Automation.com & InTech 2012 Salary Survey Results
Introduction
Published October 2012. Salary data was collected between June 1 and August 31, 2012.
Thank you to the 4,163 respondents from around the world who took the time to participate in the 2012 salary survey. These salary statistics and information are specific to the Automation.com and InTech audience and/or subscribers (industrial automation, process control, and instrumentation engineers and other professionals).
Note: With the exception of the "Salary by Region of the World" data, the following results are a representation of the 2,222 respondents currently working in the United States only. The United States made up 64.0% of the total responses, with the next largest region being Canada with 256 responses.
Read the summary article of the results, "Automation profession outperforms economy," written by Rick Zabel, Publisher of Automation.com. The article was originally published in the October 2012 issue of InTech magazine and InTech Online.
Typical Survey Respondent
The percent numbers indicated in the right-hand column are relative to the total number of US survey respondents - 2,222.
|
Indicator |
Percentage of Respondents or Average |
| Job Function | Automation/Control Engineering (26.1%) |
| Age Range |
45 - 54 (33.9%) |
| Gender | Male (94.9%) |
| Region | United States (64.0%) with largest state of Texas (17%) |
| Education Level | College graduate (45.0%, 17.9% have Advanced Degree) |
|
Degree Received |
Top Bachelor's Degree - Electrical Engineering (35.1%) Top Advanced Degree - Business Administration (31.8%) 2nd Advanced Degree - Electrical Engineering (23.5%) |
| Years with Present Employer | 2 years or less (23.4%); 6-10years (20.7%) |
| 2010 Annual Gross Income |
$100,000 - $124,999 (25.9%) |
| Compensation Increase over 2011 |
1-3% Increase (47.7%) No Increase (23.2%) |
| Typical Work Week | 41 - 45 hours (36.8%) |
| Vacation | 3 weeks per year (34.3%) |
| Job Satisfaction | Somewhat satisfied (46.1%) Very Satisfied (33.8%) |
| Top 3 Job Satisfaction Factors | Benefits Feeling of Accomplishment Pleasant work environment |
| Top Benefits, excluding salary | Health Insurance Pension Plan/401K Flexible Working Hours Paid Time Off |
Average Salary by Region of the World
|
Region of World |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| United States | $103,910 | 64.0% |
| Canada | $105,440 | 7.4% |
| Mexico | $50,480 | 0.7% |
| Central America (including Caribbean) | $65,120 | 1.2% |
| South America |
$61,100 | 4.6% |
| Europe (Western) |
$88,250 | 1.2% |
| Europe (Eastern) |
$43,410 | 4.4% |
| Africa | $59,810 | 1.5% |
| Middle East |
$75,130 | 3.5% |
| Australia and New Zealand |
$143,470 | 1.4% |
| Asia & South Pacific |
$46,250 | 6.3% |
| South Asia |
$49,750 | 3.7% |
Average Salary by Region of the United States
*Regions as defined by Wikipedia.
|
Region of the United States* |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| New England (Northeast) | $103,530 | 4.0% |
| Mid-Atlantic (Northeast) | $101,150 | 9.9% |
| East North Central (Midwest) | $89,170 | 17.7% |
| West North Central (Midwest) | $93,520 | 8.6% |
| South Atlantic (South) | $99,960 | 13.1% |
| East South Central (South) | $99,540 | 4.2% |
| West South Central (South) | $116,570 | 21.9% |
| Mountain (West) | $108,680 | 7.3% |
| Pacific (West) | $108,220 | 13.0% |
Average Salary by Gender
|
Gender |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| Male |
$104,560 |
94.9% |
| Female |
$92,880 | 5.1% |
Average Salary by Highest Level of Education Received
|
Level of Education |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| Attended Some High School Only | $72,500 |
0.2% |
| High School Graduate | $84,400 |
1.3% |
| Attended Some Technical/Trade School |
$82,000 |
3.4% |
| Technical/Trade School Graduate |
$89,500 | 14.2% |
| Attended Some College | $94,180 | 9.9% |
| College Graduate | $105,230 | 45.0% |
| Attended Some Graduate School | $114,470 | 8.1% |
| Graduate School/Advanced Degree |
$118,600 | 17.9% |
Average Salary by Bachelor's Degree Received
|
Degree |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| Electrical Engineering | $112,750 | 35.1% |
| Electrical Engineering Technology | $100,090 | 8.6% |
| Instrumentation Engineering | $105,160 | 2.0% |
| Mechanical Engineering | $109,030 | 11.9% |
| Computer Engineering | $98,900 | 2.6% |
| Control Engineering | $115,200 | 2.4% |
| Chemical Engineering | $128,800 | 10.7% |
| Other Engineering | $107,720 | 5.7% |
| Physics | $126,440 | 1.6% |
| Computer Science | $111,590 | 4.2% |
| Mathematics | $129,440 | 1.7% |
| Other Science | $113,110 | 3.3% |
| Business Administration | $107,210 | 4.5% |
| IT/Systems | $88,440 | 1.0% |
| Liberal Arts | $84,350 | 2.6% |
| All Other | $102,720 | 10.9% |
Average Salary by Professional Work Experience
|
Years of Professional Work Experience |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| 2 Years or Less |
$57,940 |
2.8% |
| 3-5 Years |
$74,180 | 5.0% |
| 6-10 Years | $85,010 | 8.9% |
| 11-15 Years | $96,280 | 12.5% |
| 16-20 Years | $100,450 | 13.3% |
| 21-25 Years | $110,600 | 16.7% |
| 26-30 Years | $112,270 | 15.7% |
| 31 or More Years | $117,650 | 25.2% |
Average Salary by Job Function
|
Job Function |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| Application Engineering | $89,200 |
2.5% |
| Automation/Control Engineering | $104,040 | 26.1% |
| Consulting Engineering | $124,290 | 3.2% |
| Design Engineering | $99,420 | 5.0% |
| Engineering (Other) | $96,640 | 2.9% |
| Engineering Management | $132,720 | 7.7% |
| Environmental Controls | $77,500 | 0.3% |
| Facilities Management | $103,420 | 0.9% |
| General or Operations Management |
$123,050 |
2.5% |
| Information Technology |
$103,410 | 0.5% |
| Instrumentation Engineering | $107,870 | 5.7% |
| Marketing & Public Relations | $105,420 | 1.6% |
| Networking/Communication Systems | $80,000 | 0.3% |
| OEM Product/Systems Engineering | $78,250 | 0.4% |
| Operations and Maintenance | $88,510 | 6.8% |
| Plant Engineering | $107,330 | 2.0% |
| Process Engineering | $98,240 | 1.2% |
| Production Design Engineering | $102,740 | 0.9% |
| Production/Manufacturing Engineering | $85,220 | 1.5% |
| Project Management | $111,220 | 3.7% |
| Quality Control, Evaluation & Testing | $87,140 | 0.9% |
| Research & Development | $101,670 | 0.9% |
| Safety Systems Engineering | $122,030 | 0.7% |
| Sales (Inside) | $67,000 | 0.9% |
| Sales (Outside) |
$117,020 | 5.9% |
| Software Engineering | $96,590 | 1.5% |
| Systems Integrator | $98,710 | 1.9% |
| Technical/ Application Support | $89,800 | 3.9% |
| Training/Education | $85,570 | 1.0% |
| Other | $93,520 | 6.8% |
Average Salary by Employment Type
|
Employment Type |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| Direct Employee |
$104,530 |
91.7% |
| Contractor | $106,950 | 6.0% |
| Seeking Employment |
$71,420 |
1.7% |
| Retired |
$80,500 |
0.7% |
Average Salary by Current Company Tenure
|
Years With Present Employer |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| 2 years or less |
$91,000 |
23.4% |
| 3 to 5 years | $100,420 | 18.1% |
| 6 to 10 years | $105,390 | 20.7% |
| 11 to 15 years | $109,850 | 13.7% |
| 16 to 20 years | $114,420 | 7.6% |
| 21 or more years | $114,850 | 16.5% |
Average Salary by Industry Organization Membership
|
Organization |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| ISA - International Society of Automation |
$110,000 | 51.0% |
| IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |
$108,530 | 11.3% |
| SME - Society of Manufacturing Engineers |
$96,060 | 2.4% |
| AlChE - American Institute of Chemical Engineers |
$121,510 | 3.2% |
| MCA - Motion Control Association |
$87,220 |
0.4% |
| RIA - Robotic Industries Association |
$98,640 | 1.0% |
| AIA - Automated Imaging Association | $103,930 | 0.3% |
| None |
$96,750 | 37.3% |
| Other | $112,840 | 11.2% |
Average Salary by Company Size
|
Company or Division Size |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| less than 30 |
$92,670 |
12.3% |
| 30 to 49 | $94,600 | 3.7% |
| 50 to 99 | $97,230 | 6.3% |
| 100 to 249 | $95,300 | 13.1% |
| 250 to 499 | $92,720 | 9.3% |
| 500 to 999 | $99,790 | 7.5% |
| 1,000 to 4,999 | $103,230 | 15.0% |
| 5,000 to 9,999 | $108,470 | 7.2% |
| 10,000 or more | $121,390 | 25.5% |
Average Salary by Company's Primary Industry
|
Industry |
Average Salary |
Percent |
| Chemicals | $110,200 | 6.5% |
| Communications | $98,400 | 0.5% |
| Communications Equipment | $75,710 | 0.3% |
| Construction | $103,900 | 1.9% |
| Education | $64,900 | 1.2% |
| Electronic & Other Electric Equipment | $103,010 | 3.3% |
| Engineering Services | $117,410 | 11.3% |
| Food & Beverage | $95,050 | 4.1% |
| Furniture & Fixtures | $112,500 | 0.1% |
| Government | $91,530 | 2.0% |
| Industrial Machinery & Equipment, include Computers | $93,900 | 5.8% |
| Instrument & Control Apparatus Sales & Service | $105,760 | 4.5% |
| Instrument/Measurement/Analysis & Control Apparatus | $102,070 | 4.0% |
| Lumber & Wood Products | $112,140 | 0.1% |
| Management Consulting | $140,630 | 0.3% |
| Medical Instrumentation & Systems | $82,500 | 0.2% |
| Mining | $105,830 | 1.1% |
| Miscellaneous Manufacturing Industries | $88,320 | 4.0% |
| Oil & Gas Extraction | $127,570 | 4.9% |
| Petroleum Refining & Related Industries | $123,540 | 6.6% |
| Pharmaceuticals | $112,530 | 4.5% |
| Primary Metal Products | $97,270 | 1.4% |
| Printing & Publishing | $79,380 | 0.2% |
| Pulp, Paper & Allied Products | $101,710 | 1.6% |
| Research, Development & Testing | $98,540 | 0.5% |
| Rubber & Miscellaneous Plastics | $89,890 | 1.0% |
| Semiconductor & Electronic Components | $86,430 | 0.6% |
| Stone, Glass & Concrete Products | $88,650 | 0.5% |
| Systems Integration | $99,570 | 3.6% |
| Textiles | $65,000 | 0.1% |
| Transportation - Aerospace | $80,830 | 0.3% |
| Transportation - Aircraft | $75,000 | 0.3% |
| Transportation - Automotive | $77,980 | 1.2% |
| Transportation Equipment | $104,166 | 0.3% |
| Utilities | $95,520 | 1.1% |
| Utilities - Combo (Nuclear/Foss Fuel, etc.) | $118,310 | 1.5% |
| Utilities - Electrical | $103,650 | 4.5% |
| Utilities - Natural Gas | $101,760 | 0.8% |
| Utilities - Pipelines, except Natural Gas | $107,140 | 0.3% |
| Utilities - Water/Wastewater | $87,790 | 4.3% |
| Valves, Fittings, Fabricated Metal Products | $110,260 | 0.9% |
| Other | $96,190 | 7.2% |
Average Salary by License Status
|
Licensed? |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| Yes |
$123,120 |
15.8% |
| No |
$100,690 | 80.3% |
| In Progress | $93,780 | 3.9% |
Average Salary by Opportunity Seeking Status
|
Employment Type |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| Actively Seeking |
$90,510 |
9.7% |
| Passively Seeking |
$101,800 | 33.6% |
| Not Seeking | $107,560 | 56.7% |
Breakdown of Respondents by Age
Breakdown of Respondents by License Status
Breakdown of Respondents by Level of Education
Breakdown of Respondents by Annual Gross Income
Breakdown of Respondents by Annual Gross Income as Commissions and/or Bonuses
Breakdown of Respondents by Increase in Compensation
Breakdown of Respondents by Type of Employment
Breakdown of Respondents by Job Function
Breakdown of Respondents by Job Satisfaction
Respondents who would encourage their child(ren) to seek a similar profession
Breakdown of Respondents by Feeling of Job Security
How Economic Changes are Affecting Companies
Breakdown of Respondents by Years of Work Experience
Breakdown of Respondents by Years Until Retirement
Breakdown of Respondents by Plans for After Retirement
Breakdown of Respondents by Years with Present Employer
Breakdown of Respondents by Company Size
Respondents by Number of Companies Previously Employed With
Breakdown of Respondents by Hours Worked per Week
Breakdown of Respondents by Weeks of Vacation per Year
Breakdown of Respondents by Number of People Reporting to Them
Respondents say these are the most important factors contributing to job satisfaction (Respondents were asked to choose top 3)
Respondents say these are the most important benefits in their present job
Respondents Say New Automation Professionals are Missing These Skills
Discipline of those Respondents with an Associate's Degree
Discipline of those Respondents with a Bachelor's Degree
Discipline of those Respondents with an Advanced Degree
