Design News for Design and mechanical engineers 21622

July 6, 1998 Design News

CAREER/SALARY SURVEY COVER STORY

Economy Elevates Engineering

Exclusive Design News survey reveals where the jobs are, what they pay

Gary Chamberlain, Senior Editor

You only have to look at how the stock market has skyrocketed to know that most major corporations in the U.S. have had a very good year--several years for that matter. But how does the stock market and soaring corporate profits translate into jobs for engineers? And, of equal importance, what must an engineer do to prepare for the new millennium? Design News' exclusive annual Careers/Salary Survey posed these and other questions to our readers. Here's how they responded.

Once again, the survey reveals a relatively rosy scenario for design engineers in the OEM marketplace. Salaries, on average, continue to move slightly upward, and the job outlook remains sunny due to low unemployment rates and record sales.

However, as is the case with any sunny forecast, there's always a few dark clouds over the horizon. Mergers, downsizing, and strategic alliances among leading companies have resulted in welcome dividends for stockholders. But that doesn't necessarily result in more job opportunities or pay raises for their employees. Moreover, financial successes in some industrial segments don't always carry over to others.

Payroll portfolio. Of primary interest to engineers, salaries continue their upward spiral. Our survey shows that the base salary of engineers averages $56,850. That's up $1,850 from last year, and $3,250 from the previous year.

Based on previous surveys, it's not too surprising that engineers in the defense and telecommunications fields pull down the biggest bucks on average. For example, 47% of the defense systems engineers who responded earn $70,000 or more a year, while 33% of the telecommunications engineers take home as much or more. Close behind are engineers in the aerospace (32%), medical (31%), and computer (28%) industries.

As might be expected, those engineers on the job the longest reap the most rewards. Of the engineers with 20 years or more of experience, 65% earn above $60,000 a year. Just over 51% of those who have worked as engineers from 16 to 20 years also fall into this lofty salary plateau, as do 49% of engineers who have been on the job for 11 to 15 years. In contrast, less than 1% of the engineers with five or less years on the job reported earning $60,000 or more.