Chapter 3: Science & Engineering Indicators
Engineering Salaries
Since 1987, engineering salaries have barely kept pace with inflation, an indication that although there are or may have been some shortages in some engineering disciplines, they were not severe enough to
cause a constant-dollar increase in the price of engineering services. "The sluggish growth in salaries [can be] attributed to a large pool of available engineering talent, defense budget cuts, and downsizing in industry, which increased the number
of engineers in the job market" (Engineering Manpower Commission 1992a)..
According to BLS data, the median annual salary for all engineers was $44,820 in 1992. Two other organizations, the Engineering Workforce Commission and the National Society of Professional Engineers, peg the 1992 median at $52,150 and $58,240,
respectively.
Approximately 1.3 million engineers work for industrial firms. According to data from the Engineering Workforce Commission, the median annual salary of all engineers working in industry was $54,900. (See
appendix table 3-8.) These data also reveal the following.
- Pay is somewhat higher in nonmanufacturing than manufacturing industries--$56,150 versus $53,850.
- Engineers working in the petroleum refining industry have the highest median annual salary among manufacturing industries; it was $72,500 in 1992. Those working in the chemicals, drugs, and plastics industry reported the second highest median
annual salary--$65,400. Among all manufacturing industries, engineering salaries in these two industries exhibited about the largest percentage increases--27 to 28 percent--between 1987 and 1992.
- Among nonmanufacturing industries, research and development organizations paid engineers the highest median annual salary--$63,500--in 1992.
- The median annual salary received by engineers (both supervisors and nonsupervisors) at the bachelors degree level rose 19 percent--from $44,150 to $52,550--between 1987 and 1992. (See appendix table
3-9.) Engineers at the masters degree level saw their median annual salary increase only 14 percent--from $51,950 to $59,350. Doctoral salaries rose 18 percent--from $59,700 to $70,600. (Only about 4 percent of the engineers working in
industry have doctoral degrees. See Engineering Manpower Commission 1992a.)
- In 1992, nonsupervisory engineers with masters degrees made an average of about $6,000 more per year than engineers at the bachelors degree level. The Ph.D. premium--the salary differential between those engineers holding doctorates and those
with masters degrees--was about $10,000.
- Engineers with supervisory responsibilities make an average of about $20,000 more per year than those without supervisory responsibilities.
- The starting pay of recent engineering graduates has been increasing at a faster pace than the median salary paid to experienced workers. This "compression" or narrowing of the range of compensation between younger and older engineers indicates
that the relative value of experience in the workplace has been declining (Engineering Manpower Commission 1992a).
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