Environment and sustainability professionals experienced steady pay growth in 2016, with median earnings rising by 2% compared with a rise of 0.5% in 2015, according to the results of this year's member survey.
IEMA members’ median earnings were £39,000 in 2016, compared to £38,180 in 2015 and £38,000 in 2014.
A wide gender pay difference persists, however. For full-time employees it is 16.7%, much higher than the national figure of 9.4% and the same as reported in last year’s survey.
Some 89% of IEMA practitioners engaged in continuing professional development (CPD) activities in 2016. Filling skills gaps (56%), training or mentoring other staff (28%) and improving environmental performance (24%) were regarded as the biggest direct benefits of CPD.
Members progressed well in their careers last year, with more than half (56%) of practitioners reaching management or leadership positions, while 17% moved to more senior roles.
Practitioners expressed high levels of job satisfaction and optimism that they can meet the challenges of the year ahead. Almost seven in ten are satisfied or very satisfied with their current role, with just 6% dissatisfied, according to the poll.
Despite the uncertainties around Brexit and a US president sceptical about anthropogenic climate change, just 17% feel demoralised about the global challenges and unpredictability ahead. They are outnumbered by the 43% who are optimistic, with 35% somewhere in the middle.
Other findings of the survey include:
- The average or mean salary in the 12 months to January 2017 was £44,008.
- Median salaries for business and industry roles were higher at £41,000 than those in consultancies (£37,750) or the public sector (£35,547). Salaries were highest in the financial and legal services sector, where the median was £49,000.
- Some 62% received a pay increase in 2016, but this was down slightly from two-thirds in 2015 and much lower than in 2014, when 73.5% had an uplift. Self-employed members were less likely to benefit from a pay increase, with only 37% reporting a rise in earnings in 2016.
- By region, the highest median salary was found in eastern Scotland (£41,650), while Northern Ireland had the lowest (£30,558).
- The gender pay gap for the profession remained at 16.7%. However, full-time women in the 25–29 age bracket earned £2,000 more than their male colleagues at the median.
- An IEMA Graduate member can expect a starting salary of around £25,000 a year. The median for Practitioner members (PIEMA) is £38,000, while that for a Fellow is £70,900.
- Almost two-thirds (61%) of those surveyed had a form of postdoctoral qualification, with just 1% having no formal qualifications.
- Around 17% of survey respondents moved into a more senior role in 2016 and 13% switched sideways.
- Job satisfaction rates are high, especially among ‘career changers’, of whom 80% are happy with the move they have made. Among all respondents, 69% are either satisfied or very satisfied with their current role; just 6% are not.
