“Engineers get the opportunity to create something from nothing — the ultimate magic trick.” That's what one Medical Design reader says when asked if engineering was fun. In fact, 80% of respondents said they would recommend engineering to friends and children and 91% said engineering was fun.

What do engineers get in return for the good times? The average salary of the peopl who responded to our survey is $77,600, up from $73,000 last year. (See MD, October 2005, pg. 46) For most of those surveyed, this was an increase of 1 to 5%. Over half receive bonuses, which are based on personal performance and company profit sharing. Forty-two percent say their bonus was 1 to 5% of their base pay.

We asked readers what gave them the most satisfaction at work, and also what displeased them the most. Over half say challenging work assignments make them happy. Work environment and colleagues were important to 15%, and constantly changing technology keeps another 11% coming to work everyday.

Too much nonengineering work tops the list of grievances, followed closely by lack of support from management. Twenty percent are bothered by poor compensation and 16% feel there's no potential for advancement.

The future of the career

Are we facing a shortage of engineers? Or are engineering jobs being outsourced to offshore countries like so many manufacturing jobs? This is a hotly debated issue with no clear answer. But it is clear that employers are having a hard time finding qualified engineers. The problem may lie with employers who are not willing to lower their requirements and train new hires. “Right now supply is not meeting demand,” says Teresa Carroll, vice president of the Engineering Div., Kelly Resources, Troy, Mich. (kellyengineering.com). “Companies want us to find someone with skills and experience. And as global competitiveness comes into play, they can't afford to groom somebody. It's going to be interesting because even though baby boomers may retire and move on, engineering companies won't hire graduates and there'll be a shortage of engineers,” she adds. “We're going to have to figure out how to bring in and train graduates despite pressures on cost.”

Keep your skills up to date, recommends Carroll. “Engineers need interpersonal skills, along with good written and oral communication skills. Engineers must be able to tell a story and sell an idea.” Knowledge of foreign languages may also be a plus, as more engineers find themselves reporting to managers in other countries.

Average Salary by Job Title

President, owner, CEO, other executive management	$85,100
Vice president, VP of engineering	$100,000
Department head, section head	$100,300
Technical director, director of engineering, R&D, engineering manager	$90,400
Group leader, project team leader, project manager	$84,500
Chief engineer, senior engineer, lead engineer, principal engineer	$91,500
QC, evaluation, test manager	$57,300
Design engineer, project engineer, R&D engineer	$68,600
Systems engineer, applications engineer	$68,000
Manufacturing, production engineer	$80,000
Consulting engineer, scientist	$77,800

What Do You

Rick Jory
President and CEO
Sandhill Scientific Inc.
Denver, Colo.

What trends do you see in the medical-design industry?

The field continues to be competitive, with pressures to create more customer-friendly products with added value, and to do so while maintaining costs and decreasing development time lines. This creates a real challenge — but opportunities for those who can accomplish all of this.

What trends do you see in the workplace?

We moved production of a single-use product (disposable catheter) offshore to our own manufacturing facility. We'll see more of this due to cost pressures. This may reduce employment of those involved in production, but should not negatively impact engineering, regulatory, sales, and marketing.

James Walsh
Mechanical Design Engineer
Xerox Corp.
Rochester, New York

What do you see in the future for engineering?

Engineering will go through changes that force us to think further ahead in the product life cycle. In the future, products will no longer be sent to the dump or scrap yard because cost associated with this type of disposal will become prohibitive. Therefore engineers will have to think about reuse of the product, parts, or assemblies once the life of the product is over. Products will be returned to the original manufacturer for reuse, upgrades, or conversion into a new product. This will be challenging especially in fields where technology is rapidly changing. This should, however, be an exciting opportunity to start designing on a platform level instead of individual products or uses.

What trends do you see in the medical-design industry?

Medical care is being pushed in two directions. First, there is and always will be a push for earlier detection and prevention. Secondly there is a push towards more self care or family care. In other words, recover at home to incur lower costs. Both these areas will create new demands and products.

Ted Roth
Principal Software Engineer
Medtronic MiniMed
Northridge, Calif.

What do you see in the future for engineering?

Engineers will continue to be needed, but they are not scarce as they were in the past. Management always had an us-them mentality but in the past engineers were “us” and now they are “them.”

What trends do you see in the medical-design industry?

Everything will have a little computer in it. Cell phones will drive down the size of everything, and batteries will run most things.

Bruce Carpenter
Mechanical Engineering Consultant
Broomfield, Colo.

What do you see in the future for engineering?

Engineering is a cyclic profession. Right now the trend is to outsource both manufacturing and engineering so jobs are few in relation to qualified candidates. It will change and when it does there won't be enough engineers to fill the jobs available. The money will be comparatively less than it has been in the past but the jobs will be there and the money will still be better than the average of similar degrees.

What trends do you see in the medical-design industry?

I see a trend of business and engineering management in particular spending more time worrying about FDA buzz words than trying to meet the FDA requirements. The requirements are really pretty basic. The FDA requirements are for good design control and process control.

Walter Roach
Baxter HealthCare Corp.

What do you see in the future for engineering?

There will be strong demand for engineers in the future. Developing countries such as India and China will become hubs for design and manufacturing activities. This will create a shift in jobs for mid and lower-level positions in software, mechanical, electrical, chemical, and systems engineering for Europe and the U.S. to these locations.

What trends do you see in the medical design industry?

Continued outsourcing due to cost and schedule demands. The focus in the next five years will be around outsourcing of design and validation activities.

Average Salary by Years of Experience

Less than 3 years	$50,000
4 to 6 years	$56,200
7 to 10 years	$78,000
11 to 15 years	$80,100
16 to 20 years	$92,300
More than 21 years	$88,800

Are Engineering Salaries Too Low?

Every year we ask readers if they would recommend engineering as a profession to others, and every year we get mixed responses. Most people say if you're an engineer at heart, you'll find satisfaction being an engineer. When we talk to medical-design engineers, we get answers such as “I feel I've made the world a better place at the end of the day,” or “It's rewarding to design medical devices that help people live longer, better lives.” But there are always a few responses that suggest engineers are not compensated enough for the contributions they make. One respondent says, “Engineering is fun but getting rich as a lawyer could also be fun, with a lot less education.”

Are the hard work, years of schooling, and general lack of recognition worth it? Is engineering satisfying because working in the medical industry puts a face on the technical challenges? Would you feel as satisfied if you worked in the aerospace industry? Let us know what you think by joining the discussion on Vicki Reitz's blog at forums.medicaldesign.com. Click on the post “Engineering Salaries Too Low?” and give your opinion.

Average Salary by Degree

No college degree	$64,400
Associates degree	$63,600
Bachelors degree, engineering	$87,400
Bachelors degree, non-engineering	$69,500
Masters in Business Administration	$92,000
Masters degree, engineering	$95,500
Masters degree, non-engineering	$70,900
Doctorate degree, engineering	$102,400
Doctorate degree, non-engineering	$94,000

Average Salary by Region

New England	$83,500
Middle Atlantic	$81,300
South Atlantic	$69,700
North Central	$73,700
South Central	$63,500
Mountain	$77,800
Pacific	$94,400