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2016 Salary And Job Satisfaction Survey: Chemical Engineers Keep On Smiling

April 7, 2016

Annual survey shows increased job satisfaction.

How happy are you with your job? This may seem like a loaded question but, for our respondents, it was pretty much a love fest. Indeed, “I am very satisfied with the compensation and benefits I receive,” is the chorus from many of the participants of the Chemical Processing Salary and Job Satisfaction survey. In fact, a whopping 91% of chemical engineers say they are content or more than satisfied with their work.

A total of 1,208 people participated in this year’s survey. We asked everything from annual salary earned to bonus information to likes and dislikes about the job. Readers gave us great insight into what it’s like to work in the chemical industry and what engineers are struggling with daily. Realizing no job is perfect, the workload and long hours have long been major complaints of many in the industry. More than 82% of respondents work over 40 hours a week , with 89% saying it’s to get work done.

“Be prepared to work long hours and to live in ‘unglamorous’ places,” cautioned one.

In addition to the long hours, 29% of survey participants revealed they disliked their work environment, while the lack of recognition (37%) ranked as the most unfavorable aspect of their job.

To help you navigate your own career path, we’ve once again published the results of our annual salary and job satisfaction survey. Inside this PDF, which contains several exclusive charts and comments that don’t appear in the print issue, you will find analysis and data on myriad topics including:

Average Salary Earned
Job Security
Average Raises Earned
Hours Spent At Work
Job Satisfaction
What’s Bothering Engineers

About the Author

Amanda Joshi | Managing Editor

Amanda Joshi has more than 18 years of experience in business-to-business publishing for both print and digital content. Before joining Chemical Processing, she worked with Manufacturing.net and Electrical Contracting Products. She’s a versatile, award-winning editor with experience in writing and editing technical content, executing marketing strategy, developing new products, attending industry events and developing customer relationships.

Amanda graduated from Northern Illinois University in 2001 with a B.A. in English and has been an English teacher. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and daughter, and their mini Aussiedoodle, Riley. In her rare spare time, she enjoys reading, tackling DIY projects, and horseback riding.