Annually, Structural Engineer conducts a survey of our readers to further understand industry compensation trends. The study asks questions about earnings and benefits, as well as collects employee profile data in order to provide a relevant background for the information presented. The employees who responded to our Annual Compensation Survey vary greatly, but there are many commonalities.
Annually, Structural Engineer conducts a survey of our readers to further understand industry compensation trends. The study asks questions about earnings and benefits, as well as collects employee profile data in order to provide a relevant background for the information presented. The employees who responded to our Annual Compensation Survey vary greatly, but there are many commonalities. So that you further understand the data presented in this month’s Special Report, "Facts and figures to guide your career decisions: The 8th Annual Compensation Survey," which begins on page 16, the following will give you a better appreciation of who responded.
Statically speaking, the most common demographic of the structural engineers who responded to our survey include male (91 percent), U.S. citizens (94 percent) who work in the private sector (85 percent). The majority of this year’s respondents (54 percent) work for the following three types of firms: full-service consultants (22 percent), structural engineering only (18 percent), or full-service engineering (14 percent). Most work between 40 to 45 hours per week (45 percent) and while one-third of respondents do not supervise any other employees, 35 percent of structural engineers manage one to three employees. The variety comes in employer size and location—respondents work in organizations that staff from 1 to more than 10,000 employees and are from every state in the nation. Additionally, there was an even distribution of respondents’ position and number of years of experience in the industry; for more information on these statistics see Tables 2 and 3 on pages 16 and 20, respectively.
Licensure—Eighty percent of the respondents have earned a professional engineer (P.E.) license, while 18 percent have earned a structural engineer (S.E.) license. As you know these are not mutually exclusive licenses; in fact, while some states require a P.E. before an engineer can earn an S.E. license, a few states do not and many states offer only a P.E. license. In fact, 16 percent of respondents reported holding both a P.E. and an S.E. license.
Because licensure—including any continuing education requirements—is established at the state level, each state may have a slightly different set of rules that govern. Because of this, a structural engineer practicing in several states must be aware of and abide by several sets of licensure regulations. In fact, to examine the implications of this issue, the Professional Activities Committee of the Business and Professional Activities Division of the Structural Engineering Institute has organized the Separate SE Licensing Summit on July 13-14 in Reston, Va. The purpose of this summit is to bring together leaders from local structural engineering groups from around the country to learn from one another, discuss strategies which local groups may use and collectively develop materials to support local efforts; visit www.seinstitute.org for details
Additional trends reported by this year’s respondents include the following: 3 percent of structural engineers who completed our survey reported obtaining a SECB designation, which means certified to practice structural engineering; and 3 percent who are LEED Accredited Professionals.
While few of these demographics may be surprising, understanding the data source should help you interpret the results. It is our hope that the results of the yearly compensation study will assist you in your knowledge of industry offerings so that you are empowered to make good career decisions.
Statically speaking, the most common demographic of the structural engineers who responded to our survey include male (91 percent), U.S. citizens (94 percent) who work in the private sector (85 percent). The majority of this year’s respondents (54 percent) work for the following three types of firms: full-service consultants (22 percent), structural engineering only (18 percent), or full-service engineering (14 percent). Most work between 40 to 45 hours per week (45 percent) and while one-third of respondents do not supervise any other employees, 35 percent of structural engineers manage one to three employees. The variety comes in employer size and location—respondents work in organizations that staff from 1 to more than 10,000 employees and are from every state in the nation. Additionally, there was an even distribution of respondents’ position and number of years of experience in the industry; for more information on these statistics see Tables 2 and 3 on pages 16 and 20, respectively.
Licensure—Eighty percent of the respondents have earned a professional engineer (P.E.) license, while 18 percent have earned a structural engineer (S.E.) license. As you know these are not mutually exclusive licenses; in fact, while some states require a P.E. before an engineer can earn an S.E. license, a few states do not and many states offer only a P.E. license. In fact, 16 percent of respondents reported holding both a P.E. and an S.E. license.
Because licensure—including any continuing education requirements—is established at the state level, each state may have a slightly different set of rules that govern. Because of this, a structural engineer practicing in several states must be aware of and abide by several sets of licensure regulations. In fact, to examine the implications of this issue, the Professional Activities Committee of the Business and Professional Activities Division of the Structural Engineering Institute has organized the Separate SE Licensing Summit on July 13-14 in Reston, Va. The purpose of this summit is to bring together leaders from local structural engineering groups from around the country to learn from one another, discuss strategies which local groups may use and collectively develop materials to support local efforts; visit www.seinstitute.org for details
Additional trends reported by this year’s respondents include the following: 3 percent of structural engineers who completed our survey reported obtaining a SECB designation, which means certified to practice structural engineering; and 3 percent who are LEED Accredited Professionals.
While few of these demographics may be surprising, understanding the data source should help you interpret the results. It is our hope that the results of the yearly compensation study will assist you in your knowledge of industry offerings so that you are empowered to make good career decisions.