The remuneration and conditions of service depend on the industry and its function. Those engineers, who choose to work in the private sector, could negotiate their terms and conditions with the management themselves. Most fresh engineers start at Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 per month, with allowances. Those with an additional management degree in addition to engineering can command salaries of Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 per month. 

In the government sector, the salary scale for engineers starts at Rs 1,640-Rs 2,900 for Junior Engineers. The basic scale for Assistant Engineers is Rs 2,000-Rs 3,500. Assistant Executive Engineers draw salaries in the range of Rs 2,200-Rs 4,000. Executive Engineers get Rs 3,000-Rs 4,500, while Superintendent Engineers receive salaries in the range of Rs 4,000-Rs 6,000.

In the US, according to a 2001 salary survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, bachelor’s degree candidates in mechanical engineering received starting offers averaging $48,426 a year, master’s degree candidates had offers averaging $55,994, and Ph.D. candidates were initially offered $72,096.