Microsystems Engineers: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Job description

Microsystems Engineers research, design, develop, or test microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices.

• Create schematics and physical layouts of integrated microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) components or packaged assemblies consistent with process, functional, or package constraints.
• Evaluate materials, fabrication methods, joining methods, surface treatments, or packaging to ensure acceptable processing, performance, cost, sustainability, or availability.
• Refine final microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) design to optimize design for target dimensions, physical tolerances, or processing constraints.
• Investigate characteristics such as cost, performance, or process capability of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device designs, using simulation or modeling software.

Salary

Microsystems Engineers with little to no experience tend to make between $50750 and $69890 while the more experienced ones can earn over $126200 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Microsystems Engineer is to move to a higher paying state like DC. Right now, the highest paying states for Microsystems Engineers are DC, MD, VA, AL and NJ.

However, a higher pay at DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at DC might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Microsystems Engineer is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Microsystems Engineers what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Master’s Degree followed by a Bachelor’s Degree.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Microsystems Engineer.

What is the job like

70% of Microsystems Engineers said they were satisfied with their job and 60% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Is this right for me

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally..

They also like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

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