This year, engineers in the Mid-Atlantic states (NY, NJ, PA, DE, and MD) jumped
past those in the New England states (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, and CT) to take the
number two spot on the earnings scale, averaging $96,252. But engineers working
in New England weren't too far behind, averaging $94,235. Engineers in the East
South Central states (KY, TN, AL, and MS) ranked last again this year, averaging
$84,079.
Who saw the largest percentage gains? Check out engineers located in the West
North Central states (MN, IA, MO, ND, SC, NE, and KA), whose salaries went up
by a very healthy 6.9%. Such a number likely reflects the success of these states
in attracting a new wave of high-tech investment.
Chip designers took home the
most pay in 2005, averaging $110,659. A small sample of respondents said they
worked on MEMS projects, a specialization that no doubt helped this elite group
average just over $109,000. Rounding out the top five earners by design discipline
were computer product designers ($101,269), military product designers ($98,903),
and communications systems and equipment designers ($98,732).
Back to school
Some of our survey findings confirmed reasonable assumptions.
On average, bigger companies offer bigger salaries and bigger bonuses, and engineering
experience generally translates into higher pay. The older you are, the more
you make (at least until you reach the age of 60). And if you want to earn more
than the average engineer, you'll need to tack on some graduate courses to your
bachelor's degree, assuming you have one.
"Engineering, especially research engineering, is an emotionally rewarding
field," said one engineer. "It has longevity if you keep your academic skills
refreshed. Engineering training and the skills acquired never age."
Indeed, continuing education is an ongoing process for most engineers. Two-thirds
say they stay fresh by attending seminars and reading engineering textbooks,
and about half depend on white papers, industry trade shows and conferences,
and vendor-sponsored education (such as webcasts) to keep up-to-date.
Electronic engineering has long been a man's game, and our survey shows that
little has changed in that regard. Only 3% of our survey respondents this year
were female. The good news for women, however, is that salaries for female engineers
are on the rise, and the gap between men's and women's earnings is closing.
Last year, for example, women averaged $74,027 in base salary and $82,867 in
total compensation. This year, base salaries grew 5.6% to $78,179 and total
earnings grew 4.5% to $86,660. Today, male engineers on average earn $93,170
or 7.5% more than women. The difference last year was more than 12%.
When you examine earnings by race, Asian engineers outpace all other groups in base salary and total compensation, averaging close to six-figure incomes ($99,169). (Approximately 80% of the Asian respondents to our survey were born in the Asia/Pacific region.) Caucasians were next ($93,712), followed by African-Americans ($89,499), those of mixed race ($85,732), and Hispanics ($75,067). (For more insight into the relationship between race and employment, see "Challenges Persist For Minorities And Women," page 59.)
Engineers are working longer hours—53 hours a week, in fact, when you
factor in work done at home or other locations and time spent on call. That
represents an hour more on the job than a year ago. The good news is that longer
hours also usually translate into more dollars in the paycheck.
"Somewhere along the line, engineering went from being a respected profession to being one where the company, because it pays you a salary, expects you to work weekends and nights without any extra consideration or compensation," lamented one engineer. "I haven't had more than a day or two of vacation at a time in five years now."
Not perk-olating
With salaries remaining flat, engineers depend more on bonuses and non-cash
rewards to pick up the slack. Slightly more engineers are receiving bonuses
based on personal performance this year than a year ago, but fewer receive company
profit-sharing. The number of engineers who said they were receiving stock options
dropped 10% this year. Similar declines were seen in the number of engineers
in 401(k) match plans (down 12%) and stock-purchase plans (down 18%).
As one engineer noted, "Benefits and bonuses are being scaled back. More health costs are being passed on to employees. Stock options are being limited due to expensing. Patent award bonuses have been greatly reduced. In general, costs are being reduced all the time, and people are constantly asked to do more with less. Even though our company had a very good year, we received 3% pay increases. The days of 5% to 10% raises are gone for good."
The number of engineers receiving health benefits also took a bit of a hit this year. Now, only two-thirds of engineers say they receive health benefits. That's down from 70% a year ago.
"Recent changes to the healthcare program are a real concern," complained one
engineer. "We currently pay a large percentage of the cost for the health insurance
provided. Other benefit programs, such as 401(k) matching, have been reduced
or totally eliminated to help make the bottom line. Because these were permanent
changes, many highly skilled people have chosen to leave the organization for
better opportunities."
Smart organizations are recognizing the need to balance fiscal realities with the need to care appropriately for its valuable engineering staff. One engineer commented that his company "has asked its employees to shoulder a small portion of the cost of healthcare. The company is very concerned and proactive in determining how this affects the employees. Prior to making changes, it has been the policy of the company to put together focus groups for all levels of employees to discuss the options—for example, eliminating benefits versus increasing employee contributions."
Some of the non-cash or indirect cash rewards that saw an uptick this year include further education and training, tuition reimbursement, and certification reimbursement. Therefore, certain companies are clearly willing to spend in areas where they see some near-or long-term benefit for themselves.
Not all of the news on the compensation front is grim. "With the gradual improvement of the U.S. and global economies, our company has greatly improved its profitability over the last year and a half," said one engineer. "Compensation packages have been improved to reflect that. Hopefully, these changes will be permanent."
It's also important to keep all of these numbers in context. With inflation and interest rates low, engineers don't need large salary increases to maintain their lifestyles. Moreover, this profession isn't alone in its flux status, as many other industries are feeling the pinch of offshore job loss and spiraling healthcare costs.
The fact is that well-trained, highly experienced engineers still do very well for themselves relative to most other professions. The personal rewards of solving tough problems and creating innovative products must be factored into the job satisfaction equation, too.
See Figure 1
See Figure 2
See Figure 3
See Figure 4
See Figure 5
Salaries by Title
Salaries by Industry
Salaries by Gender
Marital Status vs. Age
Salaries by Level of Education
Salaries by Geographic Region
Salaries by Years of Engineering Experience
Salaries by Size of Company
See associated factoid
This year, engineers in the Mid-Atlantic states (NY, NJ, PA, DE, and MD) jumped
past those in the New England states (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, and CT) to take the
number two spot on the earnings scale, averaging $96,252. But engineers working
in New England weren't too far behind, averaging $94,235. Engineers in the East
South Central states (KY, TN, AL, and MS) ranked last again this year, averaging
$84,079.
Who saw the largest percentage gains? Check out engineers located in the West
North Central states (MN, IA, MO, ND, SC, NE, and KA), whose salaries went up
by a very healthy 6.9%. Such a number likely reflects the success of these states
in attracting a new wave of high-tech investment.
Chip designers took home the
most pay in 2005, averaging $110,659. A small sample of respondents said they
worked on MEMS projects, a specialization that no doubt helped this elite group
average just over $109,000. Rounding out the top five earners by design discipline
were computer product designers ($101,269), military product designers ($98,903),
and communications systems and equipment designers ($98,732).
Back to school
Some of our survey findings confirmed reasonable assumptions.
On average, bigger companies offer bigger salaries and bigger bonuses, and engineering
experience generally translates into higher pay. The older you are, the more
you make (at least until you reach the age of 60). And if you want to earn more
than the average engineer, you'll need to tack on some graduate courses to your
bachelor's degree, assuming you have one.
"Engineering, especially research engineering, is an emotionally rewarding
field," said one engineer. "It has longevity if you keep your academic skills
refreshed. Engineering training and the skills acquired never age."
Indeed, continuing education is an ongoing process for most engineers. Two-thirds
say they stay fresh by attending seminars and reading engineering textbooks,
and about half depend on white papers, industry trade shows and conferences,
and vendor-sponsored education (such as webcasts) to keep up-to-date.
Electronic engineering has long been a man's game, and our survey shows that
little has changed in that regard. Only 3% of our survey respondents this year
were female. The good news for women, however, is that salaries for female engineers
are on the rise, and the gap between men's and women's earnings is closing.
Last year, for example, women averaged $74,027 in base salary and $82,867 in
total compensation. This year, base salaries grew 5.6% to $78,179 and total
earnings grew 4.5% to $86,660. Today, male engineers on average earn $93,170
or 7.5% more than women. The difference last year was more than 12%.
When you examine earnings by race, Asian engineers outpace all other groups in base salary and total compensation, averaging close to six-figure incomes ($99,169). (Approximately 80% of the Asian respondents to our survey were born in the Asia/Pacific region.) Caucasians were next ($93,712), followed by African-Americans ($89,499), those of mixed race ($85,732), and Hispanics ($75,067). (For more insight into the relationship between race and employment, see "Challenges Persist For Minorities And Women," page 59.)
Engineers are working longer hours—53 hours a week, in fact, when you
factor in work done at home or other locations and time spent on call. That
represents an hour more on the job than a year ago. The good news is that longer
hours also usually translate into more dollars in the paycheck.
"Somewhere along the line, engineering went from being a respected profession to being one where the company, because it pays you a salary, expects you to work weekends and nights without any extra consideration or compensation," lamented one engineer. "I haven't had more than a day or two of vacation at a time in five years now."
Not perk-olating
With salaries remaining flat, engineers depend more on bonuses and non-cash
rewards to pick up the slack. Slightly more engineers are receiving bonuses
based on personal performance this year than a year ago, but fewer receive company
profit-sharing. The number of engineers who said they were receiving stock options
dropped 10% this year. Similar declines were seen in the number of engineers
in 401(k) match plans (down 12%) and stock-purchase plans (down 18%).
As one engineer noted, "Benefits and bonuses are being scaled back. More health costs are being passed on to employees. Stock options are being limited due to expensing. Patent award bonuses have been greatly reduced. In general, costs are being reduced all the time, and people are constantly asked to do more with less. Even though our company had a very good year, we received 3% pay increases. The days of 5% to 10% raises are gone for good."
The number of engineers receiving health benefits also took a bit of a hit this year. Now, only two-thirds of engineers say they receive health benefits. That's down from 70% a year ago.
"Recent changes to the healthcare program are a real concern," complained one
engineer. "We currently pay a large percentage of the cost for the health insurance
provided. Other benefit programs, such as 401(k) matching, have been reduced
or totally eliminated to help make the bottom line. Because these were permanent
changes, many highly skilled people have chosen to leave the organization for
better opportunities."
Smart organizations are recognizing the need to balance fiscal realities with the need to care appropriately for its valuable engineering staff. One engineer commented that his company "has asked its employees to shoulder a small portion of the cost of healthcare. The company is very concerned and proactive in determining how this affects the employees. Prior to making changes, it has been the policy of the company to put together focus groups for all levels of employees to discuss the options—for example, eliminating benefits versus increasing employee contributions."
Some of the non-cash or indirect cash rewards that saw an uptick this year include further education and training, tuition reimbursement, and certification reimbursement. Therefore, certain companies are clearly willing to spend in areas where they see some near-or long-term benefit for themselves.
Not all of the news on the compensation front is grim. "With the gradual improvement of the U.S. and global economies, our company has greatly improved its profitability over the last year and a half," said one engineer. "Compensation packages have been improved to reflect that. Hopefully, these changes will be permanent."
It's also important to keep all of these numbers in context. With inflation and interest rates low, engineers don't need large salary increases to maintain their lifestyles. Moreover, this profession isn't alone in its flux status, as many other industries are feeling the pinch of offshore job loss and spiraling healthcare costs.
The fact is that well-trained, highly experienced engineers still do very well for themselves relative to most other professions. The personal rewards of solving tough problems and creating innovative products must be factored into the job satisfaction equation, too.
See Figure 1
See Figure 2
See Figure 3
See Figure 4
See Figure 5
Salaries by Title
Salaries by Industry
Salaries by Gender
Marital Status vs. Age
Salaries by Level of Education
Salaries by Geographic Region
Salaries by Years of Engineering Experience
Salaries by Size of Company
See associated factoid