That turnover may sound high, but it is relatively tame for the electronics industry. In the American Electronics Association's 1996 Benchmark Compensation Survey, turnover rates for exempt employees averaged 18.1 percent for employers of 500 to 1,000 persons; 23.2 percent at the smallest employers, and only 11 percent at the largest. EE Times readers fall smack in the middle of the range.

Perhaps atypical are the signing bonuses that our readers received. Of the 128 readers who landed new positions, 36 reported getting bonuses for making the switch and of those, 21 received more than $5,000. Obviously, these were the stars of the engineering world. But you didn't have to be a top executive to rope in a signing bonus. In that exclusive group above $5,000 were two principal engineers, two section heads, five project engineers, three senior engineers and one department head.

What did they have that the other 72 percent of engineers who landed new jobs but didn't get bonuses? Perhaps they had an "agent"-an aggressive headhunter with a prized "trophy engineer" can help negotiate bonuses. More likely, skills that were in demand produced the extra paycheck.

Some skills are common to many EEs these days, and so it is no surprise that the 36 who received bonuses shared at least one of the following: C/C++, Unix, digital design and logic design. More illuminating is that half of those with DSP, wireless-design and network-design backgrounds who moved to new jobs received more than $5,000.

These perks are not new. "In the past," we asked all the respondents, "have you ever accepted a signing bonus?" Some 14 percent confirmed they had, with the top managers-such as vice presidents-leading the way.

We haven't heard of too many "draftees" from MIT collaring bonuses, though it is not unheard of for a top-of-the class EE to land a bonus in exchange for committing to a company early. The bonus may come in the form of a paid project or internship in the future grad's final year.

Different story

This year was different for a reason other than the full-employment claims. Throughout the nearly 20 years this survey has been conducted, one thing could be counted on: any question about engineering shortages would be shot out of the sky in a millisecond. Routinely, year after year, 79 to 90 percent of our readers emphatically denied any shortage of engineers; but this year, a much smaller majority bristled at that suggestion.

"The 'shortage' of engineers is related to the [company's] desire for $50K-to-$60K-per-year engineers, with about 10 to 20 hours per week 'free overtime' expected," a Washington engineer writes.

IEEE-USA, the American arm of IEEE, officially slams any suggestion of shortages, saying that there are a number of qualified engineers available. But companies have to be willing to pay the going rate-or better-to entice them to move from their present jobs, or hire engineers who may not have the exact skill set required for the job. In other words, the employer will have to invest in some training.

"The lack is internal, not in the employment market," another engineer responds.

Some blame management practices, not a lack of candidates. "There's not a shortage," declares a Virginia senior engineer. "Turbulence [is] due to business conditions."

But the percentage of those who think there is no shortage has shrunk significantly in a mere 12 months-to 62.5 percent. That's down nearly 17 percentage points from 1995, and 27 percentage points from the dog days of 1992, at the height of the nationwide downsizing.

"Frankly, it will be tougher and tougher to find smart people. Most of my friends have gone into sales engineering because it pays better," a Massachusetts design engineer writes.

"There is no shortage of 'average' engineers," a California consultant says, echoing the commen ts of a number of readers. The shortage is of "highly talented people with good engineering common sense and an ability to learn quickly."

Even more revealing is that 42 percent of the respondents say that their 1995-96 projects have been delayed or cut back due to lack of engineers.

Companies won't hire

"Some projects have been delayed because my company is very reluctant to increase the number of employees," says a Kansas design engineer. "We are being asked to do more with [fewer] people."

"We were short because everyone who interviewed got higher offers elsewhere," a Utah engineer writes.

The perception of a shortage hinges on whether the respondent is a manager or an engineer. Some 46 percent of the design and development managers vs. 34 percent of engineers in our sample see a shortfall.

The contrast grows sharper when we asked readers whether their 1995-96 projects were delayed or cut back because of a lack of engineers. Absolutely yes, replied 53 perce nt of managers vs. 40 percent of engineers. This disagreement comes as little surprise: managers do the hiring.

Hot jobs Full employment Other issues Benefits and pluses Usage Patterns Taking Stock

Back to EE Times Salary and Opinion Survey

Free Subscription to EE Times First Name Last Name Company Name Title Email address   Click here for your Free Subscription to EETimes Europe