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Salary by job title
So who ended up with what? No one should be surprised that design managers earned more than staffers, averaging a cool $110,000 vs. staffers' $85,800. Our handful of corporate managers collected $124,000. But 2003's managers are bringing home less than last year's group, which could reflect the overall reduction in bonuses and performance incentives. Our vice presidents of engineering averaged $11,000 less than last year, at $111,000 vs. 2002's $122,000. Similarly, chiefs of engineering dropped $2,500 from last year's $102,500 mean salary. Both categories are relatively small in terms of number of respondents.
By contrast, our biggest survey groups fared pretty well:
senior engineers, $91,000, up $1,300 from '02;
design engineers, $76,700, up $5,800;
software engineers, $81,000, up from $77,000.
But the averages fell for several larger categories:
principal engineer, $101,000, vs. last year's $102,900;
systems engineer, $81,100 vs. $82,900;
project engineer, $74,800 vs. $79,400.
Salary by region
As they have for many years now, our San Jose, Calif., respondents (incidentally, our largest regional group) led the way in the salary parade. On average, they earned $111,800 in the past year, easily outpacing other metropolitan areas. Before you call the movers, however, check out Silicon Valley home prices, among the highest in the nation. And even before that, check out the want ads in San Jose. There have been significant cutbacks in the area, and the boom in startups that partially drove demand has been suffering as venture capital has withered.
Other major centers of engineering talent and their salaries:
Dallas, $103,500;
Austin and San Marcos, Texas, $99,400;
San Diego, $97,100;
Boston/New Hampshire, $92,100;
Portland, Ore./Vancouver, Wash., $91,800;
Phoenix, $87,000;
Chicago, $78,700.
Overall, the Western region, at $94,100, remains the best-paying area of the United States, with the Northeast averaging $91,600, the South Central region (including Texas) $87,900 and the North Central area, $78,900.
Salaries by age
Traditionally, the salary curve starts off at its lowest point among twentysomethings, peaks at the lower 40s, levels off into the early 50s and then starts a decline. Engineers have complained that while they may start their careers as high earners, with salaries in the $40,000-plus range, they hit a plateau at a time when lawyers or doctors are bringing in top dollars.
This year's group of EEs and managers does level off in the lower $90s at about the age of 40, and stays there until they reach the 55-59 age group. Then the veterans buck the trend, turning in average mean base salaries of $98,910, the highest of any age bracket. We don't have a really good explanation. Only 11 managers are represented in the 55-59 bracket, so their generally higher salaries are not a factor.
There are more military/aerospace engineers in this age group than any other types, and while that's not our highest-paying industry, it is the most stable. Respondents working at defense contractors have the longest tenures of any of our industry segments (12.7 years vs. 8.8 overall), the most experience (19 years vs. 17) and are tied with components for the lowest unemployment rate this year (5.6 percent vs. 9.2 percent overall). Defense engineers may not get the biggest bucks to start with, but as they go gray, it's possible they encounter less job turbulence-and perhaps even less age bias?-than in the more go-go, younger atmosphere of, say, communications vendors.
Here is the breakdown by age:
20-24, $54,642;
25-29, $65,761;
30-34, $83,580;
35-39, $88,441;
40-44, $94,058;
45-49, $93,648;
50-54, $93,038;
55-59, $98,910;
60-64, $88,454;
65 or over, $91,590.
Salaries by industry
As mentioned, military/aerospace is not the highest-paying industry. It averages $86,938. The big pay is in communications, computers and components. Despite the upheaval in the computer and communications industries in the past three years, pay is substantially better than in other sectors.
computers, $98,824;
components and subassemblies, $96,686;
communications, $93,442;
test and measurement, $84,780;
medical electronics: $84,310;
consumer electronics, $83,636;
industrial controls, $79,006;
consultants, $76,763;
automotive, $74,142.
Education pays
To the age-old question, "Should I go for my master's?" the answer is an unqualified "Yes"-that is, if you're thinking in terms of what you're likely to earn afterward. Indeed, some readers have taken the opportunity of a layoff to go back to school for that master's degree. The salary level by education:
PhD, $112,115;
MBA, $97,407;
MSEE, $96,642;
MSCS, $91,928;
BSEE, $83,367;
BSCS, $87,826;
associate's degree, $65,703.
It's not a given that a PhD degree, even in a technical field, translates into a long, prosperous career. A few years ago, during the last recession, doctorate holders complained that they couldn't land jobs easily, because companies preferred hands-on, less-expensive engineers.
Salary by country of origin
Some 87 percent of this year's respondents are native-born U.S. citizens. As you'd expect, because they are overwhelmingly represented in the survey, their mean salaries parallel the mean for the whole sample ($88,379 vs. the mean of $88,900).
Our sampling of respondents who hail from other countries but are now working in the United States is small, when taken individually, and therefore somewhat suspect statistically. But for information purposes, we'll pass the results along, listed according to the size of the sample.
But based on this data, coupled with replies from previous years, it seems clear that no one is taking undue advantage of immigrant engineers from India or China-or at any rate, not the ones who answer American surveys. Those who don't read English well, who are temps or who are not readers of EE Times may have other experiences.
U.S., $88,379;
India, $93,068;
Europe, $85,750;
Asia (excluding India and China), $90,277;
Canada, $104,464;
China, $88,750;
United Kingdom, $98,500.
Incidentally, some 85 percent of the 842 respondents describe themselves as white, and they earn $88,491. Those of Chinese heritage (including lifelong U.S. citizens as well as immigrants) collect $89,363. Those of Indian heritage earn $95,258 and Hispanic engineers pull in $83,541. African Americans trail, at $77,900. Only 3.6 percent of the respondents were women, who averaged $85,000, vs. $88,934 for the males.
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Read complete article through the link.
Salary by job title
So who ended up with what? No one should be surprised that design managers earned more than staffers, averaging a cool $110,000 vs. staffers' $85,800. Our handful of corporate managers collected $124,000. But 2003's managers are bringing home less than last year's group, which could reflect the overall reduction in bonuses and performance incentives. Our vice presidents of engineering averaged $11,000 less than last year, at $111,000 vs. 2002's $122,000. Similarly, chiefs of engineering dropped $2,500 from last year's $102,500 mean salary. Both categories are relatively small in terms of number of respondents.
By contrast, our biggest survey groups fared pretty well:
senior engineers, $91,000, up $1,300 from '02;
design engineers, $76,700, up $5,800;
software engineers, $81,000, up from $77,000.
But the averages fell for several larger categories:
principal engineer, $101,000, vs. last year's $102,900;
systems engineer, $81,100 vs. $82,900;
project engineer, $74,800 vs. $79,400.
Salary by region
As they have for many years now, our San Jose, Calif., respondents (incidentally, our largest regional group) led the way in the salary parade. On average, they earned $111,800 in the past year, easily outpacing other metropolitan areas. Before you call the movers, however, check out Silicon Valley home prices, among the highest in the nation. And even before that, check out the want ads in San Jose. There have been significant cutbacks in the area, and the boom in startups that partially drove demand has been suffering as venture capital has withered.
Other major centers of engineering talent and their salaries:
Dallas, $103,500;
Austin and San Marcos, Texas, $99,400;
San Diego, $97,100;
Boston/New Hampshire, $92,100;
Portland, Ore./Vancouver, Wash., $91,800;
Phoenix, $87,000;
Chicago, $78,700.
Overall, the Western region, at $94,100, remains the best-paying area of the United States, with the Northeast averaging $91,600, the South Central region (including Texas) $87,900 and the North Central area, $78,900.
Salaries by age
Traditionally, the salary curve starts off at its lowest point among twentysomethings, peaks at the lower 40s, levels off into the early 50s and then starts a decline. Engineers have complained that while they may start their careers as high earners, with salaries in the $40,000-plus range, they hit a plateau at a time when lawyers or doctors are bringing in top dollars.
This year's group of EEs and managers does level off in the lower $90s at about the age of 40, and stays there until they reach the 55-59 age group. Then the veterans buck the trend, turning in average mean base salaries of $98,910, the highest of any age bracket. We don't have a really good explanation. Only 11 managers are represented in the 55-59 bracket, so their generally higher salaries are not a factor.
There are more military/aerospace engineers in this age group than any other types, and while that's not our highest-paying industry, it is the most stable. Respondents working at defense contractors have the longest tenures of any of our industry segments (12.7 years vs. 8.8 overall), the most experience (19 years vs. 17) and are tied with components for the lowest unemployment rate this year (5.6 percent vs. 9.2 percent overall). Defense engineers may not get the biggest bucks to start with, but as they go gray, it's possible they encounter less job turbulence-and perhaps even less age bias?-than in the more go-go, younger atmosphere of, say, communications vendors.
Here is the breakdown by age:
20-24, $54,642;
25-29, $65,761;
30-34, $83,580;
35-39, $88,441;
40-44, $94,058;
45-49, $93,648;
50-54, $93,038;
55-59, $98,910;
60-64, $88,454;
65 or over, $91,590.
Salaries by industry
As mentioned, military/aerospace is not the highest-paying industry. It averages $86,938. The big pay is in communications, computers and components. Despite the upheaval in the computer and communications industries in the past three years, pay is substantially better than in other sectors.
computers, $98,824;
components and subassemblies, $96,686;
communications, $93,442;
test and measurement, $84,780;
medical electronics: $84,310;
consumer electronics, $83,636;
industrial controls, $79,006;
consultants, $76,763;
automotive, $74,142.
Education pays
To the age-old question, "Should I go for my master's?" the answer is an unqualified "Yes"-that is, if you're thinking in terms of what you're likely to earn afterward. Indeed, some readers have taken the opportunity of a layoff to go back to school for that master's degree. The salary level by education:
PhD, $112,115;
MBA, $97,407;
MSEE, $96,642;
MSCS, $91,928;
BSEE, $83,367;
BSCS, $87,826;
associate's degree, $65,703.
It's not a given that a PhD degree, even in a technical field, translates into a long, prosperous career. A few years ago, during the last recession, doctorate holders complained that they couldn't land jobs easily, because companies preferred hands-on, less-expensive engineers.
Salary by country of origin
Some 87 percent of this year's respondents are native-born U.S. citizens. As you'd expect, because they are overwhelmingly represented in the survey, their mean salaries parallel the mean for the whole sample ($88,379 vs. the mean of $88,900).
Our sampling of respondents who hail from other countries but are now working in the United States is small, when taken individually, and therefore somewhat suspect statistically. But for information purposes, we'll pass the results along, listed according to the size of the sample.
But based on this data, coupled with replies from previous years, it seems clear that no one is taking undue advantage of immigrant engineers from India or China-or at any rate, not the ones who answer American surveys. Those who don't read English well, who are temps or who are not readers of EE Times may have other experiences.
U.S., $88,379;
India, $93,068;
Europe, $85,750;
Asia (excluding India and China), $90,277;
Canada, $104,464;
China, $88,750;
United Kingdom, $98,500.
Incidentally, some 85 percent of the 842 respondents describe themselves as white, and they earn $88,491. Those of Chinese heritage (including lifelong U.S. citizens as well as immigrants) collect $89,363. Those of Indian heritage earn $95,258 and Hispanic engineers pull in $83,541. African Americans trail, at $77,900. Only 3.6 percent of the respondents were women, who averaged $85,000, vs. $88,934 for the males.
*******************
Read complete article through the link.
