1991 survey of hospital salaries & job responsibilities for clinical engineers & biomedical technicians

The Journal of Clinical Engineering has conducted its sixth survey of the salaries paid to Clinical Engineers and Biomedical Equipment Technicians in U.S. hospitals. This paper reports the salary and work responsibility data obtained from 1,316 professionals in relationship to: Certification; Region of the U.S.; Teaching Versus Nonteaching Facilities; Years of Experience; Education; Union Membership; and Gender. Data are included on Wage Increases and Job Responsibilities. Data are as of 12/31/90 and are compared to 12/31/89. The average BMET I has 2.2 years of experience and earns $22,043 +/- $4,212 (Std. Dev.). The average BMET II has 6.5 years of experience and earns $27,627 +/- $5,466. The average BMET III has 11.6 years of experience and earns $33,843 +/- $6,099. The average BMET Supervisor has 13.5 years of experience and earns $38,159 +/- $7,701. The average Clinical Engineer has 8.5 years of experience and earns $39,127 +/- $7,884. CE Supervisors are the highest paid in the field with an average 13.9 years of experience and an average salary of $51,050 +/- $12,465. Wages are the highest on the West Coast. This year, the lowest wages were in the Southwest. From 1989 to 1990, the wage ranges for all job types increased substantially: BMET Is, +13.4%; BMET IIs, +5.3%; BMET IIIs, +8.0%; BMET Supervisors, +7.9%; CEs, +5.7%; CE Supervisors, +10.4%; and Supervisor, Other, +6.0%. The highest quartile of CE Supervisors now earns between $56,700 and $100,000 per year. While certified individuals earn $158 to $5,702 more than noncertified, this is attributable, in part, to additional years of experience.