While post-recession paychecks for engineering and construction professionals rose about 10% since 2008 in a survey by management consultant FMI released earlier this year, its new report shows that top executives saw their total compensation drop 8% in the same period, mostly fueled by profit impacts and related falloffs in bonuses and stock values that hurt long-term pay.
"The sharp reduction in CEO, COO and CFO bonuses in 2013 cannot be overlooked," says survey author Mike Rose, although he says executives with cost-control responsibility appeared to fare better.