Each year, Machine Design’s Salary & Career Survey takes a pulse on what’s keeping engineers up at night. This year’s survey highlights engineers’ perceptions about the overall value of their engineering careers. Respondents expressed overall satisfaction, but their comments played up a few key constraints.
Engineers have tangible skills sets that span industries and disciplines. They are problem-solvers and drive innovation by pushing boundaries. Despite these indispensable competencies, they jostle to stay grounded in the industry’s practical realities.
What follows are just a few findings worth picking through.
Skills Requirements Evolve as Technology Expands
The survey asked: “Do you believe that a career path in engineering and the potential for salary advancement is as promising today as it was five years ago?” The majority (68%) of respondents said “yes” while 32% said “no.”
While survey participants were universally bullish about their regard for their careers, their comments related to this query portrayed a more nuanced scenario when engineers’ varying degrees of tenure and their experience inside their organizations are considered. Ranging from salary expectations and skills requirements to advancements in technologies and market demand, comments included a mix of both positive and negative feedback. Among the 311 survey participants, 219 provided a rationale for their answer.
Respondent No. 144 best captured recurring themes: “Five years ago, the development of the engineering field was relatively stable, and the speed of market demand and technological updating was relatively slow. Some traditional engineering fields, such as construction and machinery, have relatively fixed career patterns and salary growth mechanisms. However, today, with the rapid development of science and technology, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, new energy and other applications in the field of engineering continue to expand. This provides more opportunities for innovation and development for engineering professionals and also brings more high-paying jobs. But at the same time, it also puts forward higher requirements for the knowledge updating and skill upgrading of engineering personnel. If you can’t keep up with the pace of technological development, you may encounter bottlenecks in career development and salary growth. The career path and potential for salary increases in engineering are different today than they were five years ago and cannot be generalized to be just as promising.”
One respondent pinpointed the central issues of generational shifts and pay expectations relative to their skills sets: “I am retiring, my daughter has been in engineering for 10 years. She has been laid off twice but continues to find work for better pay than the last job but still is not earning premium pay.” Also identifying the generational divide and specialized skills, another respondent said: “Specialization. Willingness to relocate. My two sons make more than me after 10 years in the engineering field.”
Yet another counseled on how the rapid advancement in technology requires continued learning if engineers are to stay relevant: “As system designs become more complicated, you must keep up with modern advancements by staying current in training and trends in your industry that make you more valuable.”
Do You Believe There is an Engineer Shortage?
A shortage of engineering talent has been widely reported across the globe. An analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data prepared by Boston Consulting Group showed that the U.S. alone will need about 400,000 new engineers and that nearly one in three engineering roles will remain unfilled each year through 2030.
These statistics were shored up in the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Research Institute’s quarterly engineering business sentiment study. In a letter to President Joe Biden in 2023, the ACEC expressed concerns that 49% of its member firms had turned down work specifically due to workforce shortages. The ACEC is a national federation of 51 state and regional organizations representing more than 5,500 engineering firms and nearly 600,000 engineers, surveyors, architects and other specialists nationwide.
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Respondents in Machine Design’s survey for the most part (68%) agreed that the U.S. is experiencing an engineering shortage. It is unclear why the remainder (30%) did not recognize the engineering shortage. Whether the issue lies in near-sightedness among this cohort of respondents—such as when a firm employs a full complement of engineers in in-demand disciplines or fills vacant roles with a steady stream of job applicants—it highlights a gap in the industry’s skills shortfall and the broader implications for addressing workplace challenges.
Finding Qualified Candidates
Respondents were asked to list the average number of years of experience that their firms expect from new hires. Their answers were: three years (47.19%), five years (40.26%) and 10 years (10.39%), respectively. “Years of experience” refers to the amount of time an engineer has worked in a field. When listed on a job posting, this query not only helps to identify candidates with a specific level of professional experience but also helps employers gauge candidates’ ability to execute.
Among the respondents’ firms, 68.67% reported difficulty in finding qualified candidates to fill open positions. Mechanical design (62.75%) was at the top of the list of specialties firms were struggling to find qualified candidates for. Other specialties facing notable challenges were systems engineering (41.83%); software (31.37%) and hydraulics & pneumatics (20.26%).
Consider the opportunities for mechanical design engineers. Machine Design’s survey data aligns with a generally high global demand for mechanical engineers who design and build machinery and other equipment. The latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Employment’s Occupational Outlook Handbook, for example, noted that the job outlook for mechanical engineers is projected to grow 11% from 2023 to 2033, with about 19,800 openings projected each year over the decade. This rate of growth is much faster than the average for all occupations, according to the statisticians, who further stated that these openings are expected to arise from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or retire.
A Big Thumbs Up to Engineering Careers
When asked whether respondents would recommend engineering as a career path to a young person looking to choose a profession, the response was resoundingly positive (89.41% said yes). Their reasons captured a sense of fulfillment and contentment, revolving around such words as income stability, purpose, meaning, flexibility, opportunity and job satisfaction. The wording reflected the various dimensions of the engineer’s work experience and shed light on their priorities, values and how they perceive their career.
A Few Approving Comments
- “There’s nothing more satisfying than the challenge associated with the advancement of new ideas.”
- “It is the best way to learn how the world really works. And seeing your designs being built is extremely rewarding.”
- “It’s a great career path for those who enjoy problem solving and have the appropriate aptitude.
- “While AI may begin to encroach into our traditional roles, I think there will be plenty of opportunities to work with AI or to ‘teach’ the AI.”
- “Engineering improves your perspective in life in so many ways.”
- “Plenty of paths to go down depending on what your interest is.”
- “Brains don’t go out of style.”
A Few Critical Points of View
- “The pay doesn’t match the responsibility and there’s no job security.”
- “The industry has changed and is no longer fun to work in. It all changed in 2020 when companies changed and started mandating everything. No freedom to be you or be able to ask questions as management gets upset if you challenge anything. It's become a dictatorship, not a collaborative or team environment. They use ‘Not a Team Player’ if you try to bring up an issue that you see will not work.”
- “Yes, but not yacht or boat design.”
- “Well, it is not that I don't want to prevent anybody from choosing engineering and, for me, science and engineering are still the most important professions to shape our future. But I see that the work as an engineer is not really appreciated in companies. Sometimes you really have to do stupid work. Digitalization is used by the management as a buzzword and as soon as it comes with a price tag (investment) the enthusiasm of the management stops.”
