dn completefnl salary survey71411

Salary Survey

2011 Insights2011 Insights

An email survey was sent to subscribers of Design News during the month of June 2011. Research Results,

an independent research firm, tabulated the completed survey data.

The survey evaluated compensation as well as job satisfaction, including a look at the following areas:

Current salary and bonus and how that compares to a year ago

Length of employment

Engineering disciplines

Level of job stress compared to previous year

Reasons for job stress

Impact of economy

Level of supervisory and/or budgetary responsibility compared to previous year

Methodology

2

Level of supervisory and/or budgetary responsibility compared to previous year

Average work hours weekly

Level of satisfaction as a design engineer

Reasons for job satisfaction and dissatisfaction

Challenges of job

Size of company

Companys major product line

Results are based on 1,513 usable replies. At a 95% confidence level, results are accurate and projectable

within a + or 2.5% margin of error. Interpret base sizes of

The Design Engineer

Average Salary:

$93,465

Average # of years in

current position:

9 years

3

Average Bonus:

$9,440

Average # of years as an

engineer :

18 years

Average # of years with

present employer:

13 years

Average hours worked per week:

46

Education:

Degree in engineering, 75%Average Age:

49

June 2011

Section I Salary and Compensation

4 June 2011

12%

14%

12%

11%

6%

9%

$90,000 - $99,999

$80,000 - $89,999

$70,000 - $79,000

$60,000 - $69,999

$50,000 - $59,999

$50,000 or less

What is your current base annual salary for 2011?

(not including bonus, commissions, etc.)

5

5%

7%

6%

7%

11%

12%

$150,000 or more

$130,000 - $149,000

$120,000 - $129,000

$110,000 - $119,999

$100,000 - $109,999

$90,000 - $99,999

Average Salary: $93,465

Median Salary: $88,000

June 2011

How does your base annual salary

compare with 2010?

Increased

65%

Stayed the 4%

3%

8%

44%

5%

Over 10%

8-10% increase

5-7% increase

2-4% increase

Less than 2%

increase

If your base salary changed over the

past 12 months, by how much?

Average Salary Increase: 5%

Median Salary Increase: 3%

6

Decreased

4%

Stayed the

same

31%

4%Over 10%

increase

6%

1%

0%

0%

Over 10%

decrease

8-10% decrease

5-7% decrease

Less than 4%

decrease

Average Salary Decrease: 27%

Median Salary Decrease: 15%

: June 2011

How much will you earn in bonuses, commissions, etc.?(not including base salary in 2011)

3%

11%

8%

8%

Less than $1,000

$1,000-$2,999

$3,000-$4,999

$5,000-$6,999

$7,000-$8,999

Average Expected Bonus: $9,440

7

5%

20%

4%

41%

$7,000-$8,999

$9,000-$49,999

Over $50,000

No

bonus/commission

June 2011

Increased

18%

Stayed the

same 52%

8%

11%

22%

8%

Over 10%

8-10% increase

5-7% increase

2-4% increase

Less than 2%

increase

How does your bonus, commission, etc.

plan compare with 2010?

If your bonus, commission, etc. plan increased/

decreased compared to 2010, how much?

Average Increase in bonus: 40%

Median Increase in bonus: 15%

8

68%

9%

12%

8%

2%

Over 10%

decrease

8-10% decrease

5-7% decrease

2-4% decrease

Less than 2%

decreaseDecreased

10%

same

71%

52%Over 10%

increase

Average Decrease in bonus: 51%

Median Decrease in bonus: 50%

June 2011

Section II Careers in Engineering

9 June 2011

How long have you been an engineer? Which is your primary engineering discipline?(i.e. mechanical or electrical design)

9%

8%

Less than 5

years

6 - 10 years

Average years: 18

% of respondents

Mechanical engineering 37%

Electrical/electronics engineering 24%

Manufacturing engineering 11%

Electromechanical engineering 5%

10

13%

14%

56%

11 - 15 years

16 - 20 years

Over 20 years

Electromechanical engineering 5%

Software engineering 4%

Controls engineering 4%

Materials engineering 2%

Other 11%

June 2011

10 + years

Less

than 3

years

14%

How many years have you worked in

your present position?

How many years have you worked in

your present company?

Average years: 9

12%

17%

44%

1%

15-19 years

10-14 years

1-9 years

Less than 1 year

11

10 + years

53%

6-10 years

17%

3-5 years

16%

14%

3%

6%

7%

10%

12%

35+ years

30-34 years

25-29 years

20-24 years

15-19 years

Average years: 13

June 2011

In an average week, how many hours

do you work?

How has the number of hours you work

each week changed over the past year?

Work more

hours

23%

Work less Same # 27%

45%

5%

45-49

40-44

Under 40 hours

12

Work less

hours

10%

Same #

of hours

67%

4%

5%

14%

60 hours or

more

55-59

50-54

Average hours: 46

June 2011

Do you have supervisory and/or

budget responsibility?

If you are supervising people, how has

this changed during the past 2 years?

Both

Supervisory/

Budget

25%

Budgetary

Only

100%

Less people 18%

Same 48%

13

Only

8%

Only

Supervisory

16%

Neither

52%

0%

50%

Same 48%

More people 34%

June 2011

What is the number of employees that you are supervising today

and what is the number of employees you supervised two years ago in 2009?

30%

26%

39%

43%

Number of employees supervised in 2011

Number of employees supervised in 2009

Average number of employees

supervised in 2011: 26

Average number of employees

supervised in 2009: 11

14

3%

9%

13%

2%3%

7%

14%12%

50 or more20 to 4910 to 195 to 9Fewer than 5None

June 2011

Please rate your level of agreement with the statements below

pertaining to your role as an engineer.

68%

65%

47%

18%

23%

34%

14%

12%

19%

Appreciated and respected

Role of the engineer is a respected

profession

Underpaid and overworked

Strongly Agree/Agree Neutral Disagree/Strongly Disagree

15

45%

40%

26%

30%

28%

30%

Fully using engineering skills

Role that is too often outsourced to

China and/or other countries

June 2011

Section III Job Satisfaction

16 June 2011

In general, how satisfied are you with your career in

design engineering?

Extremely

Satisfied

10%

Very Satisfied

42%

Not Very

Satisfied

8%

Not At All

Satisfied

2%

52% are Extremely/Very Satisfied with their design

engineering careerMotivating students to go into

engineering

Cool product line

Impact of my work on the

world

17

42%

Somewhat

Satisfied

38%Designs save lives.

Opportunity to develop meaningful products

Build stuff in a lab, not just sitting in a

cubicle all day

Once in awhile I get PAID to

put on waders and mess about

in a creek!

June 2011

What factors contribute to being satisfied with your job?

What factors greatly impact on your dissatisfaction with your current job?

% of respondents

Problem solving 75%

Technical challenges 71%

Opportunity to be creative 65%

Salary 62%

Benefits 56%

Location 55%

Opportunity for new challenges 54%

Relationships with colleagues 54%

Variety of projects 54%

Job security 54%

% of respondents

Company politics 76%

Salary 70%

No room for advancement 68%

No recognition 64%

Stress level too high 55%

Workload 52%

Not challenging enough 36%

Lack of benefits 36%

Lack of adequate technology 34%

18

Base: Extremely/Somewhat Satisfied with

career in design engineering

Job security 54%

Companys financial stability 43%

Recognition from management 43%

Recognition from peers 42%

Relationship with boss 36%

Advancement opportunities 31%

Company size 27%

Relationships with subordinates 25%

Opportunity for job training 22%

Travel 20%

Managing people 12%

Other 3%

Lack of adequate technology 34%

Company unstable 32%

Outsourcing 29%

Colleagues 22%

Location 15%

Other 16%

Base: Not Very/Not At All Satisfied with career

in design engineering

June 2011

% of respondents

Workload 51%

Balancing work with home/ personal life 43%

Keeping up with technology 39%

Lack of career development 30%

Working with outdated equip./technology 29%

Need to learn more skill sets 25%

Company downsizing 22%

Company stability 19%

Global design teams 16%

Work conditions 14%

Poor relationships with co-workers 12%

Other 8%

Extremely

Challenging

9%

Very

Challenging

38%

Not Very

Challenging

8%

Not At All

Challenging

1%

How challenging is your job?

What factors do you find most challenging?

47% Extremely/Very Challenging

19

46%41%

13%

More Same amount Less

Somewhat

Challenging

43%

How stressful is your job compared to two years ago?

Base: Find job Extremely/Very/Somewhat Challenging

June 2011

Extremely

Concerned

8%

Very Concerned

17%

Not Very

Concerned

28%

Not At All

Concerned

8%

How concerned or secure do you feel about your job

in the current economic climate?

25% are Extremely/Very Concerned with the security

of their position

Company is replacing US engineers with Best Cost Country engineers.

US manufacturers do not need

US workers, its cheaper to build

it in China.

20

Somewhat

Concerned

40%

Start-up company, no job security, but more challenge!

The company is dependent on government contracts that may be cancelled.

Company history of stability. I do

my job well. There is a history of

more work than we have time for.

June 2011

Why do you feel this way about your job security?

Reasons are a function of:

% of respondents

Concerned (Net) 56%

Concern is a function of:

Company 32%

Economy 15%

Individuals situation 10%

Industry 7%

Politics 3%

21

Unconcerned (Net) 44%

Lack of concern a function of:

Company 22%

Individuals situation 21%

Industry 11%

Economy 3%

Politics 0%

June 2011

28%

Layoffs/downsize

d during the last

6 months

Has your company experienced any of

the following during the last 12 months?

What percent of your engineering

workforce was reduced?

Average % of workforce

reduction: 21%

70%

80%

90%

100%

30 - 39% 5%

40 - 59% 11%

60% + 7%

June 201122

18%

45%

8%

Hiring freeze

Hiring/Adding

personnel

Other

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

20 29% 16%

1 9% 35%

10 19% 26%

28%

Layoffs/downsize

d during the last

6 months

Has your company experienced any of

the following during the last 12 months?

What percent of your engineering

workforce was increased?

Average % of workforce

increase: 15%

70%

80%

90%

100%

30 - 39% 3%

40 - 59% 3%

60% + 4%

June 201123

18%

45%

8%

Hiring freeze

Hiring/Adding

personnel

Other

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

20 29% 11%

1 9% 50%

10 19% 29%

How did this downsizing affect your position?

How did your responsibilities change?

Unemployed

7%

Increased

workload/

responsibility

with less

time/ pay

38%

More work/responsibility without salary increase/bonus.

Increased number of hours worked after 40.

Fewer new projects with less budget and company is

looking at more productivity in cost reduction through

VAVE.

More work from others no longer with the company, [is]

now my responsibility.

Responsibilities increased, stress increased. Salary frozen

for 1 year. And am constantly being told to work more hours

June 201124

No change

33%

Other changes

22%

Two-thirds of engineering has changed. More a matter of

turnover than a change in the numbers.

Scheduling factory activity is more challenging with fewer

workers but the same published load times.

I'M THE ONLY ONE LEFT.

I had to soak up as much knowledge from outgoing

engineers as possible so as not to lose corporate

knowledge.

I lost several engineers that worked for me on one of my

projects. One was laid off and two left the company on their

own to find better opportunities.

for 1 year. And am constantly being told to work more hours

for no money.

Which of the following have you experienced in the last 12 months?

Top Responses

52%

36%

33%

31%

Increase in pay

Reduction in

benefits package

Contacted by

recruiters

No raise

June 2011

25

25%

17%

8%

6%

No bonus

Increase/added

bonus

Asked to take a pay

cut

Increased time off

How actively are you seeking another job?

Always open to

better

opportunities

33%Not actively

seeking

25%

26

Happy where I

am

19%Passively

14%

Actively

9%

June 2011

Yes

78%

Would you recommend this field to your son, daughter or to a friend?

27

No

22%

June 2011

Section IV Demographics

28 June 2011

How many people does your company employ and how

many work as engineers?

48%52%

Number of Employees

Number of Engineers

Average number of people

employed at a company: 732

Average number of engineers

employed at a company: 449

29

6%

22%23%26%

6%

15%

> 1,000501 - 999101 -500< 100

June 2011

What is your companys major product line?

% of respondents

Aerospace 11%

Automotive 10%

Medical 8%

Defense Systems 7%

Industrial Controls 6%

Communication Systems 4%

Instruments/Test

Equipment4%

Electronic Components 4%

30

Consumer Electronics 3%

Contract Manufacturing 3%

Computers/Peripherals 3%

Semiconductors 2%

Machine Tools 2%

Other 33%

June 2011

In which region do you work?(Average salaries for each region are shown)

Pacific NW

(WA,OR)

Midwest

(MI, OH, KY, TN, IN, WI, IL,

IA, MO, ND, SD, NE, KS) Mid-Atlantic

(NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD,

WV, VA, D.C.)

New England

(ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT)

Southwest

(CA, NV, AZ)

Mountain

(MT, ID, UT, WY, CO, NM)

35%

$86,406

5%

$109,853

13%

4%

$94,422

13%

7%

$96,393

31

South

(AL, MS, AR, LA, OK, TX)Southeast

(NC, SC, GA, FL)8%

$91,061

13%

$107,407

8%

$86,076

$97,904

June 2011

45 - 54

38%

55 - 64

26%

61%

21%

20%

7%

7%

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Two-year Associate's degree in

technical field

Master's degree in engineering

Master's in business

administration

Bachelor's in non-engineering

field

Please indicate your educational background. What is your age group?

Average age: 49

32

18 - 25

1%

26 - 34

9%

35 - 44

21%65+

5%

3%

3%

2%

7%

6%

field

Advanced degree in non-

engineering field

Ph.D in engineering

Current student

Other

No college degree

June 2011

Section V Salary Performance vs. Metrics

33 June 2011

$7,121 $9,491

$6,857

$10,781

Bonus, commission, etc.

Base salary

Company Size (Number of Employees)

Total Average Compensation(Salary + Bonus)

34

$79,473 $85,020 $89,769

$102,794

$8,083 $9,666 $10,237 $9,511 $6,087


Base salary

Age


35

$53,836

$89,335 $91,388 $95,452 $94,971 $94,627

$2,908

18-25** 26-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

**Small base size, interpret with caution

June 2011

$10,121

$9,918

$7,588 $8,396

Base salary


Level of Education


36

$109,350 $96,091

$84,386 $79,487

Master's/PhD degree in

engineering

Bachelor's degree in

engineering

Bachelor's or Advanced

degree in non-

engr/Master's in BA

Two-year Associate's

degree in a technical

field

June 2011

$2,636

$8,458

$14,170

$13,638


Base salary

Number of Hours Worked


37

$78,756 $91,218

$97,901

$133,121

$2,636

$9,002 $7,418 $10,589 $9,659

$8,300 $9,713 $14,126


Base salary

Number of Years at Present Job


38

$92,113 $89,475 $87,702 $90,415 $104,296 $98,462

$105,598

$12,145

$6,815

$5,597


Base salary

Satisfaction with Job


39

$100,810 $87,316

$79,169

Extremely/Very Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Not Very/Not at All

Satisfied

June 2011

$6,201

$7,772 $8,708 $8,401

$10,639


Base salary

Number of Years of Experience as an Engineer


40

$63,172

$86,663 $91,403 $88,048 $101,202

$6,201

20

June 2011

$102,143

$103,416

$98,244

$11,286

$8,339

$9,571

Controls

Materials

Software

Base Salary


Job Discipline: Engineering


41

$96,369

$94,843

$80,424

$82,907

$10,663

$8,677

$9,737

$6,745

Electrical/Electronics

Mechanical

Manufacturing

Electromechanical

June 2011

$107,407

$109,853

$96,393

$97,904

$15,868

$9,326

$10,833

$7,315

Southwest

Mountain

New England

Mid-Atlantic

Base Salary


Region


42

$97,904

$94,422

$91,061

$86,076

$86,406

$7,315

$8,273

$7,637

$9,412

$8,811

Mid-Atlantic

Pacific NW

South

Southeast

Midwest

June 2011

$105,051

$104,990

$104,843

$28,145

$10,044

$8,940

Semiconductor (N=36)

Industrial Controls (N=81)

Defense System (N=103)

Industry


June 201143

$100,208

$103,569

$99,128

$94,207

$13,407

$6,663

$9,553

$13,325

Communication System (N=58)

Aerospace (N=166)

Computer Peripheral (N=46)

Instrument/Test Equip (N=52)

Base Salary


$95,236

$94,407

$86,327

$11,075

$7,307

$9,378

Medical (N=117)

Consumer Electronics (N=43)

Automotive (N=139)

Industry, contd


June 201144

$81,866

$67,291

$72,068

$4,188

$7,566

$2,707

Electronic/Components (N=53)

Contract Mfg (N=49)

Machine Tools (N=35)

Base Salary


dn completefnl salary survey71411

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