OSPE - The Voice - Spring 2020 - 20

CAREERS

2019 Mercer and OSPE National
Engineering Compensation Survey

R

eady to apply for that new job? Or prepping for
your annual review? Most of us have asked at some
point, "How much should I be paid?" The correct
answer to this question is much more complex
than employees might realize. There are three main
perspectives to consider: the company perspective, the external
perspective, and the employee perspective.

The Company Perspective

"What outcomes do they need?"

The External Perspective

"What are competitors doing?"

The Employee Perspective

"What does the employee value?"
The company perspective is focused on financial standing and
profitability. What does this job or role mean to the organization and
its ability to achieve long-term goals or run the day-to-day business?
An organization makes efforts to preserve the internal equity of the
job to keep positions in the correct pecking order.
The external perspective refers to the market rate for the position.
What are competitors paying? Who does the company view as its
peer group? What supply of talent is available for a particular job?
This data is rather firm but still allows for subjective adjustments.
Lastly and most familiar is the employee perspective. What is
your time and effort worth to you? Money isn't always the most
significant form of reward an employee can receive, but cash is still
king. The 2019 Mercer Global Talent Trends continues to report,
"Pay me more," is still at the top of the list of employee requests.

engineering classification guides. In Ontario, we know this guide
to be the Classification Guide of Engineering Responsibility
Levels, which defines Levels A to F as a career progression defined
by increasing duties, decision making, leadership, authority,
and qualifications. But beyond the defined responsibilities of
these levels, what are other fundamental drivers of engineering
compensation?
Industry
The industry that you work in not only sets the stage for how much
your total compensation is, but what types of reward you receive.
In addition to base salary, your total compensation includes any
short-term incentives (STIs) - often referred to as bonus - and
long-term incentives (LTIs). Depending on the business models,
various industries apply these compensation levers differently.
Commodity-based industries such as energy and mining tend to
rely on STIs and LTIs more than other industries. Some industries
have a higher prevalence of public or private companies, which can
also influence the proportions of STIs and LTIs.

Base Salary, Total Cash & Total Direct
Compensation by Industry Super Sector
The following graph illustrates average base salary, total cash and total direct
compensation by industry super sector for all engineering levels combined.
All Levels Combined
Base Salary, Total Cash & Total Direct Compensation
by Super Sector

Total Direct
Total Cash
Base Salary

$130,000
$120,000
$110,000
$100,000
$90,000
$80,000
$70,000

20

THE VOICE Spring 2020

Source: 2019 Mercer | OSPE National Engineering Survey -
Engineer Positions.

Transportation
Equipment

Services
(Non-Financial)

Other NonManufacturing

Other
Manufacturing

Mining
& Metals

Logistics

High Tech

Energy

Consumer
Goods

Engineering Pay - It's All in the Details
These perspectives provide a general idea of how pay ranges are
determined; however, as mentioned above, the market section
and source you choose impact what the job is worth. For years,
an engineer's compensation has been evaluated using provincial

Chemicals

$60,000
OSPE - The Voice - Spring 2020

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