The "EE Times 2006 State of the Engineer Survey" paints a portrait of contrasts between go-getter engineers in India and today's typical U.S. engineer, who is older, better compensated and generally more complacent.

On the surface, India-based engineers appeared to express more dissatisfaction than their U.S.-based counterparts in a number of areas. But the stats may say as much about the state of the engineering market in India as they do about the engineers themselves.

Fifty-seven percent of engineering respondents in India said their base pay is lower than that of others in their field with similar qualifications and work experience. By contrast, 55 percent of U.S. engineers characterized their compensation as comparable to others', and 48 percent of responding engineers in Europe said the same.

And while only 14 percent of the U.S. engineers said they are looking to change employers, 30 percent of Indian engineers revealed that they are "actively seeking an employer change."

Unlike the U.S. engineering employment market, the job market in India is on the upswing. Thus, engineers there tend to feel more confident that there are better opportunities--and more money to be made--around the corner. They can afford to be aggressive.

In contrast, U.S. engineers, working in a flat market, tend to cling to their current positions. A majority of the U.S.-based engineers--67 percent--said they're satisfied with both career and employer. Only 49 percent of engineers in India said the same.

Total household income and salary levels show similar divergence: 87 percent of engineers in India estimated their total household income at less than $60,000, and 84 percent said their base salary is below $35,000. In contrast, 60 percent

of the U.S. respondents pegged their household income at between $100,000 and $199,999. The mean household income of $139,200 for the U.S.-based survey respondents is almost five times higher than the Indian engineers' $29,600 mean household income.

Granted, in general the U.S. respondents are older and more experienced than their Indian counterparts. Sixty-five percent of the Indian respondents are 25 to 34 years old; 68 percent of the U.S. respondents are between 35 and 54. While 36 percent of the U.S. engineers revealed engineering experience of 15 to 25 years, 45 percent of the Indian engineers pegged their experience at three years to less than nine years.

The survey reveals another big gap between U.S. and Indian engineers when it comes to career perceptions. More than four-fifths of engineers in India agreed with the statement, "I would recommend engineering as a career to my kids," making it the fifth most strongly endorsed element in the survey. And 72 percent of Indian engineers said that "society respects engineers more than it did in the past."

Among U.S. engineers, "I would recommend engineering as a career to my kids" didn't make it into the top 10. And only 41 percent said society respects engineers more now than in the past.