Engineering news
The average median salary for a chartered engineer has risen to £63,000, according to a pay survey produced by the Engineering Council, the regulatory body for the engineering profession in the UK.
The figure represents a 14.5% increase since 2010, the last time the survey was carried out.
The Engineering Council’s 2013 survey of professionally registered engineers and technicians also showed that median total earnings were £40,000 for Engineering Technicians and £45,500 for Incorporated Engineers.
These results represent an increase of 8.1% for Engineering Technicians and 5.1% for Incorporated Engineers compared with 2010.
The higher earnings were generated by a rise in basic income, rather than in overtime, bonus and commission payments, which showed a decrease since 2010.
Jon Prichard, chief executive of the Engineering Council, said: “It is encouraging to see that professionally registered engineers and technicians continue to enjoy a reasonable increase in their income in comparison to other sectors that have stagnated during this period of austerity.
“With a handful of registrants reporting earnings of more than £1 million and around 10% of registrants earning over £100,000 the signs are that the engineering profession is keeping pace with other professions.”
The majority of respondents in the 2013 survey were in employment, with just 1% identifying themselves as ‘unemployed and seeking re-employment’. This sits well below the national unemployment figure of around 7%.
Median basic income for male registered engineers and technicians is generally higher than that of their female counterparts according to the results. The gap in income is at its narrowest among those aged 21 to 24 (6.7%) and widest among those aged 55 and over (18%).
The survey also revealed that most registered engineers and technicians' fees for institution membership is paid for by their employer.
When asked how they first became aware of professional registration, those who attended Higher Education were most likely to have been informed about Chartered Engineer status during their time at university, although this is not the case for Incorporated Engineers, demonstrating a continued lack of awareness of this title among influencers in the Higher Education sector.
There was a “slight increase” seen in awareness of professional registration coming from engineering institutions or employers since 2010.
Responses concerning attitudes towards professional registration and the status and benefits it brings to individuals on the register remained similarly positive to those in 2010.
Jon Prichard added: “The data will help us inform our strategy, ensuring that we are able to promote and support professionally registered engineers and technicians effectively.”
The survey was based on responses from 6,321 registered engineers and technicians resident in the UK and below the age of 65. The Engineering Council holds the national registers of over 235,000 Engineering Technicians, Incorporated Engineers, Chartered Engineers and Information and Communications Technology Technicians.
The full survey can be found at the Engineering Council's
website.