Eh, market forces are more influential than this. You can't simply decide how much to pay engineers, any more than you can decide what your rent is going to cost.
People rarely demand what they are worth since they usually value security over maximizing income, but if you are familiar with the numbers, then you are in a much better negotiating position.
People should always keep applying to jobs, even if they don’t intend on accepting them just to keep a pulse on the value of the labor they are selling.