Average Telecom Chief Engineer Salary in Costa Rica for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Telecom Chief Engineer salary for 2026 in Costa Rica and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Costa Rican colón. To keep things simple, we are using the CRC currency code instead of the currency symbol .

How Much Does a Telecom Chief Engineer Make in Costa Rica?

A Telecom Chief Engineer working in Costa Rica will typically earn around 27,479,000 CRC per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 13,441,600 CRC to the highest average salary of 42,839,200 CRC.

Average Annual Salary27,479,000 CRC
Average Monthly Salary2,289,916 CRC
Average Lowest Salary13,441,600 CRC
Lowest Monthly Salary1,120,133 CRC
Average Highest Salary42,839,200 CRC
Highest Monthly Salary3,569,933 CRC

These are average salaries for a Telecom Chief Engineer in Costa Rica and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Telecom Chief Engineer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Telecom Chief Engineer salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Telecom Chief Engineer Salaries in Costa Rica

So we've looked at the average salaries a Telecom Chief Engineer will earn in Costa Rica. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Telecom Chief Engineer can earn between 13,441,600 CRC and 42,839,200 CRC on average in Costa Rica. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Telecom Chief Engineer in Costa Rica is 27,960,400 CRC. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 27,960,400 CRC, and 50% of the population earn more than 27,960,400 CRC.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Telecom Chief Engineer salary in Costa Rica, 25% of the population are earning less than 18,598,500 CRC while 75% of the population earn more than 18,598,500 CRC.

75% of the population earn less than 36,121,000 CRC, and 25% of the population earn more than 36,121,000 CRC.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Telecom Chief Engineer Salary by Experience Level in Costa Rica

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average Telecom Chief Engineer salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Telecom Chief Engineer in Costa Rica that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 15,960,700 CRC.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Telecom Chief Engineer salary would increase to 20,518,900 CRC.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Telecom Chief Engineer, the average salary would be 28,318,900 CRC.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 35,039,300 CRC.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Telecom Chief Engineer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 37,561,000 CRC.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Telecom Chief Engineer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 39,960,800 CRC.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
15,960,700 CRC
2-5 Years+29%
20,518,900 CRC
5-10 Years+38%
28,318,900 CRC
10-15 Years+24%
35,039,300 CRC
15-20 Years+7%
37,561,000 CRC
20+ Years+7%
39,960,800 CRC

Telecom Chief Engineer Salary by Education Level in Costa Rica

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Telecom Chief Engineer in Costa Rica based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Telecom Chief Engineer in Costa Rica with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 19,921,600 CRC.
  • Master's Degree. A Telecom Chief Engineer in Costa Rica with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 31,919,300 CRC.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree-
19,921,600 CRC
Master's Degree+60%
31,919,300 CRC

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Costa Rica is around 11,800,000 to 35,400,000 CRC and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Telecom Chief Engineer Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Costa Rica, a male telecom chief engineer will earn an average of 28,200,200 CRC, while a female telecom chief engineer will earn around 26,399,200 CRC.

This means that a male telecom chief engineer earns approximately 7% more than a female telecom chief engineer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Costa Rica

Male-
28,200,200 CRC
Female-7%
26,399,200 CRC

Telecom Chief Engineer Average Pay Raise in Costa Rica

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Telecom Chief Engineer in Costa Rica is around 12% every 18 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Costa Rica is around 9% every 17 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 12 ÷ 18 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Telecom Chief Engineer in Costa Rica can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Costa Rica for 2026

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Costa Rica.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking-
7%
Energy-
5%
Information Technology-
3%
Healthcare-
1%
Travel-
8%
Construction-
6%
Education-
4%

Telecom Chief Engineer Bonus and Incentive Rates in Costa Rica

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Telecom Chief Engineer is a moderate bonus based job, with 54% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

46% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6%.

Received Bonus-
54%
No Bonus-
46%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Costa Rica earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector-
29,399,100 CRC
Private Sector-6%
27,721,300 CRC

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Telecom Chief Engineer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Telecom Chief Engineer in Costa Rica.

Job TitleCategorySalary
Access Operation Team LeaderTelecommunication30,119,100 CRC
Audio Visual InstallerTelecommunication13,798,900 CRC
Broadband TechnicianTelecommunication13,679,300 CRC
Chief Technology OfficerTelecommunication44,040,700 CRC
Customer Implementation SupportTelecommunication15,001,200 CRC
Fiber Optic TechnicianTelecommunication14,519,400 CRC
Mobile Data CoordinatorTelecommunication15,838,200 CRC
OSP Site SupervisorTelecommunication16,918,700 CRC
RF EngineerTelecommunication24,359,000 CRC
Retention ExecutiveTelecommunication37,441,100 CRC
Sales DirectorTelecommunication44,998,200 CRC
Sales EngineerTelecommunication27,601,100 CRC
Technical Support EngineerTelecommunication25,321,400 CRC
Telecom SpecialistTelecommunication29,641,500 CRC
Telecommunication ConsultantTelecommunication32,161,000 CRC
Telecommunication DispatcherTelecommunication12,239,700 CRC
Telecommunication Equipment EngineerTelecommunication21,841,900 CRC
Telecommunication Logistics SupervisorTelecommunication19,799,400 CRC
Telecommunication Product ManagerTelecommunication30,961,800 CRC
Telecommunication Project CoordinatorTelecommunication17,640,500 CRC
Telecommunication Project ManagerTelecommunication30,001,600 CRC
Telecommunication Service Delivery ManagerTelecommunication34,198,600 CRC
Telecommunication Service Management CoordinatorTelecommunication29,399,100 CRC
Telecommunication Solution ArchitectTelecommunication33,721,200 CRC
Telecommunication SurveyorTelecommunication13,919,600 CRC
Telecommunication Team LeaderTelecommunication28,078,900 CRC
Telecommunication Technical ManagerTelecommunication32,280,500 CRC
Telecommunication TechnicianTelecommunication12,958,200 CRC
Telecommunications AnalystTelecommunication30,841,400 CRC
Telecommunications Assistant ManagerTelecommunication31,678,800 CRC
Telecommunications Chief EngineerTelecommunication28,919,800 CRC
Telecommunications EngineerTelecommunication27,361,200 CRC
Telecommunications Engineering SpecialistTelecommunication27,841,200 CRC
Telecommunications Equipment InstallerTelecommunication13,441,600 CRC
Telecommunications Facility ExaminerTelecommunication15,599,800 CRC
Telecommunications Line InstallerTelecommunication13,079,500 CRC
Telecommunications ManagerTelecommunication45,961,300 CRC
Telecommunications Network EngineerTelecommunication26,880,900 CRC
Telecommunications TechnicianTelecommunication13,199,100 CRC

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Costa Rica, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

CityAverage Salary
San Jose29,761,800 CRC

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