The Engineers Fix Kit
Built for engineers.
Engineers search the salary number and how to negotiate it. The leaks sit next to the paycheck: an offer accepted without checking the data, stock income taxed twice because the broker form shows the wrong basis, a match left unvested on the way out the door, a sign-on bonus with a payback clause, license costs paid out of pocket, and consulting quotes priced like salary. I wrote this kit so you can check each one against your own offer letters, statements and returns.
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The 8 leaks it covers
5 you can close it · 2 the other side owes it · 1 a pro decides
- Offer accepted without checking it against the published wage dataWhere to look first: Write down your full package: base, bonus target, stock grant and vesting schedule, match, and paid time off.Keep it from coming back: Recheck the BLS figures every spring and before any review.You can close it
- Stock sales taxed twice because the broker form shows the wrong basisWhere to look first: Pull every Form 1099-B for stock you sold from RSUs or an employee stock purchase plan.Keep it from coming back: Save each vesting confirmation the day shares vest.A pro decides
- Retirement match left unvested when changing jobsWhere to look first: Find your plan's vesting schedule in the summary plan description.Keep it from coming back: Check your vesting date each year at open enrollment.You can close it
- Sign-on or relocation money with a payback clause nobody calendaredWhere to look first: Pull your offer letter and any sign-on, relocation or training agreement.Keep it from coming back: Calendar every payback end date the day you sign.You can close it
- License, exam and continuing education costs paid out of pocketWhere to look first: List what you paid in the last three years for the FE or PE exam, license renewals, professional development hours, and society dues.Keep it from coming back: Submit each receipt the month you pay.You can close it
- Salaried but possibly not exempt from overtimeWhere to look first: Check how you are paid: salary or hourly, and your weekly pay.Keep it from coming back: Ask again whenever your pay basis or title changes.The other side owes it
- Consulting work priced like a salaryWhere to look first: If you consult on a 1099, list what your employer used to cover: health insurance, retirement match, paid time off, equipment, and half of payroll taxes.Keep it from coming back: Recheck your required rate at every contract renewal.You can close it
- Travel and business expenses never submitted for reimbursementWhere to look first: Pull your expense policy: what is covered, the deadline, and the mileage rate used.Keep it from coming back: File expenses the first week of every month.The other side owes it
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 8 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Offer accepted without checking it against the published wage data
You can close it- Write down your full package: base, bonus target, stock grant and vesting schedule, match, and paid time off.
- For reference, the BLS May 2025 median for architecture and engineering occupations was $99,520 a year, against $50,980 for all occupations (VERIFIED: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). Each engineering specialty has its own figure on its BLS page.
- Look up your specialty and your metro area in BLS wage data, and current postings for the same level.
- Compare package to package, not base to base.
- Ask for a review or counter in writing with your numbers.
Your part: Gather the numbers and decide whether to ask.
Email to your manager or recruiter: Hi [NAME], Thank you for the offer for [ROLE]. Based on published wage data for [SPECIALTY] in [METRO] and current postings at this level, I'd like to discuss a base of [AMOUNT] [and / or] [STOCK / SIGN-ON]. I'm excited about the role and would like to get to yes. [YOUR NAME]
Recheck the BLS figures every spring and before any review.
What this kit can't decide for you: We never tell you what to ask for. The data is context.
That's 1 of 8. The other 7 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
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What people in this work look up
When engineers go looking for answers, they search things like “engineer salary”, “engineering salary negotiation”, “pe license salary” and “engineering consulting rates”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 8 places money leaks in this work, where to look first and the words to send to close each one.
What you get for each leak
- Numbered steps to close each leak
- Your part, spelled out
- Words you can use: letters and scripts, ready to send (fill in the brackets)
- A habit that keeps each leak from coming back
- An honest line on what the kit can't decide for you
A page from the kit
Questions people ask
Offer accepted without checking it against the published wage data: where do I start?
Start here: Write down your full package: base, bonus target, stock grant and vesting schedule, match, and paid time off. To keep it from coming back: Recheck the BLS figures every spring and before any review.
Stock sales taxed twice because the broker form shows the wrong basis: where do I start?
Start here: Pull every Form 1099-B for stock you sold from RSUs or an employee stock purchase plan. To keep it from coming back: Save each vesting confirmation the day shares vest.
Retirement match left unvested when changing jobs: where do I start?
Start here: Find your plan's vesting schedule in the summary plan description. To keep it from coming back: Check your vesting date each year at open enrollment.
What it can't decide for you
This kit works from your own records. It doesn't give legal, tax, licensing or financial advice, and it never tells you what to charge. Where a CPA, attorney, insurer or state board makes the call, the kit says so and gets your records ready for them.
14-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-ENGINEERS-01
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
Next step
- Run your free LeakReceipts check — it reads your own receipts and records and shows where money is leaking out, line by line.
- TrueNET — the whole-picture money truth: what you actually keep after every cost, across everything you earn and spend.
Use Jobber or Housecall Pro? Run the free leak check — it reads your job export in your browser and shows the money leaks the software doesn't flag. Nothing is uploaded.