The PayScale Index (US): Trends in Compensation

2012: After a year of strong growth in 2011, wages for workers with architecture and engineering jobs were essentially flat in early 2012. Wages still managed to be more than 2 percent higher than the previous year so this slowdown shouldn’t concern workers in this job category.

2007-2011: Architecture and engineering jobs outpaced national trends for The PayScale Index throughout 2007 and 2008. However, the mighty fell hard. This category suffered more than a 2 percent drop from its peak to its low point in early 2010. The rest of 2010 saw a modest recovery in wages; then, continual, healthy earnings growth returned wages to their Q4 2008 peak levels in 2011.

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Architecture and engineering (SOC Codes 11-9040.00 Architectural and Engineering Managers; 17-0000.00 Architecture and Engineering Occupations) professionals design what gets built. These workers create the plans that show how to build buildings, machinery, airplanes, highways and much more. These jobs are common in the construction, professional services and manufacturing industries. Information technology designers, like software and network engineers, are classified with information technology jobs. However, computer hardware engineers are classified with architecture and engineering jobs.

The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) system is used by Federal statistical agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The PayScale Index tracks quarterly changes in total cash compensation for full-time, private industry employees in the United States. In addition to a national index, it includes separate indices for specific industries, metropolitan areas, job categories, and company sizes. The PayScale Index uses 2006 average total cash compensation as a baseline.

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