Recently, Think asked engineering and technical job applicants at ThinkJobs.com and ThinkEnergyGroup.com ( two of the web’s most popular engineering-focused job boards) to answer the following three questions:

1. How has the economic recession impacted your minimum salary requirements?
2. If you must take a pay cut for your next job, when will you start searching for a new one?
3. What is the top reason for you looking for new job opportunities?

Findings Overview:

The basic findings of the Worksource Report can be outlined as follows:

• 58% of engineers and other technical professionals have be forced to lower their minimum salary requirements
• 52% will begin looking for new work in less than a year if they must take a pay cut at their next position
• Job Seekers  with 20-40 years of experience were 25% more likely to report that they were unemployed than those with 0-10 years of experience
• Experienced Job Seekers were 21% more likely to have lowered their minimum salary requirements

“Recession-Priced” Employees Come at a Cost

While the unemployed have clearly been hit the hardest by the trends mentioned above, they aren’t alone.  Close to half (45%)of candidates whose job search is motivated by “career advancement” have also been forced to lower their salary requirements.   Interestingly, engineers and technical professionals with 20-40 years of experience were 21% more likely to have been forced to lower their salary requirements than those with 0-10 years of experience.

Although the data from our polls suggest that technical candidates are willing to lower their minimum salary requirements, they aren’t taking the decrease lying down.  In fact, 52% of job seekers will begin a new job search in less than one year if they are forced to take a pay cut at their next job.   66% will start a new search within 3 years.

Engineers & Unemployment

When asked the question, “what is the top reason for you looking for new job opportunities”, 51% of respondents said they were unemployed, another 10% thought that their current job security was uncertain, and still another 6% responded that they were underemployed.

And much like engineers and technical professionals with 20-40 years of experience were more likely to have lowered their salary requirements, so too were they more likely to be unemployed.  In fact, engineering job seekers with 20-40 years of experience were 25% more likely to be searching for a job because of unemployment than respondents with 0-10 years of experience.

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Methodology

1,405 job applicants answered the question, “How has the economic recession impacted your minimum salary requirements?”.  They were asked to select between “forced to lower my minimum requirements”, “no impact”, and “raised my minimum requirements.”

1,544 job applicants answered the question, “What is the top reason for you looking for new job opportunities?”  They were asked to select between “career advancement”, “contract is ending”, “current job security is uncertain”, “family personal reasons”, “underemployed”, “unemployed”, and “unfulfilled at current job.”

1,169 job applicants answered the question, “If you must take a pay cut for your next job, when will you start looking for a new one?”  They were asked to select between, “right away”, “less than a year”, “1-3 years”, “3+ years”, “I won’t search for a new job.”  The question poll was administered at Think EnergyGroup.com between March 2nd and March 16th, 2010.