Rising political tensions. Dropping interest rates. Near total globalization of markets. Regulators cranking out a dizzying array of rules. With so much change happening all around us, it's natural to want to get some perspective. Electronic Design's editors share their annual view of the current state of the engineering profession in this special issue.
As in the past, the information published in this issue comes from the annual Reader Profile Survey conducted during June and July. Once again, Electronic Design took a close look at how compensation varies across several dimensions, including job function and title, company size and type, geographic region, and experience—along with gender, age, and level of education.
We kept a number of the same questions from previous studies to see how things are changing as well as how they're staying the same. This survey includes new topics of interest, such as product life expectancies and the impact the European Union's Restrictions On Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive is having on product development.
In addition, we investigated some new issues, so you can see how your own work life compares to that of your peers. This includes:
- The ways you're continuing your education
- The search engines you prefer
- The personal technologies you use
- Your favorite workstations and operating systems
- Whether you're developing brand-new products or extending existing product lines
- The global markets your products are sold into
All together, these pages provide a unique opportunity for you to get a clearer perspective on your particular career and what's happening in the industry as a whole.
We'd like to express our appreciation to all Electronic Design subscribers who took time out of their busy schedules to tell us about themselves. In all, more than 2500 of you shared your views and opinions about the issues that matter most to you and your colleagues. That participation made it possible for us to offer you this extensive insight into the state of the engineering profession— especially in regards to income, priorities, and job satisfaction.