JUNE - JULY 2001

 
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On the Cost of Engineering (May-June 2001)…

I my opinion engineers will not be paid what they are worth until we have collective bargaining. It works for teachers, doctors, plumbers, and carpenters. Engineers in the United States seem to be the only profession bound and determined to destroy itself. We let corporate managers decide our fate. A company is sold for $3 million per engineer. How much did the engineers get?

— Mark Carangi
IEEE Senior Member
Summit, New Jersey

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If a company wants to cut costs, it should cut the CEO's pay.

— JoAnn Neumaier

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To exclude supply and demand from the salary equation is to defy free enterprise. Certainly a company will have an incentive to keep an employee who is productive. Replacing that employee with a new employee entails risk; the new hire may not have the right skills or company "fit." So your contributions definitely improve your salary potential.

But in the end, the fundamental factor that governs all of our salaries is supply and demand - or "how easily you can be replaced." It is critical, therefore, to keep your skills updated and in demand.

In some circles, this "law" may not seem to apply. I simply cannot believe that CEOs making $1,000,000 a year are worth that in a true market, at least not in all cases. That salary level is driven by companies deciding they want a particular person and that's what they have to pay to get that person, not by defining a skills set and then choosing from among qualified candidates.

There may be a few engineers in this situation, too. But "normal" engineers don't get any more perks than anyone else and our skills are negotiated the same way. "How easily can you be replaced?" Anything else is less than a free-market economy.

— Bob Weber
IEEE and Computer Society Member
Lake Forest, CA

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