The 2014 IEMA practitioners' survey details how seniority and location impact practitioners' pay
Most IEMA members responding to the 2014 practitioners’ poll have achieved a high level of status in their profession. Almost two-thirds (62.3%) of those participating are employed as either a senior officer, project/middle manager or senior manager. A similar proportion (63.2%) also report having management responsibilities in their organisation.
Figure 3 shows that practitioners’ earnings are closely aligned to organisational seniority, with the general trend being that those in more senior roles receive higher earnings. Median total pay, including all bonus payments, ranges from £22,960 for junior/graduate roles to £52,000 for an associate or partner.
It also reveals that each additional rung of the career ladder attracts a significant salary increase, with those progressing from officer to senior officer position receiving a median annual pay increase of £5,636, for example. Promotion from project/middle manager to senior manager attracts an even greater pay rise of £11,000.
The only anomaly in the upwards trajectory of pay according to seniority is in the earnings of directors and chief executives. However, this most senior role level in the 2014 survey is principally made up of self-employed practitioners, as opposed to employees, and their lower salaries are related to the direct earnings set by themselves rather than a salary decided by the company. This helps to explain why the trend for higher pay at higher role levels is not reflected at the most senior positions.
When the pay data is analysed by geographical region, it is no surprise that environment professionals based in the South East earn the most, with median total earnings of £41,000 (figure 4). This region includes London, which typically offers the highest salaries in the UK for every occupation.
To provide some perspective on the salaries available in the capital, the 2013 ASHE shows that median annual pay was £35,238 for London, compared with the UK average of £26,884. The rest of the South East forms the next highest paying region in ASHE at £28,400. The South East region also employs more IEMA members than any other, with more than 25% of those taking part in the 2014 survey based there.
At £32,000, the lowest median pay is recorded for IEMA members based in Northern Ireland, although the sample size of 25 for this region is relatively small.
Read the full survey results:
- IEMA's practitioners' survey 2014 - key findings
- Earnings by industrial sector
- Earnings by IEMA membership level
- Earnings by highest qualification
- Changes to pay
- The gender gap: Men and women's pay
- Workload and job satisfaction
- Professional development
- The 2014 IEMA survey: the details
- Environmentalists are getting to work - 2014 labour market
