Throughout 1996, Wall Street has been whispering about "wage pressures" and "full employment" driving up salaries. And it's true that the minimum wage will rise from $4.25 to $4.75 in October, but design and development engineers and managers pose no t hreat to the national economy.

The mean salary for 891 respondents to the 1996 EE Times "Worldwide Salary & Opinion Survey" hit $65,100, up $1,400 from 1995's $63,700 . That's a 3 percent increase in one year-roughly the rate of inflation, which is running at about 3.2 percent so far in 1996.

However, that figure includes the 17 percent who suffered through a wage freeze in a year that was bustin' out all over. Wage freezes have thawed considerably since 1993, when 28 percent of the respondents said their companies put the brakes on raises.

In addition, another 3 percent had salaries cut in the past year, just slightly under the 3.8 percent of 1993. We suspect we'll always have a hard core of respondents with reduced salaries because of unemployment, voluntary separations and other factors.

Separating these people out, the 80 percent who received raises estimated their paychecks grew by just under 5 percent this ye ar-4.96 percent, to be exact, if we use the median or halfway point. If we use the mean, it's a much sharper 8.3 percent increase, spiked by a few high rollers.

If your boss dismisses such numbers as exaggerations, ask why the numbers from the industry trade association, American Electronics Association, are so close if we compare medians. The AEA's Benchmark Compensation Survey of more than 600 electronics companies found that actual salary increases were 4.6 percent for exempt employees in 1995. The AEA members' budget 1996 hikes were at 4.7 percent, and industry is projecting 4.9 percent in 1997.

Considering that the EE Times survey covers actual increases, not estimates, and includes everyone from owners of companies to vice presidents of engineering to fresh-out design engineers, the 0.2 percent difference for medians is minor.

No fantasies or exaggerations here, thank you.

Looking back a mere six years, EE salaries have moved up by $12,400. In 1990, the mean salary was $5 2,700. Six years before that, it was $41,700. In 12 years, the mean salary for EE Times readers has grown by $23,400, albeit with spurts and a tiny $100 setback between 1990 and 1991, just as the economy started to slide, taking President George Bush with it a year later.

On the whole, the EEs answering our survey believe they're paid in line with the going rate . Just under 60 percent say their salaries are "comparable" to others in their field, given equal qualifications and work experience. That's about a percentage point higher than last year.

But nearly a third of this year's readers are grumbling about their pay.

"Company pays as little as it thinks it can get away with," says a chief engineer. Of course, he's earning between $90,000 and $99,000. His spouse brings home $66,000. Not bad-$150k+.

Those figures aren't typical, of course. When we asked these same 891 respondents what their total income was-salaries plus bonuses or second jobs-it came out to $65,600, a mere $500 more than the salaries.

It emphasizes that American EEs depend heavily on base pay, rather than overtime or bonuses as is the case with the 445 Japanese engineers and managers who took our survey. They earn an average of $69,741, with 30 percent or so of that coming from paid overtime or twice-yearly bonuses.

Spouses provide a financial lift in many engineers' families. Some 58 percent of respondents have working spouses. They add an average of $31,700 to the kitty. If Average EE is married to Average Spouse, that means they're living on $96,800 a year.

As we said, not bad. But if you're single or don't have a working spouse-or haven't yet reached the $65,100 plateau-that's another matter.

"I think engineering salaries in general are below what they should be, having fallen behind the inflation rate by a factor of two during the past 35 years of my experience," according to a $90,000-plus technical director.

Not quite, according to the "1995 IEEE U.S. Membership Salary and Fringe Benefit Survey."

"Overall," it said, "EE incomes have kept pace with inflation, though the rise has not been steady." Some years were better than others. Salaries lagged in the 1970s, but "now purchasing power seems to be on the upswing again, as real income has exceeded inflation in each of the last three (IEEE) surveys."

IEEE didn't do a survey this year, but as noted, the 1996 EE Times respondents, with 4.96 percent median hikes, are keeping ahead of the 3.2 percent rate of inflation so far in 1996.

Another caveat: Later on, as we break down the data by region, we'll see that those west of the Mississippi fared much better than Easterners. So, if you're living in Columbus, Ohio, you may wonder who we're talking about when we describe $77,000 EEs and 5 percent raises. Most of the new fabs, the hottest companies and the biggest growth is taking place in the Valley, Northwest, Southwest and Midwest. The East, with its heav y dependency on computer houses and defense companies, has not seen such rapid expansion.

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