Average Automotive Project Engineer Salary in Sierra Leone for 2026
An automotive project engineer in Sierra Leone earns about 43,680,700 SLL a year. That's 36% below the national average of 68,398,200 SLL.
Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Sierra Leone sit around 22,681,800 SLL a year, while the very top stretches to 66,720,300 SLL. Everything on this page is in Sierra Leonean leone (SLL, symbol Le), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.
The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Sierra Leone, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.
How much does an automotive project engineer make in Sierra Leone?
A typical automotive project engineer working in Sierra Leone brings home around 3,640,058 SLL a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 22,681,800 SLL, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 66,720,300 SLL for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.
The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior automotive project engineer working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.
How automotive project engineer pay ranges in Sierra Leone
A good way to think about salary in Sierra Leone is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all automotive project engineers in Sierra Leone earn less than 41,878,100 SLL a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".
Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 29,041,200 SLL (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 52,201,800 SLL (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of automotive project engineers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.
The very lowest reported salaries sit around 22,681,800 SLL. The highest stretch to 66,720,300 SLL, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.
Automotive project engineer pay by experience in Sierra Leone
Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for an automotive project engineer in Sierra Leone, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical automotive project engineer salary changes as you move through the career ladder.
- 0-2 Years25,801,200 SLL
- 2-5 Years+34% from previous34,561,900 SLL
- 5-10 Years+30% from previous44,998,200 SLL
- 10-15 Years+21% from previous54,358,300 SLL
- 15-20 Years+9% from previous59,518,100 SLL
- 20+ Years+5% from previous62,519,300 SLL
The single largest jump on the ladder is from 0 - 2 Years to 2 - 5 Years, where pay rises by about 34%. That is the point at which a automotive project engineer typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.
Automotive project engineer pay by education in Sierra Leone
Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving automotive project engineer pay in Sierra Leone. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.
Below is the average automotive project engineer salary in Sierra Leone broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.
- Bachelor's Degree36,358,600 SLL
- Master's Degree+39% from previous50,398,300 SLL
Automotive project engineer gender pay gap in Sierra Leone
The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Sierra Leone is no exception. Male automotive project engineers in Sierra Leone earn an average of 46,921,300 SLL a year, while female automotive project engineers earn around 41,520,800 SLL. That works out to a 13% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.
A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.
Automotive Project Engineer gender pay gap
12%
Men earn this much more than women on average in Sierra Leone.
Pay raises for an automotive project engineer in Sierra Leone
Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.
A typical worker doing this role in Sierra Leone sees a raise of about 6% every 30 months, which works out to roughly 2% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.
Across all jobs in Sierra Leone, the national average raise is around 4% every 29 months.
By industry
Industries with the highest pay raises in Sierra Leone:
- Banking
- Energy
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Travel
- Construction
- Education
By experience level
Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.
- Junior Level3% - 5%
- Mid-Career
- Senior Level
- Top Management
Automotive project engineer bonus rates in Sierra Leone
Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.
34% of automotive project engineers in Sierra Leone reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes an automotive project engineer a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.
Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5% of base salary. The remaining 66% of automotive project engineers reported no bonus at all over the same period.
Which careers pay bonuses in Sierra Leone
Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.
- Finance
- Architecture
- Sales
- Business Development
- Marketing / Advertising
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Customer Service
- Human Resources
- Construction
- Transport
- Hospitality
Automotive project engineer: public vs private sector pay
Public-sector pay in Sierra Leone is about 14% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.
Public vs private pay gap
12%
Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Sierra Leone on average.
Automotive project engineer salary by city in Sierra Leone
Automotive project engineer pay is not even across Sierra Leone. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.
- Freetown
| Location | Type | Average | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freetown | City | 46,800,400 SLL | 44,878,500 SLL | 24,359,000-71,641,100 SLL |
Automotive Project Engineer in Sierra Leone: FAQs
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How much does an automotive project engineer make per month in Sierra Leone?
An automotive project engineer in Sierra Leone earns about 3,640,058 SLL a month before tax, based on an annual average of 43,680,700 SLL.
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What's the salary range for an automotive project engineer in Sierra Leone?
Entry-level automotive project engineers in Sierra Leone start near 22,681,800 SLL. Top-end pay reaches around 66,720,300 SLL. The middle 50% of earners sit between 29,041,200 and 52,201,800 SLL.
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Is the median automotive project engineer salary in Sierra Leone higher or lower than the average?
The median is 41,878,100 SLL, lower than the average of 43,680,700 SLL. Half of automotive project engineers in Sierra Leone earn below the median, half earn above it.
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What's the gender pay gap for automotive project engineers in Sierra Leone?
Men working as an automotive project engineer in Sierra Leone earn around 13% more than women on average (46,921,300 vs 41,520,800 SLL a year).
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Do automotive project engineers in Sierra Leone get bonuses?
About 34% of automotive project engineers in Sierra Leone reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5% of base salary.
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Do automotive project engineers earn more in the public or private sector in Sierra Leone?
In Sierra Leone, the public sector pays an automotive project engineer about 14% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.
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How often do automotive project engineers in Sierra Leone get a pay raise?
An automotive project engineer in Sierra Leone sees a raise of around 6% every 30 months, equivalent to roughly 2% a year.