Reported median income among U.S. engineers and other technology professionals in IEEE-USA’s survey rose from $169,000 in 2022 to $174,161 in 2023—about 5%. The result describes surveyed IEEE members, not every engineer in the country, and excludes overtime, profit sharing, and other supplemental earnings.
What the 5% increase measures
The figures come from IEEE-USA’s 2024 Salary and Benefits Survey, summarized by IEEE Spectrum. Its 2024 label refers to the survey edition, not the earnings year: income is measured for the year before the survey’s date of record, so the 2024 survey reports 2023 income.
IEEE-USA calculated the median using 4,192 respondents who were full-time technology professionals working in their primary area of competence. The reported median rose from $169,000 in 2022 to $174,161 in 2023, a difference of $5,161, or approximately 5%. These are current-dollar medians; the comparison excludes overtime, profit sharing, and other supplemental earnings.
A median is the midpoint of the reported incomes, not the average and not a raise received by each respondent. The finding is therefore best read as a change in the survey population’s reported median income—not as evidence that every engineer’s pay rose 5%.
#1 Best Overall
How reported income varied by specialty and education
The survey summary reports different medians across specialties and education levels. Those figures show why the overall median is not a precise benchmark for an individual job.
| Category | Reported median income |
|---|---|
| Circuits and devices | $196,614 |
| Communications | $190,000 |
| Computers/software technology | $181,000 |
| Energy and power engineering | $155,000 |
| Ph.D. holders | $193,636 |
| Master’s degree in electrical or computer engineering | $182,500 |
| Bachelor’s degree in electrical or computer engineering | $159,000 |
These specialty and education comparisons are reported in the IEEE Spectrum summary of IEEE-USA’s 2024 survey. They are separate cuts of the survey, not a guarantee of pay for a particular combination of degree, specialty, experience, employer, and location.
Geography and gender findings need context
IEEE Region 6 respondents in the Western U.S. earned nearly $48,500 more on average than Region 4 respondents in the Central U.S. The summary also cautions that living costs are significantly higher in the West. That regional average difference should not be treated as an equivalent gain in purchasing power.
The summary reports that women earned $30,515 less than men even after considering experience levels. It does not provide enough methodological detail to independently interpret that adjustment or establish why the difference occurred, so the figure should be understood as a reported survey finding rather than a causal explanation.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Rank #3
- Keep track of everything from attendance to test scores
- Spiral bound
- Measures 8-1/2" x 11"
How to use the figures when assessing pay
The 2023 result is historical, and the overall median is too broad to value a specific offer on its own. For a useful comparison, match the role and specialty, education and experience, location and cost of living, and the compensation components included in the figure.
- Match the work: Use the specialty figures only when the survey category resembles the job being assessed.
- Compare credentials and experience: The education figures are category medians, not guaranteed salary premiums for a degree.
- Adjust for location: A higher regional income figure does not account fully for local living costs.
- Compare like compensation: The headline median excludes overtime, profit sharing, and other supplemental earnings. Do not compare it directly with a package that counts those components without accounting for the difference.
What the survey summary does not establish
The figures are a survey result for IEEE-member respondents, not a census of the U.S. engineering workforce. IEEE Spectrum’s summary does not provide enough detail to establish the survey’s response rate, weighting, or full methodology, so those details should not be inferred from the reported sample size.
Rank #4
- Students build unmatched deductive-reasoning skills as they become crime-solving stars
- Most scenarios have more than one plausible outcome, allowing individuals or groups to broadly interpret evidence
- Includes interpretive handwriting, body language, fingerprinting, and many more activities
IEEE Spectrum identifies the underlying IEEE-USA report as a 60-page paid report. The summary listed prices of $125 for members and $225 for nonmembers; those are article-reported prices, not independently verified current prices. The report may contain further tables, but the summary alone supports only the figures and comparisons described above.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches
