Faculty salaries have generally increased since 1994 at both PhD-granting and non-PhD-granting engineering colleges as shown in a recent report of the Engineering Workforce Commission (EWC) of the American Association of Engineering Societies ("Salaries of Engineers in Education, 2006"). The EWC report is a comprehensive statistical presentation of data obtained in the 2006 survey. The information to be presented here covers only a few highlights of the data published by EWC.

Median Salaries at the Three Academic Ranks - 1994 through 2006

Median academic year salaries for faculty in engineering colleges that awarded doctoral degrees are shown in the graph below. Data for each year include between 3,319 and 9,995 faculty salaries. (There are currently about 23,200 engineering faculty in US engineering colleges.)



Median academic year salaries for faculty in engineering colleges that do not award doctoral degrees are shown in the graph below. Data for each year include between 634 and 2,195 faculty salaries. All years except two had more than 1,080 salaries. The two "small sample" years were 2000 (895) and 2002 (634).

Salary Growth Comparisons

The data for median salaries shown in the two graphs above were divided into two groups - 1994 through 2000 and 2000 through 2006. For 1994 through 2000:

• PhD-granting colleges had median salary increases for professors, associate professors and assistant professors of 25.0%, 25.4% and 25.9%, respectively.
• Non-PhD-granting colleges had median salary increases for professors, associate professors and assistant professors of 32.3%, 21.6% and 23.4%, respectively.

Considering normal statistical uncertainties, there is little difference in the fractional increases for PhD-granting and non-PhD-granting engineering colleges from 1994 through 2000.

However, for 2000 through 2006, new trends have emerged:

• PhD-granting colleges had median salary increases for professors, associate professors and assistant professors of 14.9%, 17.3% and 15.8%, respectively.
• Non-PhD-granting colleges had median salary increases for professors, associate professors and assistant professors of 28.6%, 26.6% and 27.9%, respectively.

Overall, in the period from 2000 through 2006, the salary increases for faculty in non-PhD-granting engineering colleges exceeded those in PhD-granting engineering colleges by a significant amount.



Consumer Price Index Data

From 1994 through 2000, the CPI increased by 15.5%. Thus, the increases in faculty salaries in both PhD-granting and non-PhD-granting engineering colleges were in excess of the increases in the CPI.

From 2000 through 2006, the CPI increased by 17.5%. Thus, the increase in median salaries for PhD-granting engineering colleges kept pace with the CPI. However, non-PhD-granting college faculty salary growth significantly exceeded CPI growth in all academic ranks.

Comparison of PhD and Non-PhD Salaries in 2006

The continued growth of faculty salaries in non-PhD-granting engineering colleges and the decrease in the rate of growth in PhD-granting colleges have resulted in a lessening of the salary differences between these two groups. Professor, associate professor and assistant professor median salaries in PhD granting colleges currently exceed those in non-PhD-granting colleges by only 4.1%, 5.7% and 2.2%, respectively.

Summary

Median faculty salaries in all three academic ranks were studied for the period 1994 through 2006. Salaries for both PhD-granting and non-PhD-granting engineering colleges grew at a rate greater than the consumer price index from 1994 through 2000. During the period from 2000 through 2006, PhD-granting college salaries grew at essentially the same rate as the consumer price index; non-PhD-granting college salaries continued to grow at their 1994 through 2000 rate. At the present time, professor, associate professor and assistant professor salaries at PhD-granting colleges are only 4.1%, 5.7% and 2.2%, respectively, higher than salaries at non-PhD-granting colleges.

Acknowledgments

The salary data used in this study originated from the surveys (published every two years) of the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies. Readers seeking more extensive statistical analysis of the salary data than that found in this report should contact the Commission. Engineering Trends acknowledges the efforts of this organization in providing credible data and expresses its gratitude for their services to the engineering profession. Persons seeking further information about their surveys and the availability of survey data should visit the EWC Web site (www.aaes.org).

Footnote

Engineering Trends data are compiled mainly from information submitted by universities to the annual surveys of EWC and ASEE. On the very rare occasions where errors in data appear, Engineering Trends corrects the error, if possible, or deletes the data if the error is large enough to alter significantly the trend of the university or the US total.