Engineers: salary survey and how they feel about their jobs

Janine Love- September 18, 2012

In the US, you cannot escape talk about a bad economy, and what it means for jobs, let alone careers. So, if you’re wondering how things are going for electrical engineers, particularly those working in test and measurement, we’ve got a snapshot for you.

Earlier this summer, we surveyed Test&Measurement World  readers to find out how their jobs are going, what their technical frustrations are, and what are their concerns moving forward (508 usable responses).  The good news for test, though it shouldn’t be a surprise, is that readers report the amount of testing they are doing is staying the same or on the upswing (45% stayed the same; 43% increased) over the past three years.

They report that their struggles include not having quite enough resources (38% struggle with this) to get the job done, which is arguably a trend across all industries. Other challenges include lack of documentation from other departments (23%) and lack of up to date equipment (22%). In addition, 22% report that ‘test is an afterthought.’

But, arguably, being an engineer is a great profession, right? Our surveyed readers agreed. Despite 60% being concerned with job security, 75% are satisfied with their careers and 73% would recommend engineering to their children as a career. So, what do they like about their jobs? 71% say they get satisfaction from solving technical challenges, and 47% enjoy a sense of accomplishment.

It sounds like the majority of people who responded to our survey are happy with their employers too. 72% say their company is a good place to work and 69% would like to work there for “many more years.” 71% of respondents feel comfortable disagreeing with their bosses, and 68% report that their companies encourage innovation.

Things are good then, and we love a good technical puzzle. So what challenges loom on the horizon? 40% predict the next level of challenges will come from test system integration, while 36% are looking at software. An equal number (36%) are expecting a challenge with data acquisition and management.

>>Page 2: Show me the money