Chemical Engineering November 2014 - 17

Newsfront
CPI WorkforCe:
fIllIng The gaPs
Construction and retirement continue to create high demand for CPI workers, as
knowledge gaps persist. They are being addressed on a number of fronts
A
n increasingly tight labor market
for engineers in the chemical
process industries (CPI) is
pushing salaries for engineers
higher, while a strengthening wave
of retirements is driving efforts in
several communities to address the
gaps in experience and education.
Data from several sources, including
a survey by Chemical Engineering,
indicate that average salaries
for engineers in the CPI continued
to climb in 2014 (see sidebar, right).
In the CE survey, the average salary
for all respondents was $109,300,
up from $104,000 last year, and for
U.S. respondents, the average was
$126,700, up from $123,000 last
year. Information about the survey
takers can be found in Figures 1-4.
" Skilled people with a breadth of
knowledge and a global perspective
are very difficult to find, " comments
Joe Vaszily, vice president for global
engineering contractors with Emerson
Process Management (Chanhassan,
Minn.; www.emersonprocess.com).
The sentiment is echoed
by human-resource search firms
working in the CPI space, who say
that the demand for skilled workers
in the CPI has never been greater,
especially in areas of high activity,
such as the U.S. Gulf Coast.
" The market for engineers and
other technical skilled labor in the
chemical industry continues to be
tight and will remain so for the next
decade, especially in North America,
where there will be significant
investment in downstream assets
to capitalize on low-cost feedstocks
from shale gas, " says Alex Martin,
senior client partner and global secCPI-related
Salary data
D
ata from various sources seem to suggest significant increases in compensation
for chemical engineers and other engineering disciplines found in the CPI, and
education in chemical engineering predicts high lifetime earnings compared to
other fields of study. For example, a survey of close to 2,500 members of the U.K.based
IChemE produced a median salary of $113,000 for chartered engineers. The
level is nearly 6% higher than in 2012 and 12% higher than in 2010, says IChemE's
Libby Steele. Starting salaries for chemical engineers were also higher, she said,
with the average starting salary 5.3% higher in 2014 than in 2012. Steele pointed
out that the increase in median salary for female engineers outstripped that of their
male counterparts (10.3% versus 7.1%) over the past two years. However, median
salaries for women are around 28% less than men ($69,600 versus $97,200) over
the course of their careers. The earning potential of women declines significantly between
the ages of 30 to 40 years with median salaries of female engineers typically
nearly 25% lower than men of a similar age.
The Wall Street Journal recently published median mid-career, annual earnings for
a range of job fields, and chemical engineering was ranked fourth, with a mid-career
median salary of $116,700. Petroleum engineering topped the list at $176,300 with
nuclear engineering ($118,000) third after actuarial mathematics. Recent research
from the Hamilton Project (www.hamiltonproject.org), reported by the Washington Post,
found that chemical engineering as a college major led to the highest median lifetime
earnings compared to about 90 other fields of university study.
In October of this year, Chemical Engineering magazine repeated an informal survey
of its readers and social media followers. More than 1,600 people responded, and the
average salary for all respondents was $109,300, up from $104,000 last year. With a
57.7% share, the majority of survey takers were from the U.S. Among U.S. responders,
the average annual salary was $126,700, up from $123,000 last year.
In this year's survey, respondents were asked to compare their expected earnings
in 2014 to last year. Almost 57% said they anticipated earning more in 2014 than
last year, while 37% expected about the same salary and 6% expected a lower annual
salary. The 2014 CE salary survey also asked about current work status. Close
to 94% of respondents were employed full time, while 3% reported part-time work,
1.8% said they were retired, and 1.2% said they were unemployed. ❏
tor leader for chemical and process
manufacturing with talent consulting
firm KornFerry International
(Los Angeles; www.kornferry.com).
Patrick Ropella, CEO of the CPI-focused
recruiting firm Ropella Group
(Milton, Fla.; www.ropella.com) says
" We're expanding services [in CPIrelated
areas] because the demand
has risen so much. In 30 years, I've
never seen anything like it. "
Building boom
Much of the demand growth for
chemical engineers and engineers in
related fields has to do with aggressive
construction in various areas,
as well as a more general trend toward
larger and more complex facilities
projects. " Project activity is
intensifying in many areas around
the globe, " says Emerson's Vaszily,
" and there is a shortage of skilled
ChemiCal engineering www.Chemengonline.Com noVemBer 2014 17

http://www.hamiltonproject.org http://www.emersonproc http://www.ess.com http://www.kornferry.com http://www.ropella.com http://www.Chemengonline.Com

Chemical Engineering November 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering November 2014