The highest earning composite professional in this field (salary plus cash bonus and/or cash profit sharing) is President “A” (defined as a CEO who is an owner, full partner, or majority shareholder of the business ) from an engineering consulting firm. The firm provides civil engineering (general, structural and/or land development) or geotechnical services; receives more than $25,000,000 in annual gross fees for services rendered; has 500 or more employees; and is based in or near Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, St. Louis, Oakland/East Bay, Milwaukee, Portland (OR), Lincoln (NE), Chicago, Middlesex-Essex (MA), or Sacramento counties. This person has a bachelor’s degree in engineering or higher and 20 or more years of experience. While the average president “A” has a total annual income of $112,000, the highest reported earners in this group earn more than $1,000,000.

At the very other end of the income spectrum, field technicians have a median income of $27,400. Sometimes earning less than $18,000, the lowest-paid employees in this group are often located in or near St. Louis, Corpus Christi, Milwaukee, or Richmond/Petersburg (VA), or outside of the Missouri metropolitan areas studied; jobs for companies that provide surveying or civil or geotechnical engineering services in general; have less than three years of experience; and have no university education.

These composites represent the briefest possible “summary” of the voluminous data provided on current salaries and cash bonuses and/or profit sharing, and numerous demographic variables provided by 216 engineering and surveying consulting firms on more than 5,300 employees in 152 reference posts. . The final results of the survey appear in Compensation in Consulting Engineering and Land Surveying Firms, 10th Edition – 2004, a four-volume, 888-page statistical analysis of compensation in this field.

Copies of the full report are available for $1,200.00 from Abbott, Langer & Associates, Inc., Dept. ART, 548 First St., Crete, IL 60417 (phone 708/672-4200; fax 708/672-4674; http:// /www.abbott-langer.com). Volumes can be purchased separately (Volume 1: Supervisory and Management Jobs and Volume 2: Non-Supervisory Engineers and Scientists for $495.00 each; and Volume 3: CADD/Design/Drawing Jobs and Volume 4: lab/survey/tech $395.00 each).

It would be an exercise in futility to attempt anything more than a cursory overview of the survey results in this summary. However, some general data regarding compensation can be presented here and some comments can be made.

overall compensation

In addition to the referral job earnings already discussed, the national median total cash compensation of some of the other 150 referral jobs included in the survey report is:
Engineering Branch Managers “B” – $105,562
Senior Mechanical Engineering Project Managers – $95,500
Senior Environmental Engineering Project Managers – $89,322
Chief Financial Officers – $89,018
Senior Electrical/Electronic Engineers – $77,700
Marketing/Sales Executive Directors – $66,200
Senior Scientists – $66,000
Human Resources Executive Directors – $65,780
Highway/Traffic/Transportation Project Engineers – $61,168
Lead Designers – $55,000
Design/Drawing/CADD Managers – $52,000
Civil Engineering Staff – $48,240
Party Chiefs Survey – $40,120
Engineering Technicians – $37,000
Associate Field Technicians (Inspection – construction) – $36,360
CADD Junior Traders – $31,840
Associate Writers (writing) – $27,874
Laboratory Technicians – $27,190

Naturally, these national pay rates vary by region, state and metro area, type of services provided and annual fees received by the business, size of business, type of work performed/supervised/managed , level of education, length of experience, and supervisory/management responsibility involved – all demographic variables for which data are provided in the full report.

Geographic area

Median total annual cash compensation for supervisory/managerial staff is highest in the South and Southwest states and lowest in the Midwest and North Central states. The Pacific, Rocky Mountain, and Northeastern states are in the middle of the range. With respect to metropolitan areas only, the highest annual median incomes are found in: Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill; Charlotte/Gastonia; Dallas/Ft. worth; Orlando; and Daytona Beach/Melbourne/Titusville. The lowest median annual incomes are found in Eugene/Springfield (OR); Big falls; monks; mound; and Pittsburgh.

The average total annual cash compensation for science and engineering jobs is highest in the Pacific and North Central states and lowest in the Northeast and South states. The Southwestern, Rocky Mountain, and Midwestern states are in the middle. With respect to metropolitan areas only, the highest annual median incomes are found in: Houston; vegas; Moline/Rock Island/Davenport; Denver/Boulder; Chicago; and Minneapolis/St. Pablo. The lowest median annual incomes are found in: Harrisburg/Lancaster/York; Glenwood Springs (CO); Albany/Schenectady/Troy; Charleston (West Virginia); Rockford (IL); and Eau Claire (WI).

Average total annual cash compensation for CADD/design/writing jobs is highest in Pacific and Midwestern states. The Southwestern and Southern states are the lowest, with the Rocky Mountain, North Central, and Northeast states in the middle. If only metropolitan areas are considered, the highest annual median incomes are found in: Oakland/East Bay; Detroit; small desk; Champagne/Urban; and Seattle/Everett. The lowest median annual incomes are found in: Harrisburg/Lancaster/York; Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill; Louisville; Kansas City; and Austin.

Median total annual cash compensation for laboratory, surveying, and technical jobs is highest in the Pacific and Rocky Mountain states and lowest in the Southwestern and Southern states, with the Midwestern, Northeastern, and Northern states center in the middle. Looking at metropolitan areas alone, the highest annual median incomes are found in: San Diego; Inland Empire (CA); The Angels; Oakland/East Bay; Philadelphia; and Cherry Hill (New Jersey). The lowest median annual incomes are found in Corpus Christi; Jacksonville; Anchorage; Orange County (CA); Atlanta; and Orlando.

Type of service provided by the employer

In general, supervisory/managerial staff are paid better at architectural, civil (general), and environmental engineering firms, and worse at surveying firms and electrical/electronic engineering firms. Engineering and scientific jobs pay best at highway/traffic/transportation and electrical engineering firms, and worst at environmental, surveying, and geotechnical engineering firms. CADD/design/drafting jobs pay best at highway/traffic/transportation and civil engineering firms (generally and primarily land development), and worst at surveying and environmental engineering firms. Laboratory, surveying, and technical jobs pay best at highway/traffic/transportation and civil (generally or primarily structural) engineering firms, and worst at surveying and geotechnical engineering firms.

annual fees

In general, this factor is not a good indicator of the average total annual cash compensation received by all types of employees in the consulting engineering/surveying field, except at the highest levels.

Number of employees

This factor is also not a good overall predictor of average annual total cash compensation in the consulting engineering/surveying field, except at the highest levels.

Type of work performed

For supervisory/management staff, the average annual total cash compensation is highest in Computer Science and (General) Civil Engineering and lowest in CADD Design, Surveying, and Electrical/Electronic Engineering. For engineering and scientific jobs, it is highest in aeronautical/aerospace and chemical engineering, and lowest in ecology and surveying. Among CADD/design/writing staff, designers (excluding CADD) are the most highly paid and cartoonists (excluding CADD) are the least paid. For laboratory, survey, and technical jobs, annual compensation is highest in civil engineering (primarily land development) and surveying, and lowest in laboratory and earth sciences.

Experience

In most areas surveyed, this is an excellent predictor of average total annual cash compensation: generally, the more years of experience, the higher the compensation.

Education

This is an important indicator of the average annual total cash compensation in all areas surveyed. For supervisory/management staff and those in the engineering/scientific field, a Ph.D. brought the highest compensation. An advanced degree resulted in the highest compensation for both CADD/design/drafting and laboratory, surveying, and technical work.

Experience versus education

A combination of experience and education is a better predictor of compensation than either area alone. Although covered in detail in the report, space does not allow for an analysis of the data in this document.

Managerial/Supervisory Responsibility

The average total annual cash compensation varies greatly depending on the level of supervisory responsibility. Compensation is higher for supervisory/management staff supervising 50 or more professional employees (with little or no responsibility for supervising technicians and/or drafters). For engineering and scientific jobs, compensation is lower without consistent supervisory responsibility and higher when 10 or more professional and sub-professional employees are supervised. For CADD/design/writing jobs, supervision of three or four sub-professionals generates the highest compensation, while no constant supervisory responsibility generates the lowest income. For laboratory, survey, and technical work, supervision of five to nine technicians and/or draftsmen results in the highest compensation; no consistent supervisory responsibility results in the lowest salary.