As we enter the start of the 21^st century, it is important to document what the professional status of IEEE USA engineers was at that particular time. Further, it is important to understand how we got to that state, from the times which preceded it and what the trends are for the future. The Year 2000 was an important historical milestone as it marked the end of a major century, a millinium and the beginning of new ones. So we should want to know how the profession was faring at that important transition point in time.

Some of the information of interest about the profession then was how well was it doing. This book focuses upon the IEEE USA, which includes Regions 1-6. This is primarily because since 1972 it has conducted surveys of its members and gathered important data about their incomes, education levels, age, race, IEEE membership levels, whether registered as a Professional Engineer or not, and what fringe benefits they received.

In this report, we will examine these data from many different perspectives. One will look at the profile of what constituted a “typical engineer”, in terms of age, years of experience, highest college degree, mean salary, whether a registered Professional Engineer or not, gender, and ethic origin at the Year 2000. In addition, these same data will be examined for each of the previous decade ponts in time, for 1991, 1981 and 1971. This span of some 30 years will show what trends occured.

Other factors which will be examined will cover the origins and history of the IEEE, what the P.E. registration movement was all about and how it started and evolved, what the “industrial exemption” is and how it came about, what the “at-will” employment practice is along with one of its major shortcomings which affects practicing employee engineers, the five codes of ethics of the IEEE over time, the several employment guidelines which were developed, and other issues relevant to documenting the status of the profession at Year 2000.

Let’s begin by examining the characteristics of, what the IEEE USA report terms, the typical engineer.

Table X shows what the typical IEEE USA engineer’s profile was in the year 2000. In 2000, the typical IEEE USA engineer was 45 years of age, had 20 years of experience, was a white male, held BSEE/MS degrees, was not a registered P.E., but held a Member grade in the IEEE.

In looking at the employment profile (Table Y), the typical engineer in year 2000 received a base salary of $95,000, had at that time 20 years of experience, had been with his current employer for 10 years, was employed at an IEEE Position Level of V-VI, was employed in Private Industry, and supervised several professionals and support staff. The leading industry sectors this typical engineer was employed in was communications, computers or electrical/electronic manufacturing, and resided in the state of California under the “at-will” employment practice, which permitted being terminated without cause, for any reason.

How well the year 2000 typical engineer was satisfied with his job are shown in Table Z. He was satisfied or very satisfied with 4 of 5 parameters of satisfaction. Only the “satisfied with current compensation” did not receive the “Very Satisfied” ratings, as did the others. But overall, there was satisfaction with the job, job advancement, its technical challenges, the technical vitality and the current compensation.

Table XX shows the survey findings for various Fringe Benefits. Out of 11 benefits, the employer offered 6, contributed to 5 of them, but did not offer 5 others.

These data were obtained by IEEE USA from its 2001 Salary and Fringe Benefits Survey covering the Year 2000. This survey is conducted every two years and has been continuously since its inception in 1972. It was in that year that the IEEE Constitution was amended to add “professional activities” as a second Purpose, including the conducting of such surveys. Of the various Regions of IEEE, Regions 1-6 comprising the USA has been the most active in promoting professional activities and conducting of these salary and fringe benefits. Outside of the USA and prior to 1972, data on the professional status of the IEEE member was found to be lacking as the IEEE and its two predecessors did not have within their charters the engaging in professional activities which would authorize conducting such surveys. Many of these findings will now be examined to see how they have changed over the past 30 years, from the first survey conducted in 1972.

We start out examining the membership in the IEEE from 1971 til 2000. In the figure below, total IEEE membership and that in the IEEE USA are shown. Starting in 1971, when the first survey of USA members was conducted, the total IEEE membership was 166,482, while that of the IEEE USA was 145,000. In 1980 these figures increased to 200,000 for the IEEE and 166, 885 for the IEEE USA. Then ten years later, IEEE membership grew to 320,000 and that of the IEEE USA increased to 210,561. Finally, in 2000, IEEE was at a level of 366,000 and IEEE USA reached 230,000. From the data plotted, it is shown that over this 30 year period, the membership of IEEE in the non-USA regions (7-10) grew at a faster rate than did that of the IEEE USA regions (1-6). Whereas in 1971, IEEE USA membership represented 87 % of the Institute‘s total, by 2000 it had decreased to a level of 63 %, showing the strong growth differential of 23 % which occurred in Regions 7-10, internationally.

Data were obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the total number of engineers employed and unemployed in the USA for the 30 year period, between 1971 and 2001. During this period, the number employed rose from 1,197,500 in 1971, to 1,497,500 in 1981, to 1,896,000 in 1991 and topped off at 2,101,500 in 2001. In the case of the unemployed engineers in the USA, in 1971 this amounted to 2.8 percent, then dropped in 1981 to 1.5 percent, but rose in 1991 to 2.4 percent and dropped off slightly in 2001 to 2.3 percent. Now we can compare similar data for the IEEE USA engineers segment, to see how they fared during similar periods.

Now for employment/unemployment of IEEE USA engineers, employment data were extracted from the IEEE USA Salary and Fringe Benefits Survey reports for the 1971, 1980, 1990 and 2000 decade points in time. The results are shown for both employed and unemployed. In 1971, the number of IEEE USA employed engineers was 119,750. Over the next 30 years, this rose to 149,750 in 1980, to 189,600 in 1990 and was 210,150 in the year 2000.

Unemployment data showed that in 1971 this was at a level of 2.8 %. This then dropped to 0.5 % in 1980, rose again to 1.5 % in 1990 and dropped to 0.6 % in the year 2000. In 1971, when the first salary survey was undertaken, there had been a serious decline in the aerospace industry, which resulted in a large number of American engineers being laid off. This was one of the events which triggered the members to vote in 1972 to change the IEEE constitution to add “Professional” activities, including the conducting of member services surveys, for the first time in IEEE history.

An additional data of interest collected by the surveys shows how many years employed engineers in IEEE USA had remained with their current employers. In comparing the trends of this data with that of the unemployment data, the direction each moved in were in direct opposite values. For instance, in 1971, during the aerospace downturn, the unemployment rate was at it highest, while the length of time engineers had remained with their employers was at an all time low. Then in succeeding decades, as the unemployment moved in a certain direction, the length of employment time with an employer moved in the other direction. Overall, the trend for the length of time engineers remained with their current employers was for longer lengths of time.

Over the years from 1971 to 2000, the experience level of the typical IEEE USA engineer has remained around 17.5 years. In the 1990 survey, it showed a dip to 16 years, but then in 2000 it peaked at 20 years.

Now, this can be compared with the mean age of IEEE USA engineers for these same four sampled periods. Now if we examine this in more depth, the chart in Figure XX shows the percentage of respondents for the four sampled years (‘71, ‘80, ‘90, ‘00) by groupings of age categories.

The data shows that for the two age groups of engineers with 9 or less years experience, between 1971 and 1990, they experience a growth in numbers, but then in 2000 experienced a decline. Then for 10-14 years experience group, they exhibited a decline in growth from their 1971 level. For the 15-24 years experience groups, they exhibited a growth for 1971, 1980 and 1990 but then declined in 2000. The 25-40 years experience groups experienced a continual growth over the three decades. Finally, the over 40 years experience groups experienced a mixture of slight growth and decline over the three decades. Overall, the data suggests a gradual aging of the workforce over the periods sampled.

In 1971, the mean age was found to be 42.2 years. In 1980, this increased slightly to 42.7. But then in 1990, a drop to 41 years was recorded. But then in 2000, this rose to 45 years. Except for the 1990 data point, the trend for both experience and age of engineers has been to increase. These results agree with the trend found when all age groups were examined previously above over the 30 year period surveyed. One other data item which agrees with this is the position level of employment, discussed below. Using the IEEE USA position definitions, for the years 1971 and 1980, the typical engineer functioned at Level V. In 1990, this rose one level to Level VI and then in 2000, it was split between Levels V and VI.

The data shows that the <30 year old age group decreased over the 30 year surveyed period, from a high of 25.1 percent in 1971 down to 4 percent in 2000. The 30 - 39 age group essentially was flat for that period, averaging 30 percent. The 40 - 49 age group however, experienced considerable growth, rising from 25 percent in 1971 to 36 percent in 2000. The 50 - 59 age group also experienced growth, starting at 6.6 percent in 1971 and rising to 24 percent by 2000. The 60 - 64 age group rose slightly, from 4.17 to 5 percent by 2000 while the over 65 age group experienced a decrease, from 3.2 to 2 percent. This data shows how the IEEE USA engineer work force aged from 1971 to the year 2000.

Demographics of IEEE USA Engineers (1971 - 2000)

Data for the 30 year period showed a marked decrease in the percentage which males made up the membership of IEEE USA. Beginning in 1971 and again in 1980, the percentage was 99. Then in 1990 this dropped to 95 and again maintained this in 2000, showing that more women engineers are entering the field and becoming active in their profession. Two other important characteristics from the data showed that the predominant ethic makeup was that of white members. In 1971, 95 percent of IEEE USA members were white. In 1980 this decreased to 94.1 percent, again decreasing in 1990 to 89 percent and finally in 2000 reaching a low of 86.6 percent. The Asian ethnic group showed the greatest gain in membership makeup. Starting in 1971 with 2.44 percent, this grew in 1980 to 5 percent, then in 1990 to 7 percent and finally in 2000 to 8.5 percent.

Educational Level of IEEE USA Members

In 1971, 1980 and again in 1990, the typical IEEE USA engineer held a BS as their highest degree. But by 2000, this had increased to then include the MS degree as well indicating the engineer had become higher educated. The data shows that over time, the percent holding Associate and Bachelor degrees as their highest, decreased, while on the other hand, those holding Masters and Doctors degrees as their highest had increased. The BS had decreased from 49.81 percent in 1971 to 33.2 percent in 2000, while the MS increased from 31.1 to 41.1 percent and the PhD went from 10.76 to 24.5 percent by 2000, for the highest degree held. The data showed that IEEE USA became more highly educated over this 30 year surveyed period.

Data from the IEEE USA surveys show the makeup of IEEE Membership Grades. Essentially, over the 30 year period, there was no significant change in the distribution of membership into the various grades. Data for Associate Members was incomplete. For Member Grade, the makeup fluctuated between 72 percent in 1971, to 85 percent in 1980, to 77 percent in 1990, then finally up to 82.2 percent in 2000. For the Senior Member Grade, this exhibited a continued decrease from 18.6 percent in 1971 down to 13.8 percent in 2000. In the Fellow Grade, in 1971 this comprised 2.3 percent and ended at 3 percent in 2000.

Starting in 1971, the percent of IEEE USA engineers who attained Professional Engineering registration, decreased over time. The data shows that in 1971 some 56.8 percent were not registered. Over the next 30 years, this increased to 64, 64 and 64.4 percent, for each succeeding 10 year period. While those who attained the Engineer in Training (EIT) status rose from 8.9 percent in 1971 to 13.5 percent in 2000, while those who ultimately became registered P.E.s decreased from 25.7 percent in 1971 to 21.6 percent in 2000.

It is interesting to note how IEEE USA engineers treated their educational, IEEE membership, employment position levels and P.E. registration status during the 30 year surveyed period from 1971 to 2000. It was during this period in which the IEEE engaged in Professional Activities for the first time, since they were added to its Constitution in 1972, under the IEEE USAC, USAB and USA programs in Regions 1-6. During this 30 year period, more engineers attained higher educational degrees, functioned at higher position levels of employment, while at the same time they shunned attaining both higher Membership Grade status in the IEEE and legal Professional Engineer registration status available to them. This tends to indicate that IEEE USA engineers devoted more effort to self improvement in their education levels and were engaged in their employment at increased levels. On the other hand, at the same time, they engaged less seeking prestige of professional recognition from their own society (IEEE) and state P.E. registration Boards. Apparently both the Membership Advancement Committee of IEEE and the IEEE USA Registration and License Committee’s programs have not been successful in this regard for motivating engineers to move up in Member Grade and to attain P.E. legal status.

The nominal income of all IEEE USA engineers has increased consistently over the 30 year period, from 1971 til 2000, as shown in the chart. But in terms of real 2000 dollars, it did not keep up. During this period, the Consumer Price Index was as shown in the second chart, ranging from 41.1 percent in 1971 to 175.1 percent in 2000. Income rose from $19,200 in 1971 to $36,800 in 1980, to $63,000 in 1990 and finally reaching $104,720 by 2000.

When viewed by IEEE member grade, the data clearly shows that the higher the grade, the higher the incomes were over the 30 year period. Stating in 1971, Member grade engineers earned $13,000, then in 1980 this rose to $33,500, and in 1990 to $56,100, and reached $84,787 by 2000. For Senior Members, these incomes were $20,000, $41,355, $72,500 and $111,553 respectively. Finally, Fellow grade engineers, earned from $30,000 beginning in 1971, to $51,688 in 1980, increasing to $85,000 in 1990 and topping $143,800 by 2000.

Now incomes over the 30 year period is shown for five percentile values, for years 1971, 1980, 1990 and 2000. It shows that the lowest 10^th percentile increased from $11,000 in 1971 to $65,329 by 2000. The 25 ^th percentile increased from $15,000 to $80,000. At the 50 ^th percentile point, these increased from $19,000 to $99,000. The 75 percentile increased from $23,000 to $125,000. Finally, the 90 ^th percentile increased from $27,000 to $162,000 between 1971 and 2000.

Income of IEEE USA engineers as a function of age group, is shown in the chart for the four sampled years, between 1971 and 2000. In general, the trend experienced a increase in income with age over time, except the older age groups experienced a flattening and then a downturn in income. In 1971, incomes ranged between $9,000 and $20,000 for all ages. By 1980, this varied from $22,370 to $37,850. Then in 1990, this varied from $32,700 to $61,000. Finally, by 2000, this ranged from $58,000 up to $101,000, but then dropped back to $91,857.

IEEE USA engineers were surveyed about their pensions. The chart shows what percent received 100 percent employer provided pensions. In 1971 this amount was 44 percent. In 1980 this rose to 65.4 percent. But in 1990, it dropped back to 61 percent and by 2000 it had fallen to 54.9 percent.

Surveyed data found to what extent employers funded 100 percent and provided medical plans. Starting in 1971, this amounted to 45 percent. In 1980 this had increased to 64.4 percent. In 1990 this had increased up to 84 percent and then by 2000 it had grown to 93 percent.

Date surveyed over the 30 year period, shows the degree of support received by IEEE USA engineers from their employers for vacation/holidays, continued education and professional society activities. Over the three decades, data showed that support for vacation and holidays combined remained steady at approximately 25 days. But in the case of support for continued education, support began in 1971 at 44 percent, rose to 82 percent in 1990, but declined to 43.2 percent by 2000. In the case of support for professional society activities, support began at 17 percent in 1971, and rose steadily at 25, 36 and 50 percents in 1980, 1990 and 2000.