A person working as Mechanical Engineer in Johannesburg typically earns around 29,700 ZAR. Salaries range from 15,400 ZAR (lowest) to 45,400 ZAR (highest).
This is the average salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Mechanical Engineer salaries in Johannesburg vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.
![]() 15,400 ZAR |
![]() 27,000 ZAR |
![]() 45,400 ZAR |
Salaries for the position Mechanical Engineer in Johannesburg range from 15,400 ZAR (starting salary) to 45,400 ZAR (maximum salary). It should be noted that the given figure is not the legally mandated minimum wage; rather, it represents the lowest figure reported in a salary survey that included thousands of participants and professionals from all regions of the country.
With a median salary of 27,000 ZAR, half of the professionals who work as Mechanical Engineer in Johannesburg earn less than this amount, and the other half earn more. The median salary denotes the middle value of salaries. Ideally, you would want to belong to the group earning more than the median salary, located on the right side of the salary distribution graph.
The median is closely associated with two other values known as the 25th and 75th percentiles. By examining the salary distribution chart, it can be determined that 25% of professionals employed as Mechanical Engineer in Johannesburg earn less than 22,400 ZAR, while 75% earn more. Similarly, the chart shows that 75% earn less than 30,700 ZAR while 25% earn more.
To provide a better understanding of expected salaries, we categorized the frequently occurring salaries into different ranges. This approach provides a more precise representation of salary distribution for the job title Mechanical Engineer in Johannesburg compared to simply calculating the average. The majority of reported salaries, approximately 65%, fall within the range of 17,500 ZAR to 24,000 ZAR. About 20% of salaries are below the 17,500 ZAR mark, while 10% fall within the range of 24,000 ZAR to 26,900 ZAR. Only 5% of individuals have salaries exceeding 26,900 ZAR.
0 - 2 Years | 17,500 ZAR | |
2 - 5 Years | +34% | 23,500 ZAR |
5 - 10 Years | +30% | 30,600 ZAR |
10 - 15 Years | +21% | 37,000 ZAR |
15 - 20 Years | +9% | 40,500 ZAR |
20+ Years | +5% | 42,600 ZAR |
The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally, the more years of experience the higher the wage. We broke down salaries by experience level for people working as Mechanical Engineer and this is what we found.
Employees with less than two years of experience earn approximately 17,500 ZAR.
While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 23,500 ZAR, 34% more than someone with less than two year's experience.
Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 30,600 ZAR, 30% more than someone with two to five years of experience.
Additionally, professionals whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 37,000 ZAR, 21% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.
If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 40,500 ZAR, 9% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.
Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 42,600 ZAR, 5% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.
Bachelor's Degree | 24,700 ZAR | |
Master's Degree | +39% | 34,300 ZAR |
We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We broke down salaries by education level for the position Mechanical Engineer in order to make a comparison.
Employees at this education level have an average salary of 24,700 ZAR.
At this level, the average salary becomes 34,300 ZAR, 39% more than the previous level.
A Master's degree program or any post-graduate program in South Africa costs anywhere from 156,000 ZAR to 469,000 ZAR and lasts approximately two years. That is quite an investment.
You can't really expect any salary increases during the study period, assuming you already have a job. In most cases, a salary review is conducted once education is completed and the degree has been attained.
Many people pursue higher education as a tactic to switch to a higher-paying job. The numbers seem to support the theory. The average increase in compensation while changing jobs is approximately 10% more than the customary salary increment.
If you can afford the costs of higher education, the return on investment is definitely worth it. You should be able to recover the costs in roughly a year or so.
Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? For the people who work as Mechanical Engineer in South Africa, the average difference between the salary of male and female employees is 12%.
Male | 33,200 ZAR | |
Female | -11% | 29,700 ZAR |
Individuals working as Mechanical Engineer in South Africa are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately % every months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 8% granted to employees every 18 months.
The term Annual Salary Increase usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rare that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one-year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase.
The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 / Increase Frequency
Not all compensation increases are reflected directly in the salary. Some companies offer upgraded packages to their staff instead of cash money. The figures displayed here account only for direct increments to the base salary.
100% of surveyed staff reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while % said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.
Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from % to % of their annual salary.
Received Bonus | % | |
No Bonus | 100% |
The most standard form of bonus, where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance.
Company Performance BonusesOccasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization.
Goal-Based BonusesGranted upon achieving an important goal or milestone.
Holiday / End of Year BonusesThese types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token.
People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned.
The main two types of jobs | |
Revenue Generators | Supporting Cast |
Employees that are directly involved in generating revenue or profit for the organization. Their field of expertise usually matches the type of business. | Employees that support and facilitate the work of revenue generators. Their expertise is usually different from that of the core business operations. |
Example: | Example: |
Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation.
Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid.
The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Usually, jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaried jobs pay a fixed amount regardless of the hours worked. Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff.
The minimum pay rate per hour for people working as Mechanical Engineer in Johannesburg is 89 ZAR. This is the minimum as per the gathered data in the salary survey not the minimum hourly rate mandated by law.
Job Title | Average Salary |
Engineering | ![]() | |
3D Printing Engineer | 26,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Acoustics Engineer | 27,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Assembly Engineering Technician | 22,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Assistant Chief Engineer | 31,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Associate Engineer | 26,300 ZAR | ![]() |
AutoCAD Drafter | 17,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Autocad Operator | 18,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Automation Engineer | 31,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Avionic System Support Engineer | 27,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Biochemical Engineer | 28,400 ZAR | ![]() |
BMS Engineer | 27,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Bridge and Lock Tender | 16,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Broadcast Engineer | 28,600 ZAR | ![]() |
CAD Design Engineer | 30,900 ZAR | ![]() |
CAD Designer | 18,000 ZAR | ![]() |
CAE Engineer | 29,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Ceramics Engineer | 27,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Chemical Engineer | 28,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Civil Drafter | 17,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Civil Engineer | 30,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Civil Site Engineer | 29,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Civil Technician | 18,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Cognitive Engineer | 27,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Commissioning Engineer | 29,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Communications Engineer | 30,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Condition Monitoring Engineer | 24,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Contract Associate Engineer | 28,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Contract Engineer | 27,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Control Systems Engineer | 28,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Controls Engineer | 29,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Controls Software Engineer | 26,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Corrosion Engineer | 27,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Design Engineer | 28,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Director of Engineering | 57,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Drafter | 18,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Drafting Manager | 32,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Drilling Engineer | 28,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Drilling Foreman | 9,230 ZAR | ![]() |
Electrical Draughtsman | 14,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Electrical Engineer | 31,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Electrical Engineering Manager | 43,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Electromechanical Engineering Technologist | 32,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Electromechanical Equipment Assembler | 15,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Energy Engineer | 30,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Engine Assembler | 13,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineer | 30,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Account Manager | 32,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Chief Designer | 31,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Consultant | 37,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Key Account Manager | 40,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Lab Technician | 26,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Manager | 41,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Planning Manager | 39,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Production Manager | 52,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Project Analyst | 35,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Project Coordinator | 32,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Project Director | 56,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Project Leader | 35,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Project Manager | 40,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Research and Development Manager | 48,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Safety Coordinator | 23,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Sales Manager | 39,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Technician | 22,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Engineering Technologist | 23,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Environmental Engineer | 29,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Equipment Engineer | 26,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Equipment Engineering Manager | 36,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Estimator | 24,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Fabrication Specialist | 20,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Fabricator | 12,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Facade Engineer | 28,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Fiber Analyst | 16,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Field Engineer | 30,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Field Engineering Manager | 48,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Fire Engineer | 29,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Fitter and Turner | 9,150 ZAR | ![]() |
Forestry Strategic Planner | 34,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Generation Engineer | 30,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Genetic Engineer | 31,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Geological Engineer | 31,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Geotechnical Engineer | 32,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Heavy Equipment Mechanic | 14,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Highway Engineer | 28,900 ZAR | ![]() |
HSE Professional | 28,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Human Machine Interface Engineer | 27,500 ZAR | ![]() |
HVAC Engineer | 29,500 ZAR | ![]() |
HVAC Supervisor | 27,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Industrial Engineer | 28,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Industrial Engineering Technologist | 27,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Instrument Engineer | 27,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Instrument Technician | 16,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Instrumentation and Control Engineer | 28,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Instrumentation Designer | 23,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Instrumentation Engineer | 29,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Instrumentation Manager | 29,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Irrigation Engineer | 27,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Licensed Aircraft Engineer | 32,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Locomotive Engineer | 26,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Maintenance Engineer | 28,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Maintenance Fitter | 10,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Maintenance Manager | 30,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Manufacturing Engineer | 27,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Marine Engineer | 30,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Materials Engineer | 28,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Materials Researcher | 28,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Materials Technician | 21,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Mechanical and Electrical Engineer | 32,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Mechanical Design Engineer | 30,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Mechanical Designer | 26,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Mechanical Engineer | 29,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Mechanical Engineering Manager | 41,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Mechanical Inspector | 28,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Mechatronics Engineer | 29,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Mining Engineer | 29,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Nanotechnology Engineer | 30,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Natural Language Processing Engineer | 32,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Oil and Petrochemical Engineer | 32,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Optical Engineer | 28,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Optical Instrument Assembler | 14,100 ZAR | ![]() |
PCB Assembler | 11,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Photonics Engineer | 31,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Photonics Technician | 24,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Pipeline Engineer | 25,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Piping Designer | 16,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Piping Engineer | 26,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Planning Engineer | 28,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Pressure Vessel Inspector | 14,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Principal Cost Engineer | 30,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Principal Engineer | 28,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Principal Support Engineer | 29,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Process Engineer | 28,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Process Operator | 17,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Product Development Engineer | 31,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Product Development Technician | 21,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Product Engineer | 30,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Product Safety Engineer | 27,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Engineer | 27,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Project Engineer | 29,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Proposal Manager | 37,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Purchasing Engineer | 26,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Quality Assurance Engineer | 29,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Rail Engineer | 28,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Regional Field Engineer | 32,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Remote Sensing Engineer | 27,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Robotics Engineer | 31,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Robotics Technician | 24,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Safety Engineer | 30,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Safety Inspector | 23,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Safety Manager | 34,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Safety Officer | 14,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Sales Engineer | 30,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Scheduling Engineer | 27,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Security Engineer | 32,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Service Engineer | 31,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Smart Home Engineer | 31,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Solar Engineer | 29,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Staff Engineer | 29,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Static Equipment Engineer | 28,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Stationary Engineer | 25,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Stress Engineer | 27,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Structural Analysis Engineer | 28,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Structural Designer | 25,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Structural Engineer | 29,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Structural Technician | 18,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Subsea Engineer | 37,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Supply Chain Specialist | 29,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Surveyor | 21,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Technical Affairs Officer | 15,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Technical Assistant | 14,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Technical Engineer | 25,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Technical Support Engineer | 24,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Tender Engineer | 25,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Test Development Engineer | 27,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Test Engineer | 29,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Transportation Engineer | 27,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Urban Engineer | 29,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Validation Engineer | 25,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Verification Engineer | 27,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Wastewater Engineer | 28,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Wind Energy Engineer | 29,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Wind Energy Operations Manager | 40,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Wireless Engineer | 30,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Work Planner | 21,100 ZAR | ![]() |
City | Average Salary |
Cape Town | 34,000 ZAR |
Johannesburg | 29,700 ZAR |
Where can you get paid more, working in a private company or the government? The difference between the public or government sector salaries and the private sector salaries in South Africa is 7% on average across all career fields.
Private Sector | 30,400 ZAR | |
Public Sector | +7% | 32,400 ZAR |
A good and competitive compensation would range anywhere between 27,000 ZAR and 30,700 ZAR. This is a very rough estimate. Experience and education play a very huge part in the final earnings.
All salary and compensation figures displayed here are gross salary figures, that is the salary before tax deductions. Because taxes may differ across sectors and locations, it is difficult to accurately calculate the net salary after tax for every career.
The base salary for a careers like Mechanical Engineer in Johannesburg ranges from 15,400 ZAR to 22,400 ZAR. The base salary depends on many factors including experience and education. It is not easy to provide a figure with very little information, so take this range with a grain of salt.
Both are indicators. If your salary is higher than both the average and the median then you are doing very well. If your salary is lower than both, then many people earn more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. How to compare your salary