EWeek

Engineer Income Outpaces Inflation By 3%,
NSPE Survey Says

By Rachel Davis, Staff Writer
Reprinted with permission from Engineering Times

With an increase of 4.7% during 1998, the median annual income of respondents to NSPE's 1999 Professional Engineer Income and Salary Survey outpaced the 1.7% rise in the Consumer Price Index by the largest margin in more than a decade, climbing to $72,842. Last year's survey revealed a median income of $69,546, which lagged 0.8% behind the CPI increase.

Ten years ago, the median income earned by survey respondents was $53,000, and the 4.7% rise in salaries during that year was neck-and-neck with inflation. In the last five years, the median engineer income has mostly stayed even or ahead of inflation. This is an improvement over the five years before that, when median income tended to lag behind inflation.

The figures for median annual income represent salaries, fees, cash bonuses, and commissions received from respondents' primary jobs as reported on January 1, 1999, excluding any overtime pay. Of the 7,966 NSPE member respondents to the 1999 survey, 74.1% had supervisory or managerial responsibility, and about 82.1% were PEs. Individual incomes varied widely, but on the whole they were on a steady increase. While 10% of respondents earned less than $44,245, another 10% earned $131,000 or more. The average income of 1999 survey respondents was $84,315, which is an 8.24% increase over what 1998 respondents reported.

Although the median income was further ahead of inflation during 1998 than it has been in many years, the CPI still played a role in pay raises. Professional engineer and NSPE member David Bolan, principal engineer at the Lansing Board of Water & Light in Michigan, says, "We've seen about a 2.5% increase in our salaries last year, and a 3.5% increase in the year before that. The major drivers that have determined the rate of increase in salaries for BWL employees have been the CPI for the Detroit/Central Michigan area, a comparison of what other employers in the mid-Michigan area are giving to their employees, and the BWL's ability to pay."

Engineers in supervisory positions are doing particularly well, as would be expected, but the survey reveals an increasing spread between the salaries of supervisors versus nonsupervisors. The median income of those who supervise only engineers, scientists, and/or technologists had increases ranging from $62,000 (up 2.2% for supervisors of one or two such professionals) to $112,381 (up 6% for those who supervise 50 or more professionals). Income rose relatively regularly up to a median of $133,900 (up 10.7%) for engineers who manage 250 or more subordinates, including nonprofessionals. However, the median income of engineers in nonsupervisory positions fell 4.8% to $59,500 in the past year.

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Despite the drop in median income of engineers in nonsupervisory positions, median income shows a fairly consistent rise with increased engineering experience. The median income of respondents increased regularly from $38,000 for those with one year of experience (up 3.2% in the last year) to $89,360 for those with 30 years of experience or more (up 8.3% in the past year). This spread is 135.2%, compared to the 112.9% spread found in the 1998 survey.

Similar to length of experience, a higher level of engineering education usually results in a higher salary, according to the survey. Respondents holding doctorate degrees in engineering earned a median income of $92,800 (up 6.7%), as compared to $74,229 (up 6%) for those with engineering master's degrees and $66,874 (up 1.9%) for those with a BS in engineering. Respondents with MBA degrees reported a higher median income than those with MS degrees in engineering. By level of professional responsibility, salaries rose from a median of $37,668 for Engineer I/II to $120,000 for Engineer IX, a 218.6% spread.

Median annual income was also highest for respondents who held executive or administrative job functions ($92,819). Sales/marketing ($81,000), research and development ($74,000), and teaching/training ($71,708) were also at the high end of the spectrum, with project study/analysis ($64,025) and design ($52,423) bringing up the rear (see accompanying chart). The top-earning major branches of engineering were petroleum engineering ($102,500), nuclear ($88,050), and sanitary ($84,900); the lowest earners are in civil (general—$66,816), manufacturing ($67,000), agricultural ($65,873), and geotechnical ($62,950) (see accompanying chart).

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"Today, our industry is faced with many challenges, ranging from process improvements to globalization of the industry," says professional engineer David Imse, manager of marketing services for the large cement manufacturer Holnam Inc. "Our need for engineers is at an all-time high." He adds that the higher demand for engineers in the cement and concrete industry is giving them more opportunities around the world in terms of challenging assignments and enhanced compensation.

PE status is another factor that contributes to a higher income, according to the survey. PE respondents who were certified in forensic engineering reported the highest median annual income, at $97,000. Following them are PEs certified in environmental engineering ($82,046), those who have another professional registration ($79,000), those who are registered land surveyors ($78,000), and those who are certified in some other engineering specialty ($77,700). Unlicensed engineers have a median income of $62,000, and EITs report the lowest median income, $44,500, according to the survey.

Of course, all these figures depend on what part of the country you're coming from. If you live in Houston, Texas (median of $87,500), New York City, San Francisco, or Washington, D.C. (all $85,000), you're making more compared with engineers in Portland, Maine ($57,500 median); Manchester, New Hampshire ($59,410); and Louisville, Kentucky ($59,700). If it wasn't for that pesky cost of living, engineers might start migrating in droves.

Gender equality of income is another matter. Although the survey mentions that the statistical validity of gender comparisons reported in the survey should be scrutinized because of insufficient data and small female samples, the survey report does comment on some of the more solid data. When the sample is limited to full-time salaried employees, the median income of female engineers is $53,582, only 74% of male engineers' median income ($72,250). This is the same percentage as in 1998 survey results, but it is down from 77% six years ago and 75% four years ago. When comparing salaries by length of experience, male engineers earned a higher income in all categories except for those representing one, two, and 25-29 years of experience.

More engineers changed employers during 1998 (4.8%) than were promoted (4.1%) in the same period. Only 0.8% reported a decrease in base salary that year.

Search Salaries Online

Is your income on par with other engineers in your job position? Do you wonder what you could make on a different career track or in a different geographic location?

Find out this and more by tapping the 1999 NSPE Professional Engineer Income and Salary Survey, either in hard copy, in hard copy with a searchable database on diskette, or now on the NSPE Web site.

Located under "Employment" at www.nspe.org, the searchable salary database allows you to pick up to three demographic criteria of the 12 available and find both the median salary of the matching survey respondents and the median income (which includes fees, bonuses, and commissions). Search parameters encompass such fields as length of experience, highest degree earned, responsibility level, and branch of engineering, among others. You will also find out how many data points match your criteria. If fewer than five are found, you will be asked to modify your search.

The charge for each online search is $10 for NSPE members and $15 for non-members, payable by credit card over the NSPE Web site's secure server.

To order a printed copy of NSPE's 1999 Professional Engineer Income and Salary Survey (Product #0099—$65 for members; $150 for nonmembers) or a PC-based searchable database (Product #0099-D, includes printed survey—$140 for members; $225 for nonmembers), visit NSPE's online Professional Resource Catalog under the "Resource Catalog" button at www.nspe.org, or phone toll free 800/417-0348. Again, to search the Salary Survey online, look under the "Employment" area at www.nspe.org.

Go to the NSPE website for information on searching the NSPE income data online (www.nspe.org) and purchasing the 1999 survey report.