Salaries State by State
It should come as no surprise
that in regions where the cost of
living is high, paychecks are higher
too. Areas around California
and Massachusetts - traditional
technology breeding grounds -
continue to attract more jobs and
higher pay. This year, the Pacific
states (California, Washington,
Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii)
regained the top spot as the best
place for engineers to earn a living by averaging $115,324 and
edging out the New England
states (Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode
Island), where total incomes averaged
$108,200.
Next up this year were engineers
in the Mountain states
(Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New
Mexico, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and
Wyoming), where incomes averaged
$108,019. Following these
states are West South Central
states (Arkansas, Louisiana,
Oklahoma, and Texas), who saw
their total compensation dip
slightly to $102,476 after seeing
the greatest percentage increase
in their paychecks in 2006. Mid-
Atlantic states (New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
and Maryland) averaged
$100,193. Their colleagues in the
South Atlantic states (Florida,
Georgia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia,
and Washington, D.C.) were next
on the list, averaging $99,642.
Trailing the field were engineers
in the East South Central
states (Alabama, Kentucky,
Mississippi, and Tennessee) at
$96,878 and the East North
Central states (Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin),
where total earnings averaged
$93,346. Pulling up the rear in
2007 were engineers in the West
North Central states (Minnesota,
Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota,
South Dakota, Nebraska, and
Kansas) with an average income
of $90,297. On the upside, however,
this figure represents a
healthy 11% increase over last
year's percentage.
As in past years, engineers
who design chips for a living took
home the most pay in 2007, averaging
a whopping $132,135 in
total compensation - including an
industry-leading base salary of
$120,095, plus $5500 in bonus
money and $6540 in stock
options and other incentives.
Rounding out the top five wage
earners were military systems
designers ($111,034), communications
systems designers
($109,880), medical device
designers ($107,386), and avionics
systems designers
($104,519).
The Intangibles
As one might expect, more engineering experience
usually translates into higher pay. The older
you are, the more you make (at least until you reach
the age of 55, when salaries begin to drop off a bit).
And if you want to earn more than the average engineer,
it pays to go back to school and add some
graduate courses to your bachelor's degree.
One reader put it this way: "A greater amount of
technical know-how will be required in the future
due to the strong technical components of modern
society. Those that don't have these skills will be
left behind. In order to compete in the global marketplace,
I believe engineers will be required to
have a master's degree. The bachelor's is to hammer
home engineering fundamentals, and the master's
is used to apply those fundamentals to specific
problems - things like improved robotics, artificial
intelligence, alternative energy technologies, and
bio-engineering."
Engineering continues to be significantly less
financially rewarding for women than for men,
despite the fact that men and women hold similar
jobs and have similar education. Male engineers
currently average $94,103 in base salary and
$9014 in bonuses and other income for a total compensation of $103,117. Women, by
comparison, average just $76,814 in
base salary and $8490 in bonus and
other income totaling $85,304 - a difference
of more than 17%. While past
surveys showed the salary gap narrowing
year over year, that wasn't the case
this year.
The time demands that have been so
prevalent in the engineering professions
seem to have finally peaked. In 2007,
engineers are putting in about 53 hours
a week - about an hour less than a year
ago. But like in the past, engineers who
work longer hours also usually find themselves
bringing home bigger paychecks
at the end of the week
As salaries grow, employers appear to
be tying additional rewards to the performance
of the company or division,
rather than to personal performance.
And they're finally delivering more on the
indirect and non-cash rewards that engineers
value most, like 401(k) matching,
health benefits, tuition reimbursement,
pension plans, and personal time off.
"My company's benefit package is very good and they
absorb a significant portion of the health insurance costs,
although my contribution level has increased over the
years," added one engineer. But not everyone is feeling
the love from their companies.
"The work environment has become very impersonal
and mundane," stated another reader. "Everything is
e-mail, teleconferences, and 'net meetings. We used to
travel to meet with our teams and it was fun. We used to
have jelly doughnut meetings, but now mostly meetings
are sans coffee and doughnuts. On the compensation
side the pay is good, but the benefits have been degraded
significantly. Medical coverage is mediocre at best and
pensions are a thing of the past. I think someone with talent
to be an engineer could do better in another field or
running their own business."
The number of engineers receiving health benefits from their employers increased from 62%
to 67% in 2007. But the fact that
salary increases are being overshadowed
by rising healthcare costs continues
to be a common grievance
among engineers. "I am shouldering
more of the cost of benefits as the
company's income grows," complained
one engineer. "There are
many factors affecting the company's
bottom line, but they are still
providing better benefits (at my
career point) than other comparable
companies. Once the education
demands level out, other compensation
will become more important."
In exchange for better pension
and healthcare benefits, companies
have started to cut back on areas
where they don't see some immediate
or long-term benefit, like car
allowances, company phones, and
association dues, as well as on stock
options and stock purchase plans.
"Health insurance deductions and
copays seem to go up a little faster
than inflation each year," said one
engineer. "The company has developed
a more concise plan to measure
personal performance and at
the same time has segregated the
annual bonus into two parts - one
part for company performance and
one part for personal performance."
Clearly, money is what matters
most to employees of the industry.
And after several years of lukewarm
pay increases, engineers are eager
for more scratch. The number-one
reason engineers give for considering
another job, cited by 69%, is
higher pay. Sure, other things matter,
like more interesting work, personal
fulfillment, and greater stability.
But taking all of the factors into
consideration, companies would be
smart to make sure that their A-list
engineers are being taken care of
and compensated (at least) in line
with market norms.