NACE Survey: Corrosion Salaries Climbing in North America
Corrosion professionals in North America have experienced another year of continued growth in career opportunities and salary levels, according to the 2014 Corrosion Career Survey conducted by Materials Performance magazine. In Europe, salary averages decreased by 2.5 percent, and new to the 2014 survey, salaries in the U.K. look to be competitive with other parts of the world.
In the United States, average annual compensation including salary and bonuses is $108,615, up 5.3 percent from 2013. In Canada, the average annual taxable income is $120,480 CAD ($110,027 USD), an 11.4 percent increase since 2013. The average annual salary in Europe decreased by 2.5 percent in 2013 to €66,944 ($91,117 USD) this year. Data for this survey was collected for the first time in the U.K. and it indicates the annual average salary is £78,690 ($131,806 USD).
In addition to salary data, survey participants were asked about the challenges of the corrosion profession. North Americans responded that the job aspects they would most like to change include obtaining larger budgets for corrosion control and more advancement opportunities. Many European respondents also noted advancement opportunities as a priority and rated improved access to effective corrosion technologies as an important factor. Worldwide, many respondents expressed a desire for larger staff and budgets, more manageable workloads, a larger pool of qualified candidates, less travel and better pay.
Several participants expressed frustration over one of the industry’s most difficult challenges, garnering the support of decision makers when it comes to investing in corrosion control. Many agree they struggle to persuade management or clients to understand that corrosion costs over the long-term tend to be much higher than the short-term costs of prevention.
“Everyone wants to stop corrosion, but no one wants to put any money into the effort,” said one survey respondent. “Spending money up front will save money in the long run.”
The survey includes data on average annual salary by job type, company function, NACE certification, education level, years of experience, years of NACE International Membership and hours worked per week. There is also a breakdown of salary averages by state in the United States. The full survey is available at nace.org/salarysurvey.aspx.
Since 1998 Materials Performance magazine has published its annual corrosion career survey of NACE members each July. The 2014 survey was conducted by Newlio, an independent survey company. With a 95 percent confidence level in all of the regions where the survey was complete, the results provide the latest details on demographics and salary levels for corrosion professionals in all fields of corrosion control.
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