The number of respondents nearly doubled to more than 9,700, largely because the survey was conducted online for the first time. The increase in the database volume will make the survey the largest and most accurate that IEEE-USA has conducted to date.

Scheduled for formal release in June, the survey will show major gains in the value of professional services in electrical, electronics and computer engineering. The 1999 Survey reported the largest increase ever in the real incomes of U.S. IEEE members when measured in constant dollars. The 2001 edition shows even more substantial gains. Clearly, employers are placing increasing value on the services of EEs.

The median value of base pay for members working full time in their area of professional competence has risen by 6.5 percent since 1999. Coupled with the gains reported in 1999, our members have seen their purchasing power increase by more than 18 percent over the last four years. These gains are for all members as a group. Most individuals will have done much better because they have also received annual raises that reflect their increased experience.

As of January 2001, the median primary income — which includes base pay, commissions and bonuses, and net income from self-employment — of U.S. IEEE members working full time in their primary area of technical competence was $93,100. Two years ago, this figure stood at $82,000.

The gains look even better when income from all sources is counted. Adding in earnings from second jobs, payments for overtime, pension benefits and the like, the medium income of engineers working full time in their specialties rises to $99,000, compared to $87,200 in 1999. Both gains represent increases of 13.5 percent in absolute (not constant) dollars.

In addition to these types of compensation, more than a third of U.S. IEEE members in the workforce received stock options in 2000. Although the share receiving stock options increased from 27.5 percent in 1997, the typical estimated worth of the options was much lower; the median estimated value reported in the 2001 survey was $5,000 — half the figure reported in 1999.

The failure of the dot-com investment craze has affected the option-compensation picture. Fully one third of all those receiving options in 2000 assessed them as worthless by early 2001. At the same time, some members received very large compensation in the form of options, including awards valued at $1 million or more. Hence, the 2001 survey reveals both the risks and the potential rewards of stock options as a component of overall compensation.

The IEEE-USA Salary and Fringe Benefits Survey, 2001 Edition benefited tremendously from our change in the data collection format from paper-based to Internet-based. The shift to online collection resulted in a higher number of respondents. In turn, having more respondents allowed us to capture details we couldn’t report on in the past.

You may ask why you should order a copy of the survey for yourself. Simply put, it is the only real source for timely, vital information that you must have to assess your market value as an engineer. It is clearly the definitive salary and reference guide for technical professionals.