To help both employers and employees better understand how their relative salaries compare across the board, the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) has released its 2003 Income and Salary Survey.

The survey is the only one for the U.S. engineering profession that combines and compares total income, salary and employer-sponsored benefit information across 35 disciplines, including the five licensure-eligible disciplines. The survey, now in its 37th year, analyzes engineers' salaries through a variety of variables, including length of experience, level of education, level of professional responsibility, branch of engineering, industry, supervisory/managerial responsibility, region and gender.

According to the survey, total annual median income for engineers was down 1% to $81,120, while the median annual income for licensed professional engineers rose 1% to $84,000. Respondents with an M.B.A. or combined degrees were found to have higher median incomes than respondents with an M.S. in engineering. Additionally, respondents with a B.S. in areas outside of engineering yielded higher earnings, with a large percentage employed in executive or administrative positions.

The highest median income was found in the Mid-Atlantic states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. The lowest median income was found in the Upper Mountain states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

To order the survey, or for more information, call (800) 417-0348 or visit www.nspe.org.