Break Points
Embedded Salaries
Jack Ganssle
11/9/2009 11:04 AM EST
As of this writing about 400 people have submitted data. I haven't done any real analysis of it as yet, but have observed a few interesting patterns. It's too early to say anything meaningful about salaries since the data is being reported in many currencies and it will take some time to make sense of it all.
About 10% claim to be "somewhat unhappy" in their career, and one percent simply hate the profession. 53% are reasonably happy, and 36% love the career. I wonder if any other occupation has so many satisfied workers?
During the dot-com implosion I asked a group at the ESC if they'd recommend this career to their kids. Only one (out of about 100) would. The same question at the ESC this year garnered almost the opposite response, even though this recession has been much more wounding than the last.
Half expect the demand for engineers to remain about the same as it is today. Around 10% expect the demand to diminish, while a third expect a strong demand in the future. It will be interesting to sort that result by country, as about 15% expect much more offshoring.
A third of the respondents expect no raise in the next year; another third expect a raise of under 3%. The good news is that a third do expect a more typical raise, which in these days of no inflation according the US Inflation Calculator means more than it usually would. But, as usual, the disconnect between raises and happiness levels shows we're in this more for the fun than the money.
Also interesting is that the numbers for the last raise are about the same " the groups are split in the same thirds, except for the 4% of respondents who were confronted with negative salary growth.
In the "comments" question some replied with tales of woe, stories of many years without raises, of job loss, of health coverage reductions or "cost shifting" the burden to the workers. Though most of us are happy with our career choice, we face ever-more daunting and challenging times.
What's your take? What's the prognosis for engineering and our wages?
Jack G. Ganssle is a lecturer and consultant on embedded development issues. He conducts seminars on embedded systems and helps companies with their embedded challenges. Contact him at jack@ganssle.com. His website is www.ganssle.com.
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krwada
11/9/2009 7:46 PM EST
Even though most engineers are happy doing R&D. I can say that it takes a lot of training just to get here! My instincts tell me that is what is keeping the younger folks from entering into this fine profession.
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FillG
11/12/2009 12:39 AM EST
When my place of business brings in junior and senior high school students, I am usually asked to speak to them. I tell them that engineering is very good field to get into. It is rewarding, challenging, and you can see the fruits of your labor. I also firmly believe that the US is shooting itself in the foot by the current off shoring of engineering labor. I believe the US people (who elect the government) will realize this in the next generation such that those who are engineering will be in high demand and become as well respected as they were in the post war years of WW II.
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YogendraNamjoshi
11/12/2009 1:59 AM EST
In India, Embedded Systems is viewed as a core engineering field. As against the IT-software/ ITeS (IT-enabled Services) - the field doesn't have large percentage of outsourced services. Most of the manufacturing firms in India generally piggyback a small embedded firmware development team. The remaining embedded services company in this sector generally serve them who lack this team. Only a very minor percentage form the percentage from overseas.
Being a core engineering field, it is normally a stable field, however doesn't have great perks the way other engineering and non-engineering counterparts enjoy. For example - as compared to most dreaded sink in India - IT Software, engineers flock to that area for on-site (majorly US) opportunities and very high salaries. Unfortunately an average embedded-software engineer thinks and innovates more than such software techies.
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M1k3N3ls0n
11/12/2009 2:34 AM EST
No inflation? Ha! The US Government leaves out food and energy to make the numbers look better. Food and energy are the most inflationary commodities and must be included for a true picture of the strength of US currency. How about the USD vs. gold?
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JackGanssle
11/13/2009 9:21 AM EST
Null,
The surveys are still coming in. It'll take a couple of weeks to get them all, and then to digest the data (this is a part-time pro bono project). I'll post a link to the results in early December.
Jack
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AlPothoof
11/13/2009 3:03 PM EST
Low inflation? Only because a) the government uses a totally inappropriate measure (CPI) instead of the growth in money supply (M3, which the FED no longer reports because it looks so bad; about 14% in 2008) and b) they totally cook the books (can you say "hedonic adjustments?").
Stable field? Maybe in comparison to IT, where the average position lasts about 1-1.5 years. I average about 2.5 years between layoffs (over a 30+ year career) and that appears to be about average. Yes, some of my peers last 10-15 years in a position but some are lucky to get a few months; contract work seems to tend towards the shorter time frames and skews the results but it also keeps us going during the down turns.
"Typical raise?" What's that? I averaged a little over 1% over 2002-2008; the largest was about 2.5%. The salaries I've been seeing during my job hunt over the past 9 months run about 30% less than I was making; hourly rates are typically 20-30% less than I was quoted a year ago. That's if you can find either direct-hire or contract positions.
In general, I still love my job but I have been laid off far too many times and spent too much time unemployed. That translates into hardships for my family: generally a move as we follow the work (think "migratory engineer"), lost friends, lost opportunities, tight budgets. Even when there is contract work to fill-in between the "permanent" (HA) positions, that usually means time spent away from the family.
I can't picture myself doing any other kind of work and I have always encouraged my children to follow what they love. But I really hope they have a more stable life than I've had during my career. Unfortunately, as important as engineering and manufacturing is (and will continue to be) to the future of this country, I see it becomming less stable, rather than more.
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