2004 Salary Survey
Kirt's Cogitations™ #90

RF Cafe University "Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and "Tech Topics Smorgasbord" are all manifestations of my ranting on various subjects relevant (usually) to the overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:

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2004 Salary Survey

Electronic Design's 2004 Reader Profile Survey results are in. According to over 2700 respondents, 60% of us think we are paid appropriately at around $92k (average total compensation presented herein). Managers are making a little less than last year while the worker bees made about the same. Engineering managers made the highest pay, while manufacturing/production managers made the least. The salary gap between women and men is closing as women received greater raises (in %) than men. IC designers were the highest paid engineers ($97k) while MEMs designers made the least ($84k). Defense electronics engineers averaged $89k. The Pacific region had the highest compensation at $106k while NW central and SE Central regions reported $81k. Earnings peaked for engineers with 35-39 years of experience while those with 1-4 years made $62k. Those with <1 year made $70k, indicating higher starting salaries. Companies with revenues of $1B-$4.9B paid the highest while $5M-$9M companies paid $83k. Doctorates received $111k, Masters $104k, Bachelors $86k, Associates $69k, and, oddly, those with only a HS diploma made $78k. The peak earning ages are 40-49 years old ($96k), and 20-29 year-olds made $65k. %95 of us are on a payroll while only %6 are self-employed. The top job satisfaction factor was the challenge. Compensation came in 3rd. The average work week consists of 52 hours (work + home). 36% of companies are hiring and 9% of us are looking for a new job. Avionics and IC companies are doing the most hiring. Look for the full report in your mailbox or possibly online soon.

Exodus Advanced Communications Best in Class RF Amplifier SSPAs - RF Cafe

RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...