Variables you cannot change include gender, age and the supply-and-demand for engineers at the time you come up for a raise.

One o f the more controllable variables is your skills set. These are the tools you port from project to project or company to company.

What skills pay off?

We took a look at the engineers and managers earning over $100,000 to see what skills they have that engineers earning $65,000 or $40,000 don't tend to have.

Three capabilities stand out:

• Deep-submicron design. Nearly a quarter of the $100,000 earners work at the cutting edge of submicron design. The challenges are growing more formidable with each generation, so it's no surprise that EEs working in the deep-submicron environment (probably at the 0.50micron level or below) command a premium. By contrast only 11 percent of the $65,000 EEs and none of the $40,000 engineers design at those levels.

• Wireless design. Very desirable, very hot this year. But not quite as much of a differentiator as deep submicron. Some 18 percent of the $100,000 engineers/man agers have wireless design backgrounds vs.12.5 percent of the $65,000 engineers. Only 8 percent of the $40,000 respondents can design wireless systems.

• ASIC design. Again, a very hot skill this year, much in demand across many industries. That's why, of all the skills, ASIC design appears to set the high earners apart from the lower earners. One-third of the $100k engineers possess ASIC design skills vs. 14 percent of the $65,000 engineers and 10 percent of the $40k people.

While 60 percent of the $40k engineers can program in C/C++, only 41 percent of the $100k can. There's not much relationship between having embedded systems design skills and commanding top dollar, as only one quarter of the $100k people list this as a tool, while 42 percent of $40k people do.

Analog design is a mixed bag. Of all the skills we listed, analog was cited the most by $100k engineers and managers, at 46 percent. But then, 45 percent of the $65,000 engineers and 56 percent of the $40k people also have analog design skills. A useful, but not exclusive skill.

We also measured readers' salaries by skills. Keep in mind that virtually all respondents have multiple skills, so a respondent would show up in several categories. But this does serve to reemphasize that engineers with ASIC and deep submicron skills get higher salaries. Wireless proves more problematical.

• Deep submicron IC design: $79,400
  
• ASIC design: $72,800
  
• DSP. $67,500
  
• Unix: $67,100
  
• Wireless design: $66,700
  
• Systems integration: $66,200
  
• Overall average: $65,100
  
• C/C++: $65,100
  
• Digital design: $64,900
  
• Embedded systems: $64,800
  
• Network design: $63,700
  
• Circuit design: $63,300
  

But we also had five senior engineers and four principal engineers among them. (Technical recruiters confirm they're placing $100,000+ highly skilled, high-demand engineers.) Generally, those positions tend to stress technology over MBA-level management skills.

In Japan, by the way, the $100k club is even less restricted. An eye-opening 21 percent of 445 respondents there claim total incomes (salary plus bonuses and overtime) above $100,000.

But, as we pointed out last year, "Forget the Lexus." A closer approximation to American engineers' income would be to divide the Japanese salaries by nearly two. The yen to dollar ratio has improved to 110 vs. the 80s last year, but cost of living is still close to two times higher than that of pricey New York City.

We should point out that looking at salaries by skills is fraught with qualifications. Virtually everyone has a combination of skills, not one. We don't ask for a list of business/man agement skills,which are essential tools as you climb to and past the $100,000-plus level. We're sure our VPs, CEOs and others would attribute much of their success to communications, finance and leadership skills, rather than technology.

But it is interesting to observe that 1996's hottest skills in the engineering recruitment world-deep submicron, DSP, ASIC design and wireless design-parallel top salaries.

Back to EE Times Salary and Opinion Survey

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