Engineering Salaries Continue to Thrive

Once again the ERC Salary Survey demonstrates the strength of the region’s Engineering industry. The 2012 Salary survey reports data on 38 separate engineering positions, with the bulk of the job titles falling into the “Professional” job classification. The strength of the industry is further reinforced by comparing median salaries among engineering positions in lower level job classifications to other job titles outside of engineering. For example, Service Installation Representatives (both junior and senior level) make up 2 of only 9 office/clerical positions with median salaries over $40,000. Similarly, at the supervisory and managerial level, the median salaries for engineering jobs all fall within the top 40%- with Engineering Manager / Chief Engineer near the very top of the list as one of only seven jobs reporting a median salary at $100,000 or above.

Despite strong local salary data trends, national employment trends suggest that the engineering field may be mixed in terms of job growth projections depending on the specific position. In particular the 2012-2013 BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook notes that in terms of job growth engineering positions based in manufacturing may struggle to keep pace with those in service industries and architectural fields. However, with an average project job growth rate from 2012-2020 of 10% and much higher for niche areas such Biomedical Engineers (62% job growth) and Environmental Engineering Technicians (24% job growth), engineering appears to be more than capable of sustaining and even improving upon these salary numbers for the foreseeable future.

Additional Resources

The 2012 ERC Salary Survey, published in May of 2012, reports data provided by 196 participating organizations in Northeast Ohio for 8,508 individual employees in 241 positions. Breakouts of data are included across six variables: number of employees, industry type, county, annual revenue, profit / non-profit, and years of experience. To order, complete the following order form and fax it to ERC at 440-947-1306. If you have any questions, e-mail surveys@yourerc.om or call 440-684-9700.