The impact of IEMA membership level on environment professionals' rate of pay, as revealed by the IEMA pay and benefits survey 2011
Figure 3 shows how IEMA members’ total earnings vary between membership levels, while table 4 gives the breakdown between salary and bonus, overtime and commission payments (all non-salary pay is grouped as “bonus” in the table). There is a strong, positive relationship between an individual’s annual income from employment and their membership level.
Figure 3: Total annual earnings from employment by membership level
There is a minimal difference between the earnings of Affiliate and Associate members, with median incomes of £34,000 and £35,000 respectively. Full members are earning on average £10,000 more than this, at £45,000. By contrast, Fellows earn twice this amount, with a median of £90,000. This reflects their seniority in the profession though, as the table shows, and the sample of Fellows responding is relatively small.
Extra-salary payments also increase up the membership scale, although the step is small – only £1,000 – between Affiliate and Associate levels.
Earnings vary with additional membership registrations, including chartered environmentalist (CEnv). Auditors and EIA practitioners with CEnv status are earning approximately £5,000 to £6,000 more than those not registered and whose earnings equal the median for an Associate member. Those with CEnv registration are earning on average £12,000 or 35% more than those without chartered status. Those who hold both Full IEMA membership and CEnv status have a median salary of £47,500 compared with £40,000 for those who hold Full membership alone, showing the value of holding both.
| Salary | Bonus | Total earnings | |||||
| Base | Member level | Mean | Median | Mean | Median | Mean | Median |
| 88 | Graduate | £22,152 | £22,200 | £2,839 | £800 | £23,088 | £23,000 |
| 315 | Affiliate | £36,235 | £32,622 | £7,610 | £3,000 | £38,868 | £34,000 |
1,443 |
Associate | £36,427 | £34,000 | £6,033 | £2,000 | £38,914 | £35,000 |
| 235 | Full | £44,616 | £43,000 | £11,716 | £3,500 | £50,399 | £45,000 |
| 19 | Fellow | £80,843 | £80,000 | £16,508 | £10,000 | £92,138 | £90,000 |
Read the full survey results:
- IEMA pay and benefits survey 2011 - Key findings
- A profession on the move says Jan Chmiel, IEMA's chief executive
- Earnings by seniority in sector
- Earnings by industrial sector
- Earnings by IEMA membership level
- Earnings by highest qualification
- The gender gap: Men and women's pay
- Changes to pay in 2010
- Changes to bonuses and additional payments
- Holidays and benefits
- From downturn to upturn - the current job market
- The 2011 IEMA survey sample
