Salary Survey Results 2017
Introduction
Published October 2017. Salary data was collected between July 3 and August 22, 2017.
Thank you to the 2,262 respondents from around the world who took the time to participate in the 2017 Salary Survey. These salary statistics and information are specific to the Automation.com and InTech audience and/or subscribers (industrial automation, process control, and instrumentation engineers and other professionals).
Note: With the exception of the "Salary by Region of the World" data, the following results are a representation of the 1,553 respondents currently working in the United States only. The United States made up 72.2% of the total responses, with the next largest region being Canada with 144 responses.
Read the summary article of the results, '2017 Salary Survey Results: Are we seeing a pay plateau in automation?' written by Cory Fogg, Content Editor at Automation.com. The article was originally published in the October 2017 issue of InTech magazine and InTech Online.
Typical Survey Respondent
The percent numbers indicated in the right-hand column are relative to the total number of US survey respondents - 1,553.
|
Indicator |
Percentage of Respondents or Average |
| Job Function | Automation/Control Engineering (37.6%) |
| Region | United States (72.2%) with largest state of Texas (16.9%) |
| Education Level | College graduate (54.2%, 15.8% have Advanced Degree) |
| Years of Experience | 31 years or more (18.8%) 26-30 years (17.6%) |
| 2016 Annual Gross Income |
$100,000 - $124,999 (25.9%) |
| Compensation Increase over 2015 |
3-4% Increase (32.49%) 1-2% Increase (31.29%) |
| Job Satisfaction | Not Seeking New Employment (53.1%) Passively Seeking New Employment (38.5%) |
Average Salary by Region of the World
|
Region of World |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| United States | $110,082 | 73.3% |
| Canada | $100,468 | 6.7% |
| Mexico | $56,052 | 0.9% |
| Central America (including Caribbean) | $57,500 | 0.7% |
| South America |
$51,859 | 4.0% |
| Europe (Western) |
$79,444 | 4.6% |
| Europe (Eastern) |
$43,600 | 1.2% |
| Africa | $51,216 | 1.7% |
| Middle East |
$74,114 | 2.2% |
| Australia and New Zealand |
$120,357 | 0.9% |
| Asia & South Pacific |
$47,500 | 2.5% |
| South Asia |
$39,956 | 2.7% |
Average Salary by Region of the United States
*Regions as defined by Wikipedia.
|
Region of the United States* |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| New England (Northeast) | $112,777 | 5.1% |
| Mid-Atlantic (Northeast) | $107,250 | 9.5% |
| East North Central (Midwest) | $99,623 | 15.9% |
| West North Central (Midwest) | $103,044 | 10.0% |
| South Atlantic (South) | $106,355 | 15.3% |
| East South Central (South) | $109,480 | 5.0% |
| West South Central (South) | $126,690 | 20.7% |
| Mountain (West) | $103,528 | 6.9% |
| Pacific (West) | $120,801 | 11.7% |
Average Salary by Opportunity Seeking Status
|
Employment Type |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| Actively Seeking | $95,000 |
8.4% |
| Passively Seeking |
$111,099 | 38.5% |
| Not Seeking | $117,260 | 53.1% |
Average Salary by Highest Level of Education
|
Level of Education |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| High School Graduate | $100,128 |
2.5% |
| Technical/Trade School Graduate |
$96,260 | 14.7% |
| Attended Some College | $99,275 | 12.9% |
| College Graduate | $117,636 | 54.2% |
| Graduate School/Advanced Degree |
$126,071 | 15.8% |
Average Salary by Certification Status
|
Do you have any (ISA or other association) professional certifications? |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| Yes |
$114,479 |
29.4% |
| No | $113,033 | 68.2% |
| In Progress | $95,328 | 1.8% |
Average Salary by Professional Work Experience
|
Years of Professional Work Experience |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| 2 Years or Fewer |
$63,023 |
2.8% |
| 3-5 Years |
$73,948 | 5.7% |
| 6-10 Years | $95,625 | 9.8% |
| 11-15 Years | $110,930 | 11.1% |
| 16-20 Years | $115,096 | 11.7% |
| 21-25 Years | $118,487 | 15.3% |
| 26-30 Years | $119,580 | 17.6% |
| 31 or More Years | $125,672 | 18.8% |
Average Salary by Job Function
|
Job Function |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| Automation/Control Engineering | $110,577 | 37.6% |
| Consulting Engineering | $126,653 | 4.2% |
| Design Engineering | $107,409 | 5.3% |
| Engineering Management | $150,149 | 9.7% |
| General or Operations Management |
$127,812 |
3.6% |
| Operations and Maintenance | $94,409 | 14.2% |
| Process/Plant/Manufacturing Engineering | $103,378 | 3.9% |
| Project Management | $123,277 | 4.8% |
| Sales - Business Development | $123,417 | 7.0% |
| Other |
$95,281 | 9.7% |
Average Salary by Company's Primary Industry
|
Industry |
Average Salary |
Percent |
| Chemicals | $118,066 | 9.7% |
| Engineering Consulting or Systems Integration | $119,423 | 20.9% |
| Food & Beverage | $104,375 | 5.7% |
| Industrial Machinery & Equipment | $104,406 | 11.4% |
| Oil & Gas | $135,362 | 12.4% |
| Pharmaceuticals | $124,927 | 4.4% |
| Utilities - Electrical, Natural Gas, Nuclear | $118,104 | 7.7% |
| Utilities -Water/Wastewater | $90,795 | 8.5% |
| Other | $101,797 | 19.3% |
Average Salary by P.E. License Status
|
P.E. Licensed? |
Average Salary |
Percent Respondents |
| Yes |
$134,033 |
15.3% |
| No |
$109,600 | 81.3% |
| In Progress | $100,048 | 3.3% |
