2025 Designers' Salary Survey
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1.
Which best describes your job title?
(Required.)
PCB design engineer
Senior PCB design engineer
PCB designer
Senior PCB designer
Electrical engineer
Senior electrical engineer
PCB design manager
Hardware engineer
Senior hardware engineer
Principal engineer
Electronics technician
Technical director
Process engineer
CAD librarian
Other
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2.
What is your principal job function?
(Required.)
PCB design (including schematic, layout, placement, etc.)
PCB engineering (signal integrity, hardware engineer, software engineer, etc.)
Systems design
Design/layout management
Engineering management
Design support (drafting)
Applications engineer
Engineering consulting
ECAD librarian
General/corporate management
Other
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3.
How many years of experience do you have in printed circuit design/engineering?
(Required.)
1 to 5
6 to 10
11 to 15
16 to 20
21 to 25
26 to 30
Over 30
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4.
Where are you located?
(Required.)
US – Northeast/New England/Mid Atlantic (ME, VT, NH, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, DE, PA, MD, DC, VA, WV)
US – Southeast (NC, SC, GA, FL, MI, AL, TN)
US – Midwest (OH, MI, IL, WI, MN, IA, IN, MO, KY)
US – South (TX, AK, LA)
US – Plains States (NE, KS, SD, ND OK)
US – Rockies Region (CO, MO, NM, WY, UT)
US – Southwest/California (NV, AZ, CA)
US – Northwest (OR, WA, ID)
Non-Continental US (HI, AK)
Caribbean/Central America
Canada
Mexico
Central/Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Japan
Africa/Middle East
India
Southeastern China
East-Central China
Northern China
Western China
Southeast Asia (but not China)
South America
Other
*
5.
How many people report directly to you?
(Required.)
None
1 to 5
6 to 10
11 to 20
Over 20
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6.
What is your current age?
(Required.)
Less than 21
21 to 25
26 to 30
31 to 35
36 to 40
41 to 45
46 to 50
51 to 55
56 to 60
61 to 70
Over 70
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7.
What is your gender?
(Required.)
Male
Female
Non-binary
I choose not to answer
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8.
What is your current annual salary (in US$)?
(Required.)
<$10,000
$10,001 to $15,000
$15,001 to $20,000
$20,001 to $25,000
$25,001 to $30,000
$30,001 to $40,000
$40,001 to $50,000
$50,001 to $60,000
$60,001 to $70,000
$70,001 to $80,000
$80,001 to $90,000
$90,001 to $100,000
$100,001 to $110,000
$110,001 to $120,000
$120,001 to $130,000
$130,001 to $140,000
$140,001 to $150,000
>$150,000
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9.
Do you receive an annual bonus?
(Required.)
Yes
No
10.
If so, what percentage of your current salary is your average annual bonus?
1 to 3%
4 to 7%
>7%
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11.
How has your salary changed in the past year?
(Required.)
Rose 1 to 3%
Rose 4 to 6%
Rose 7 to 10%
Rose more than 10%
Fell 1 to 3%
Fell 4 to 6%
Fell 7 to 10%
Fell more than 10%
Has not changed
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12.
What is your highest level of education?
(Required.)
High school
Some college – no degree
1- to 2-year associate’s degree
BA/BS degree in non-engineering field
BS degree in engineering or related field
Master’s (any field)
Ph.D. (any field)
*
13.
What role does your level of education play in your current salary?
(Required.)
Major factor
Moderate factor
Minor factor
Not a factor
Unsure
*
14.
What type of company do you work for?
(Required.)
OEM
Design service bureau
Both OEM & service bureau
PCB fabricator
EMS/contract assembler
Consultant/academia/instructor/other
Other
15.
What percentage of your time each week is spent on board design (including schematic, layout, placement, etc.)?
100%
76-99%
51-75%
26-50%
11-25%
1-10%
16.
What types of projects and/or technologies do you directly engineer, design or lay out? (Check all that apply.)
Single-sided PCBs
Double-sided PCBs
4 to 6 layers
7 to 10 layers
12 plus layer PCBs
Flex or rigid-flex PCBs
FPGAs/PLDs
Microvias/HDI
RF/microwave circuitry
High-speed design
BGAs
ASICs/ICs
Embedded systems
Chip-scale packages
Chiplets/heterogenous packages/MCMs
Package-on-Package (PoP)
Processor and memory (DDR)
SoCs
SiPs
Optoelectronics
Enclosures
Other (please specify)
17.
On average, how many new designs (new part numbers) do you produce each year?
1 to 5
6 to 10
11 to 15
16 to 20
21 to 30
31 to 50
51 or more
18.
On average, how many board revisions (respins) do you produce each year?
1 to 5
6 to 10
11 to 15
16 to 20
21 to 30
31 to 50
51 or more
19.
Has the number of respins you produced risen in the past 12 to 18 months?
Yes
No
20.
Are you at or above the top of your company's salary range for your job/position?
Yes
No
21.
If you have a degree from a four-year college, what subject is it in?
Electrical engineering
Mechanical engineering
General/chemical/industrial/other engineering
Physics
Mathematics
Business
Liberal Arts
Other
22.
Are you a Certified Designer?
Yes
No
23.
If you answered yes to the previous question, are you
IPC CID
IPC CID+
PCEA Certified Printed Circuit Designer (CPCD)
24.
Have any of the following helped you advance or land your current role? (Select all that apply)
Certification(s)
Formal education
Networking/referrals
Personal design portfolio
Other (please specify)
25.
Do you have the same job as you did in 2024?
Yes
No
26.
Were you laid off in the past year?
Yes
No
27.
What do you think will be the biggest challenge(s) you will face as a designer in 2025? (Check all that apply.)
Finding/Keeping job
Outsourcing
Keeping up with technology changes
Workload
Getting funding to continue professional development
Other (please specify)
28.
For which end-market do you primarily design?
Automotive/other ground vehicles
Communications/related systems equipment (includes all phone types)
Computers/peripherals
Consumer electronics (includes wearables and white goods)
Industrial controls/equipment/robotics
Electronic instruments/ATE design and test
Government/military/aerospace/avionics/marine/space
Medical/optical electronics and equipment
Semiconductors and related packaging or test equipment
Other (please specify)
29.
How many total employees does your company have worldwide?
More than 1000
251 – 1000
101 – 250
51 – 100
26 – 50
10 – 25
9 or fewer
30.
What are the approximate total annual sales of your company?
$5 billion or more
$1 billion to $4.9 billion
$500 million to $999.9 million
$100 million to $499.9 million
$50 million to $99.9 million
$5 million to $49.9 million
Less than $5 million
Unsure
31.
What educational opportunities are supported by your company? (Check all that apply.)
Tuition reimbursement
Classes at conferences
On-the-job training
Industry certification
Company-sponsored classes
College classes
Mentoring
N/A
32.
Has your conference or class attendance had a positive impact on your salary?
Yes
No
Not applicable
33.
What benefits are offered by your company? (Check all that apply.)
Health insurance
Dental insurance
401(k) plan
Company pension or retirement plan
Life insurance
Stock purchasing plan
Profit sharing
Telecommuting
Sabbatical
Daycare facilities
N/A
34.
How have your benefits changed in the past year?
More benefits offered, or the same benefits but at a lower cost
Fewer benefits offered, or the same benefits but at a higher cost
No change
35.
Which product/service purchases do you evaluate, recommend, specify or approve? (Check all that apply.)
ECAD software (including layout/routing, library management, modeling, simulation, analysis and documentation)
CAM software
CAE software
MCAD software
Prototype PCB services
Volume PCB fabrication services
Design services
Connectors and cables
Active/passive components
FPGAs/PLDs
Assembly services
Solder mask
Substrate materials
Computers and peripherals
Solder materials (paste, flux)
Epoxies and finishes
Consulting services
Test/measurement services
None of the above
36.
What is your highest level of purchase power?
Recommend products
Specify products
Evaluate products
Approve product purchases
None of the above
37.
Which ECAD tools do you use on at least a weekly basis?
Altium Designer
Autodesk Eagle
Cadence Allegro
Cadence OrCAD
KiCAD
Siemens Board Station
Siemens Pads
Siemens Xpedition
Zuken CADStar
Zuken CR-3000
Zuken CR-5000
Zuken CR-8000
Other
38.
Which ECAD tools do you use at least once a year?
Altium Designer
Autodesk Eagle
Cadence Allegro
Cadence OrCAD
KiCAD
Siemens Board Station
Siemens Pads
Siemens Xpedition
Zuken CADStar
Zuken CR-3000
Zuken CR-5000
Zuken CR-8000
Other
39.
On a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 being the lowest and 7 the highest, what is your current satisfaction with your job?
1 (completely dissatisfied)
2
3
4
5
6
7 (highly satisfied)
40.
How many more years do you plan to work in your position?
1 to 5
6 to 10
11 to 15
16 to 20
21 to 25
26 to 30
31 or more
