Firstly, you didn't indicate what field of engineering your interested in.

Secondly, payscales in the UK vary massively between the regions. In London, wages are generally higher than the rest of the UK.

Results of the 2009 ASHE show that median weekly pay for full-time employees in the UK grew by 2.0 per cent in the year to April 2009 to reach £489. Median earnings of full-time male employees were £531 per week in April 2009; for women the median was £426.

10 per cent of full-time employees earned more than £971 per week, while 10 per cent earned less than £271. Between April 2008 and April 2009 the distribution of gross weekly pay narrowed, with a 3.2 per cent increase at the bottom decile, and a 2.1 per cent increase at the top decile.

Median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees were highest for 40 to 49-year-olds at £551. Male employees reached their highest earnings in this age group at £606, whereas women reached their highest earnings for 30 to 39-year-olds at £498. Earnings increased until employees reached these age groups and steadily decreased thereafter.

Median full-time weekly earnings in London were £627, significantly higher than in other regions, where they ranged from £436 in the North East to £514 in the South East.

The full-time occupations with the highest earnings in 2009 were ˜Health professionals', (median pay of full-time employees of £1,031 a week), followed by ˜Corporate managers (£745) and ˜Science and technology professionals (£698). The lowest paid of all full-time employees were those in ˜Sales occupations, at £278 a week.

The percentage difference between the median level of full-time earnings in the public sector (£539 per week) and the private sector (£465 per week) widened over the year to April 2009, following annual increases of 3.1 per cent and 1.0 per cent respectively.

The average for a mechanical engineer in London can vary by 23k upto 40k. It is commensurate with experience, education, gender, background, relavent training, specialised roles etc. There will be few places in the world that pay wages in line with the UK, but on the other side of the coin, the living expenses are generally a lot higher than other places in Europe.

£12,000 p.a. I discovered when I finished university that you have no experience so you have to start from the bottom unless you are an exceptionally gifted person or know people in the right places otherwise you have to start from the scrap heap