The following is from the AIGA web site and worth downloading and reading if you haven’t got your copy in the mail yet (I’m not sure if student members get the survey).
The 2000 survey draws from the largest pool to date of designers and
others allied with the profession nationwide, and includes responses
from more than 9,000 design professionals. The AIGA|Aquent survey is
widely recognized as the most comprehensive annual survey of
compensation data for the communication design profession in the United
States. Visit www.designsalaries.org to use the interactive Salary Calculator.
In addition to the compensation data, this year’s survey includes essays written by design professionals offering advice on staying competitive in a turbulent economy.