a race engineer's pay

[cfditya]

i know that F1 race engineers are rated well and sould be earning quite a lot as they work a lot.......

But i was wondering........the race engineers in Gp2.....do they also work as hard as the F1 engineers...and how are they paid?????

[miqi23]

Well not really, all of them dont get paid that well at all. Only the top guys get loads of money.

I know the working hours are crazy but if you are passionate about it you will not mind doing it at all. Most people do it for a few years and they move on with life and start doing similar jobs and earn way more than they used to do before.

When you work for an F1 team at a Junior level, pay shouldnt stop you from working hard. This is where you start and if you could swim all the way you could start expecting loads of cash coming in.

[mep]

But what do they earn?
Not the top guys who everybody knows.
Those noname engineers?
Has anybody figures?

[West]

There was a member here who used to work for Electromotive, essentially Nissan's factory support group for prototypes, in America. He said if you don't mind getting paid in peanuts and living in poverty, and working long hours, then you should go for it. Of course, that was the 80's, but that idea may have not changed for today. He then switched jobs and made a lot more money for doing a lot less.

Like miqi said, stick it out; it will be a great experience and after that you'll have the experience to do almost any other engineering job. Not many people can say they've worked in F1.

As for some numbers... there was a survey a while ago in F1 Racing Magazine that the average salary in F1 was 80 grand, about two years ago.

[miqi23]

West, I am sure you are talking about those top guys earning 80 grand or so. These are top people like Race Engineers and Designers with loads of experience.

To answer mep's question, I believe it all depends on experience. You may start low but will get pay rises once you prove your self. Moreover, if you are considering applying for a position in an F1 team and expecting a so called 'noname' salary, I would say something in the 20s or may be 19 which is not bad to be honest. However, similar amounts or perhaps more can be earned from different and less demanding jobs.

A Motorsport consultancy that I know of pays about 24k to an Aero Engineer with good experience, which according to me is less. Another Motorsport Aero company which had worked with four F1 teams in the past offers 21K to a new Aero Engineer with an MSc and 22K to the same Engineer with a PhD.
It is peanuts but once you learn how they do things you can change jobs and earn more...

[Tom]

In Steve Matchet's book he mentioned being paid around 23k after 4 years service to Benetton, nearly fifteen years ago

[allan]

guys, are these salaries per month or per year? because both ways it's ridiculous!

[cfditya]

guys, are these salaries per month or per year? because both ways it's ridiculous!

......SAME QUESTION.....FOR me too.....

[cfditya]

and guys........i specifically asked ABOUT GP2.....GP2 guys.......though the above replies were very informative!!!!!!!!!(about F1)

[miqi23]

cfditya, to be honest it all boils down to your experience. Most people come from a lower class to a GP2 series and get paid more due to their previous experience. Some may start as a new comer directly in GP2.

There is no rule of thumb and depends on your job role too. A mechanic in GP2 can be as demanding as F1, however Aero could be less demanding affecting the pay scale I believe. You know things like that!

[West]

West, I am sure you are talking about those top guys earning 80 grand or so. These are top people like Race Engineers and Designers with loads of experience.

To answer mep's question, I believe it all depends on experience. You may start low but will get pay rises once you prove your self. Moreover, if you are considering applying for a position in an F1 team and expecting a so called 'noname' salary, I would say something in the 20s or may be 19 which is not bad to be honest. However, similar amounts or perhaps more can be earned from different and less demanding jobs.

A Motorsport consultancy that I know of pays about 24k to an Aero Engineer with good experience, which according to me is less. Another Motorsport Aero company which had worked with four F1 teams in the past offers 21K to a new Aero Engineer with an MSc and 22K to the same Engineer with a PhD.
It is peanuts but once you learn how they do things you can change jobs and earn more...

I meant $80K US; should have stated that earlier in my post. Again, that is an average, but what may make that number intersting is that I forgot if those numbers figured in the salaries of the top drivers. Still, 80K US, at least to me, is a lot, especially for an F1 job.

[persovik]

The thing you have to remember when you look at the wages earned in motorsports is that 99% of the people involved don't do it for the money.
The path into a reasonably paid racing-job might have changed in recent years, more people are now recruited into the established teams straight from college, but there are still many that have started in the junior formulaes, working for free, maybe even paying for their own travel, then being recruited into a team that will actually pay for travel and hotel, and even give you som pocket-money when things are good (normally early in the season before all the money is spent ). If you are lucky, somebody might come along and offer you an actual job with wages, maybe part time to cover the racing season. And so on......
Given this tradition, race teams would be slightly stupid to recruit unproven staff at good wages when dedicated and experienced staff can be had for next to nothing. I know that the established teams now are behaving more like any other industry, emplying trainees and what have you, but that havent changed the fact that dedication count for a lot, and that any question of pay will be taken as a sign that maybe you are not there for the right reason.

[miqi23]

West, I am sure you are talking about those top guys earning 80 grand or so. These are top people like Race Engineers and Designers with loads of experience.

To answer mep's question, I believe it all depends on experience. You may start low but will get pay rises once you prove your self. Moreover, if you are considering applying for a position in an F1 team and expecting a so called 'noname' salary, I would say something in the 20s or may be 19 which is not bad to be honest. However, similar amounts or perhaps more can be earned from different and less demanding jobs.

A Motorsport consultancy that I know of pays about 24k to an Aero Engineer with good experience, which according to me is less. Another Motorsport Aero company which had worked with four F1 teams in the past offers 21K to a new Aero Engineer with an MSc and 22K to the same Engineer with a PhD.
It is peanuts but once you learn how they do things you can change jobs and earn more...

I meant $80K US; should have stated that earlier in my post. Again, that is an average, but what may make that number intersting is that I forgot if those numbers figured in the salaries of the top drivers. Still, 80K US, at least to me, is a lot, especially for an F1 job.

Sorry, I meant 24K in GBP and not US Dollars

[Tom]

allan wrote:

guys, are these salaries per month or per year? because both ways it's ridiculous!

per year I'm afraid, no doubt they all deserve that much per month for the 72+ hours the engineers work but the teams don't see it that way.

[effuno]

WEST , as far as i can rem the 80k they(f1 racing) quoted was excluding the top engg (and ofcourse drivers ) who earn in millions or around .


i got no idea abt wat these guys r paid , but there was another thread(i hav an interview) on these things in which many were advicing 25k(uk) for a beginer cfd aero !


and MIQI does any one of the motorsport consultants take in inexperienced aerodynamists ? and cud u giv me some such consultant's names? (cud be of help to me once i start job hunt after my ms... some 2 yrs from now.....(hopefully).. )

thanks in advance