CHART I EARNED ANNUAL INCOME OF ENGINEERS ACCORDING TO AGE, 1929 INCOME FROM ENGINEERING AND NONENGINEERING SERVICES, INCLUDING CHART 2 MEDIANS OF EARNED ANNUAL INCOME ACCORDING TO AGE INCOME FROM ENGINEERING AND NONENGINEERING SERVICES INCLUDING CHART 3 UPPER AND LOWER QUARTILES OF EARNED ANNUAL INCOME INCOME FROM ENGINEERING AND NONENGINEERING SERVICES INCLUDING large, however, it is perhaps safe to assume that the engineers at any age in the lowest 10 percent income group are less able than the average at that age; and that the highest 10 percent are substantially more able than the average. The Bureau's data reveal that the maximum earnings of the lowest 10 and 25 percent were reached in 1929 at about 44 years of age, and the average engineer reached his maximum earnings at about 52. The same relationship held in 1932 and 1934. In the two later years the maximum for the average engineer occurred at about 60, but it is evident that earning power for engineers above the average continued to rise beyond this age. Thus, the average earnings of engineers 53 to 60 years of age in 1934 exceeded $3,502, whereas the average earnings of those 61 to 68 years were more than $3,497. But the highest 10 percent of the first group earned over $7,720, whereas the same class of the second group earned more than $8,280. Table 5 discloses differences in the age-income cycles beyond the points of maximum earnings, that is, at the end of the third phases of increase. In the case of the two higher income levels, the fourth and last phase in 1929 was one of decrease. This was not so for the three lower income levels. For them, there was a fourth phase of no change in income which covered a span of approximately 8 years: 52 to 60 for the middle group, and from 44 to 52 in the case of the two lower levels. The fifth phases were ones of decrease. Relatively, however, the steepest declines occurred in the two higher income levels. Changes in income brought about by the depression in various years may be considered from the point of view of particular individuals whose age and experience was increasing, or from the point of view of the expectations of men with comparable periods of experience. For example, the average earnings of engineers who graduated in 1927-28 declined only from $2,098 in 1929 to $2,020 in 1932, and increased slightly to $2,023 in 1934. On the other hand, those who graduated in 1897-1904 averaged $4,918 in 1929, $3,832 in 1932, and $3,502 in 1934. Such comparisons for each group of engineers over the period 1929-34 may be made from table 5. They are, however, more conveniently arranged for direct comparison in table 6. This table shows a rise in earnings for the youngest engineers in the profession in 1929, who were near to 30 years of age in 1934. The advance in earning capacity in the first five years of engineering experience was so great that it offset the influence of the depression in the case of the youngest engineers. At higher ages, when an added year's experience influenced income less, the incomes of particular engineers declined by as much as 30 percent for the average graduate of the classes of 1889-96. |