Geotechnical Engineering Firm Income From $15,600 - $400,000+

Compensation in Engineering Firms in the Geotechnical Field, 12th Edition - 2005
Survey Summary

PUBLISHED: March 2005 Table of Contents | Sample Report Page View 2008 Survey View All 2008 Surveys

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Summary of the 578-page Compensation in Engineering Firms in the Geotechnical Field, 12th Edition - 2005 survey report of 41 benchmark jobs from Abbott, Langer Association Surveys. The following describes the highest and lowest paid job characteristics, the national median total cash compensation for 21 benchmark jobs, and the factors affecting salary (Geographic Area, Type of Service Provided by Employer, Annual Fees, Number of Employees, Type of Work Performed/Supervised/Directed, Experience, Education, Experience Versus Education, and Managerial/Supervisory Responsibility).

The composite highest-income practitioner in this field (salary plus cash bonus and/or cash profit sharing) is the President "A" (defined as a chief executive officer who is the owner of, a full partner in, or a major stockholder in the firm). The firm receives in excess of $1,000,000 in gross annual fees for services rendered; has 25 or more employees; and is headquartered in or near Milwaukee, Sacramento, San Jose, San Antonio, Wilmington (DE), San Juan (PR), Oakland/East Bay, Knoxville/Oak Ridge, or Bridgeport (CT), or outside a metropolitan area studied in New Hampshire. This individual typically has at least an M.S. in engineering, and over 20 years of experience. While the median President "A" has a total annual income of $182,000, the highest-income individuals reported in this group make over $400,000.

Far toward the other end of the income spectrum, Field Technicians have a median income of $22,000. Earning as little as $15,600, the lowest-paid employees in this group usually are located in or near El Paso, Lexington (KY), Cheyenne, San Antonio, New Orleans, Nashville, Huntsville, or Atlanta, or outside a metropolitan area studied in Florida or South Carolina; have under three years of experience; and have little or no college training.

These composites represent the briefest possible "boil-down" of the voluminous data provided regarding current salaries and cash bonuses and/or profit sharing, and numerous demographic variables provided by 46 consulting engineering firms regarding over 4,900 employees in 41 benchmark jobs. The end results of the survey, sponsored by ASFE: Professional Firms Practicing in the Geosciences, appear in Compensation in Engineering Firms in the Geotechnical Field, 12th Edition - 2005, a 578-page statistical analysis of compensation in this field, available from Abbott, Langer Association Surveys, for $725.00 through our On-Line Order Form or from Abbott, Langer Association Surveys, 1725 I Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 (Telephone: (877) 210-6563, Fax: (877) 239-2457).

In addition to the incomes of the benchmark jobs already discussed, the median total cash compensation nationally of some of the other benchmark jobs included in the survey report is:

Senior or Executive Vice Presidents	$135,000
Vice Presidents	$118,408
Chief Financial Executives	$104,000
Branch Managers	$95,346
Chief Marketing/Sales Executives	$92,250
Senior Project Managers	$84,505
Senior Geotechnical Engineers	$77,416
Senior Hydrogeologists	$65,842
Project Civil Engineers	$57,827
Laboratory Managers	$53,000
Project Geologists	$49,048
Staff Environmental Engineers	$43,300
Laboratory Supervisors	$41,925
Senior Engineering Technicians	$36,400
Associate CADD Operators	$33,520
Senior Field Technicians (Inspection - construction)	$29,120
Field Technicians (Boring Logger)	$28,330
Laboratory Technicians	$27,560

Naturally, these nation-wide pay rates vary by region, state & metropolitan area, type of services provided and annual fees received by the firm, size of firm, type of work performed/supervised/managed, level of education, length of experience, and supervisory/managerial responsibility involved - all demographic variables for which data are provided in the complete report.

Geographic Area

The median total annual cash compensation for supervisory/managerial personnel is highest in the Pacific and midwestern states and lowest in the Rocky Mountain and north central states. The northeastern, southern, and southwestern states fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Regarding metropolitan areas, the highest median annual incomes are found in or near: Middlesex-Essex counties (MA); Minneapolis/St. Paul; San Antonio; Wilmington (DE); Oakland/East Bay; Ventura County (CA); San Diego; and Anchorage. The lowest median annual incomes are found in or near Louisville; Tulsa; Cheyenne; Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill; and Des Moines.

Median total annual cash compensation for engineering and scientific personnel is highest in the Pacific and midwestern states and lowest in the northeastern and Rocky Mountain states. The north central, southwestern, and southern states fall in the middle. Regarding metropolitan areas, the highest median annual incomes are found in or near: Minneapolis/St. Paul; Middlesex-Essex counties (MA); Lansing (MI); and Oakland/East Bay. The lowest median annual incomes are found in or near: Louisville; Ft. Collins/Greeley/Longmont (CO); Tucson; Austin; and Cincinnati.

Median total annual cash compensation for CADD/designing/drafting jobs is highest in the Pacific and northeastern states and lowest in the Rocky Mountain and southwestern states. The midwestern, southern, and north central states fall somewhere in the middle.

Median total annual cash compensation for laboratory, land surveying, and technician jobs is highest in the Pacific and midwestern states and lowest in the southwestern and Rocky Mountain states. The northeastern, southern, and north central states fall in the middle. Treating metropolitan areas alone, the highest median annual incomes are found in or near: San Francisco; Marin/Sonoma counties; Sacramento; Ventura County; Seattle/Everett; and Anchorage. The lowest median annual incomes are found in or near: McAllen/Pharr/Edinburg (TX); Tulsa; Oklahoma City; San Juan (PR); and Moline/Rock Island/Davenport (IL/IA).

Type of Service Provided by Employer

Overall, all four categories of employees are paid best in non-environmental-related work. Supervisory/managerial employees received a median annual income 32% higher in non-environmental-related firms than in environmental-related firms. For engineering and scientific employees, the median total annual compensation in non-environmental-related firms was 24% higher than in environmental-related firms. CADD/designing/drafting employees received a median annual income 8% higher in non-environmental-related firms than in environmental-related firms. Laboratory, land surveying, and technician personnel were paid 16% more in non-environmental-related firms than in environmental-related firms.

Annual Fees

This is not a good predictor of median annual compensation. For supervisory/managerial personnel as well as CADD/designing/drafting employees, the highest median total annual compensation came from firms with annual fees of $10,000,000 to $24,999,999. For engineering and scientific employees, the highest compensation is in firms with annual fees of $2,500,000 to $4,999,999; while for laboratory, land surveying, and technician personnel, the highest compensation is in firms with annual fees of under $2,500,000.

For supervisory/managerial, engineering and scientific, and laboratory, land surveying, and technician personnel, the lowest median incomes were in firms with annual fees of $25,000,000 or more. For CADD/designing/drafting employees, the lowest median incomes were in firms with annual fees of under $2,500,000.

Number of Employees

The number of employees is also not a good predictor of median total annual compensation, again except at the highest levels.

Type of Work Performed/Supervised/Directed

For supervisory/managerial personnel, median total annual cash compensation is highest in civil engineering (primarily structural), environmental engineering, general civil engineering, and civil engineering (primarily land development) and lowest in industrial hygiene, environmental sciences, geology, and geophysics. For engineering and scientific jobs, compensation is highest in highway/traffic/transportation engineering, computer science, geological engineering, and civil engineering (primarily structural) and lowest in ecology and environmental science. For CADD/designing/drafting jobs, compensation is highest in designer jobs and lowest for CADD operating jobs. For laboratory, land surveying, and technician jobs, median total annual compensation is highest in land surveying and geotechnical engineering and lowest for those in environmental sampling and driller helpers.

Experience

In all areas surveyed, this is an excellent predictor of median total annual cash compensation. The more years of experience, the higher the compensation.

Education

This is an excellent predictor of total annual cash compensation in all areas studied. For supervisory/managerial personnel an MBA and MS in engineering resulted in the highest income, while for engineering and scientific jobs, a doctorate in engineering resulted in the highest compensation. For CADD/designing/drafting jobs, a bachelor's degree in engineering brought the highest compensation, there being no higher degrees reported. An MS degree in engineering resulted in the highest compensation for laboratory, land surveying, and technician personnel.

Experience Versus Education

A combination of experience and education is a better predictor of compensation than either area alone. While dealt with in detail in the report, space does not allow an analysis of the data herein.

Managerial/Supervisory Responsibility

Median total annual cash compensation varies according to the level of managerial/supervisory responsibility. Compensation is 57% higher for supervisory/managerial personnel who supervise 50 or more professional and sub-professional employees than for those who supervise one or two such employees. For laboratory, land surveying, and technician personnel, compensation is 46% higher for those supervising 10 or more sub-professionals than for those supervising one or two employees.

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Buy the 578-page survey report, Compensation in Engineering Firms in the Geotechnical Field, 12th Edition - 2005 described on this page for $725, with charges for shipping & handling. The report is IN STOCK and can be shipped out within two business days. The mean, median, 1st and 3rd quartile, and 1st and 9th decile data for base salary, bonus/commission/profit sharing, and total annual cash compensation are reported for many demographic variables, including education, experience, geographic location, type and size of employer, etc. To purchase the report, use our On-Line Order Form, call (877) 210-6563, , fax, or write per the information at the bottom of this page.

46 organizations supplied current compensation information for the survey report.

• Active Environmental Services, Inc.
• Alan Kropp & Associates, Inc.
• BBC&M Engineering, Inc.
• Brunsing Associates, Inc., BACE Geotechnical
• Building & Earth Sciences, Inc.
• CTL/Thompson, Inc.
• D'Appolonia Engineering, division of Ground Technology, Inc.
• Diaz Yourman & Associates
• DOWL, LLC, d/b/a DOWL Engineers & Alaska Testlab
• Duane Miller & Associates
• Duffield Associates, Inc.
• Espana Geotechnical Consulting
• Eustis Engineering Company, Inc.
• Foundation Design, P.C.
• Fugro Consultants, LP
• Fugro West, Inc.
• Fugro-McClelland Marine Geosciences
• Gallet & Associates, Inc.
• Geo/Environmental Associates, Inc.
• Geocomp Corporation
• GeoConsult, Inc.
• Geosciences Design Group, LLC
• Geotechnical Consultants, Inc.
• Geotechnology, Inc.
• Giles Engineering Associates, Inc.
• Greenbaum Associates, Inc.
• HCItasca, Inc., Itasca Consulting Group, Inc.
• Heller and Johnsen
• Hull & Associates, Inc.
• Inberg-Miller Engineers
• Leighton Group, Inc., Leighton & Associates and Leighton Consulting
• Miller Pacific Engineering Group
• Pettigrew & Associates, P.C.
• PMK Group, Inc.
• QORE, Inc., d/b/a QORE Property Sciences
• R. W. Gillespie & Associates, Inc.
• Raba-Kistner Consultants, Inc.
• RGH Geotechnical Consultants, Inc.
• Romig Engineers, Inc.
• S&ME, Inc.
• Sanborn, Head & Associates, Inc.
• Shannon & Wilson, Inc.
• STS Consultants, Ltd.
• Summit Testing & Inspection
• Terracon
• Virginia Geotechnical Services, P.C.