Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Study finds noncitizen engineers' pay lower
By Daniel Noll
Daily Texan (U. Texas)
03/23/2006

(U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas — Nothing pays the bills like an engineering degree, but for noncitizens who are engineers, it pays 17 percent less.

Of the 10 jobs with the highest average starting salary in 2005, seven required an engineering degree, according to a National Association of Colleges and Employers survey released last year. Chemical engineering was ranked the highest, with a starting salary of $54,256, a 4.3-percent increase from the previous year.

Average salaries for noncitizens were 17 percent less than U.S. citizens with equivalent engineering degrees, according to a Society of Petroleum Engineers survey.

Top students in the University of Texas' undergraduate engineering programs, seven of which ranked in the top 10 nationwide, can expect to earn above the national average. Graduates with a bachelor's degree from the UT Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, which is ranked first nationwide, received salaries as high as $75,000 and signing bonuses as large as $20,000, said Tim Taylor, program coordinator for the department.

"High starting salaries lure most students into the workforce without pursuing a graduate degree," Taylor said.

William Rossen, the department chairman, said he urges students to pursue a graduate degree before entering the work force.

"Many companies put a premium on having an M.S. degree," Rossen said. "In addition to the intellectual value of a higher degree, graduate students often are placed into higher positions and receive higher salaries."

While Rossen said that a graduate degree is not for everyone, it is predominately U.S. citizens who choose to forgo a graduate education. Only 30 percent of U.S. citizens have education beyond a bachelor's degree, compared to 51 percent of noncitizens, according to a 2004 membership survey from the society.

At UT, international students accounted for 6.1 percent of undergraduate engineering students and 49.7 percent of graduate engineering students, according to the College of Engineering Web site. International students that worked in the U.S. earned an average 17 percent less than U.S. citizens in similar jobs, according to the society survey.

"I can only speculate, but I'd say the hassle of getting a green card or hiring workers with lower English-speaking skills deter companies from hiring foreign workers," Rossen said. "For years we have relied on foreign students to provide our high technology graduates, but our immigration policies act as if we don't want them here."

A U.S. company wanting to hire an international student must secure a temporary work visa, such as an H1-B, valid up to six years. Long-term employment requires a green card, which takes additional paperwork and one to three years for approval.

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