Chemical Engineering December 2010 - 18

Newsfront
Table 2. Salary of Survey reSpondenTS
by employer Type
averages here are based on respondents
living in north america, with
chemical engineering education at
all experience levels and in all industry
sectors for the following types
of employers:
Manufacturer of equipment
used in the CPI
Manufacturer of chemicals
Engineering, procurement and
construction (EPC) firm
Consultant
University, government laboratory or
regulatory agency
average
annual
salary
$103,000
$117,720
$123,000
$170,000
$75,000
Table 3. Salary of Survey reSpondenTS
by experience level
averages here are based on respondents
living in north america,
with chemical engineering education,
in all industry sectors, with the
following levels of experience
0-3 years experience
4-6 years experience
7-10 years experience
11-20 years experience
21-30 years experience
30+ years experience
Boom " generation. Many have delayed
retirement because of the depressed
economic conditions, she explained, but
as they leave the workforce amid an improving
economy, gaps will be created.
ACC's Swift acknowledges that avoiding
the loss of the practical knowledge base
held by older workers as they retire will
remain a key issue going forward.
While all industry sectors seem to
be experiencing an improved job market,
some areas have particularly high
activity. Judging by the number of job
search projects, Ropella points to energy
technology (both traditional fossil-fuel-based
energy and alternative
sources) as " hot " areas of job growth
activity. " There's also a lot of activity in
mining and in jobs related to extractive
technologies, " he says. NSPE's Jacobson
sees a robust future for engineers
in the nuclear energy arena. Brandeis
adds that there is particular demand
for chemical engineers who are strong
in capturing new process technology.
In the future, the global job market
will see an extra premium on engineers
whose skills go beyond technical expertise.
" Employers love international
Circle 10 on p. 58 or go to adlinks.che.com/29257-10
average
annual
salary
$62,600
$80,600
$105,000
$110,000
$113,000
$126,000
experience, " says MIT's
Liverman, as well as leadership
and communications
skills. Jacobson, of
NSPE, says the largest demand
is for engineers " who
don't live in silos " - those
with disparate experiences
and diverse skill combinations
from different areas
of industry. " Those kinds
of people have the tools to
look at problems through a
wide spectrum of glasses, "
Jacobson says.
The case of startup company
Genomatica (San
Diego, Calif.; www.genomatica.com),
which is commercializing
renewably
sourced 1,4-butanediol,
illustrates the point. The
company has several openings,
including ones for
chemical engineers, which
make up one-third of its
R&D staff. In hiring decisions,
it strongly considers
a candidate's adeptness at
interfacing with personnel
who have training backgrounds that
differ from their own, as part of an integrated
team. " We're looking for people
who are skilled at speaking many
different scientific languages, " Genomatica
CEO Christophe Schilling says.
Salary data
Available recent salary data for chemical
engineers and others working in the
CPI indicate that pay levels at the end
of 2010 are similar to those observed
in recent years. For example, salary
data from NSPE indicate that chemical
engineering salaries have increased
from a median of $107,000 in 2009 to
$112,750 in 2010. The results change
slightly when the calculation includes
engineers of all specialties who work in
chemical processing, pharmaceuticals
and related industries. In that case, the
totals are $104,858 median salary for
2009 and $101,000 for 2010.
In November 2010, Chemical Engineering
conducted a nonscientific survey
of its readers to collect CPI salary
information. (For more, see box, p. 17,
Figures 1-5 and Tables 1-3).
■
Scott Jenkins
http://www.genom http://www.atica.com http://adlinks.che.com/29257-10
Chemical Engineering December 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering December 2010
