Engineering firm salaries continue to increase

Engineers in the design professions and construction trades across the nation are seeing base salaries go up in 2014, according to a recent survey.

By ZweigWhite December 27, 2013

Engineers in the design professions and construction trades across the nation are seeing base salaries go up in 2014, according to an industry survey. Produced in partnership with the American Council of Engineering Companies’ state member organizations, ZweigWhite’s 2014 Salary Surveys of Engineering Firms breaks down data by location, industry, and job role. Different compilations are offered across three regions in the U.S.

For example, the survey of Northeast and South Atlantic engineering firms shows salary increases for entry-level staff, project engineers, project managers, department managers, and principals, in the civil engineering, structural engineering, and environmental disciplines. Department managers and environmental engineer and scientist principals saw the biggest increases.

The Central region salary survey records show pay increases as well. The most notable increases occurred for project managers in the environmental engineering discipline, with the median base salary growing more than 17%  from 2013 to 2014. Principals in the environmental discipline also saw significant median salary increases of 12.7%. The median salary for project managers at structural engineering firms grew to more than 10%, from $81,640 in 2013 to $90,000 in 2014.

Although the salaries of principals in the Mountain and Pacific region remained among the highest in the U.S., base salary level increases were hard to find, and some positions even experienced drops in pay. Project managers in the structural engineering discipline saw small decreases, and the median salary for project managers in the environmental discipline saw decreases of 11.36% from 2013 to 2014.

– Edited by Jessica DuBois-Maahs, Associate Content Manager, CFE Media, Plant Engineering, Control Engineering