What a jumble of messages! For me, when looking at a job and it's remuneration, it's no good looking purely at the £ that end up in your bank account. You can have a high salary but if you are then paying for all your study materials, subscriptions etc you can be worse off than someone with a lesser salary but a better overall package. You could even go so far as to look at the amount of leave (for holiday as well as study) and don't forget about pension arrangements, healthcare etc. I haven't a clue how engineers fair in this type of regard. When comparing with other professions I think we fair very well. Most employers reward exam passes so salary growth is good. I'd dispute that we rely solely on past learning. Thats what CPD is all about - ensuring we remain at the cutting edge. There are always new issues cropping up. Perhaps only qualifieds are really aware of the extent of this. And don't forget overall how happy are you with your employer? Is it giving you the right progression/experience? Don't just jump ship to earn more money. It could be 'out of the frying pan into the fire'. Yes the South tends to pay more, but if you don't like the speed of London, don't go there. If you are really good at your job, and feel underpaid, use your influence to state your case at the appropriate time. It may pay dividends.
