical roles,” Weston said.
“We’re seeing the most significant movement in areas such as civil and structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, land surveying and CAD leadership roles within building services design.”
In the building services sector, salaries increased most among executives and project leaders. Roles such as CAD Manager, Building Services Manager, Operations Manager and Senior Project Manager all saw increases of more than 10 per cent, while entry-level design engineers and CAD drafters saw no increase.
In the energy sector, salary growth was limited, with many roles – including design, electrical and process engineers – receiving no increase since last year.
Salary growth in the rail infrastructure sector was also modest, and increases were concentrated among project managers and track specialists.
Manufacturing
Hays’s data shows 89 per cent of manufacturing organisations are grappling with talent shortages, partly driven by an ageing workforce and lower interest from younger generations in the sector.
“[However], salary growth is not consistent across all roles,” Weston said. “This is creating a two-speed market, where highly specialised engineers command stronger increases, while more generalist positions see slower growth.”
Procurement
As create covered in a recent article, the strategic importance of procurement is likely to rise in the coming years as governments and businesses seek to deliver large infrastructure programs amid workforce shortages and productivity challenges.
Government and defence
Public sector remuneration is typically governed by more structured pay frameworks than those in the private sector, and progression tends to be tied to set classifications and incremental steps rather than shifts in the market.
As a result, salaries in government engineering and defence have remained relatively stable this year.
Is it time for your next career move?
Based on this data, Weston expects workforce mobility among engineers to remain high and potentially accelerate.
“We’re already seeing strong underlying movement, with 36 per cent of engineering professionals actively job hunting and another 34 per cent open to new opportunities,” she said.
Not all of this movement comes down to pay, she added.
“While 31 per cent still move for salary, 29 per cent are now driven by lack of career progression, showing that engineers are increasingly prioritising development opportunities, project exposure, and long-term growth alongside pay.”
If you’re wondering whether to move on from your current role, she suggested adapting to the priorities of the current market.
“Engineers need to approach this market knowing it’s highly selective rather than broadly rewarding,” she said. “It’s important to understand where your role sits, particularly if you have specialist or in-demand skills, which are far more likely to attract stronger increases.”
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Another miss from EA, Technology engineering such as telcos not even a mention here.
Thankyou for the insightful article.
Where are you sourcing your data for Oil & Gas jobs? Seems quite low?