The 2013 ICE salary survey shows those who design, build and maintain our roads, railways, bridges, flood defences, water and energy networks - and deliver jaw dropping structures like “The Shard” and the Olympic Velodrome - now earn on average just under £50,000 a year. Graduate civil engineers on average earn £37,002, up from 34,632 in 2010.
The survey also revealed other signs of improvement in the sector:
- 62% of recent graduates were employed before or immediately after they graduated
- Recent graduate’s salaries are increasing at a quicker pace – salaries for those graduating in 2009 were 7.7% higher after two years. Salaries for those graduating in 2011 were 17.5% higher after two years.
- 65% of respondents feel either “secure” or “very secure” about their jobs – compared to 40% in 2010 – with young civil engineers feeling the most secure.
- A significant jump in the number of respondents seeing signs of economic improvement in their organisations -72% up from 20% in 2010.
- The number of civil engineers earning £100,000 or more increased from 2.8% in 2010 to 4.2% in 2013.
The salary survey was published during Tomorrows Engineers week – backed by Government, professional institutions including ICE, and engineering employers to challenge negative perceptions about engineering careers and demonstrate the relevance of engineering to young people's everyday lives.
ICE Director General, Nick Baveystock, added: “While average salaries across the sector only increased marginally, reflecting the challenging economic conditions, the recovery in graduate salaries is more notable. This, coupled with the fact that so many young civil engineers coming into the profession are finding employment quickly and feel secure in their jobs - is very positive news.
“Vital work that keeps society functioning – from upgrading the London Underground network, right through to delivering major projects like Crossrail, HS2 and the restructuring of our energy infrastructure over the next 10-20 years - cannot happen without civil engineers. There are without doubt challenges ahead in ensuring we have the workforce to deliver this – and attracting more females into the industry - but great initiatives like Tomorrow’s Engineers week, and encouraging news on the prospects for engineers entering the profession, shows the future is looking brighter.”
- The exact average salary in 2013 was £49,793
- The average salary in 2010 was £48,588
- ‘Recent graduates’ are those with up to 5 years’ experience.
- 2,002 Graduate members in total responded to the survey (referred to as ‘graduates’). Of those 1,157 were ‘recent graduates’.
- The 2013 survey was the first to include a section on the length of time taken to find employment after graduation; hence no 2010 comparison is available.
- 5,719 ICE members in the UK responded to ICE’s salary survey