Chemical Engineering salaries
Chemical Engineers remain Britain's highest paid group of professional engineers.
The Institution of Chemical Engineers undertakes a Salary Survey every two years with the most recent
conducted at the end of 1997. The salaries of Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and also
the salaries of Chemists were compared and it was found that Chemical Engineers continue to be better paid
than the rest of the engineering fraternity. The survey also revealed that 2190 (ie: one fifth) of chartered
Chemical Engineers earn over £50,000 and 5% earn in excess of £75,000. The highest salary reported was
£939,000.
For ease of comparison the following table shows the median salaries in age groups of members of the various
professional institutions.
Comparison of median salaries with other disciplines (£)
Age groups <25 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 >64 Independent of age % increase on '96
Fellows and members
IChemE 24,500 29,040 34,000 38,700 44,000 45,000 47,300 47,750 45,000 35,000 40,000 +9.6
ICE To be advised
IEE - 27,200 32,700 35,000 38,800 40,000 39,600 36,700 33,000 36,000 36,600 +9.7
IMeche - 26,300 30,800 35,500 38,000 38,000 39,000 36,300 32,400 32,400 35,000 +11.1
RSC - 20,400 25,000 29,000 32,800 35,500 37,500 37,000 36,500 39,000 31,400 +8.3
Graduates and associates
IChemE 18,000 23,500 30,750 35,000 38,200 44,700 45,000 45,000 46,250 - 25,000 +8.5
ICE To be advised
IEE 18,000 23,000 28,200 31,000 32,700 33,200 31,400 30,000 29,900 - 26,400 +11.4
IMechE 16,800 21,900 26,000 30,900 35,000 37,000 33,000 30,800 32,800 - 23,500 +11.9
RSC-(grads) 15,600 18,900 22,000 26,700 28,100 25,700 - - - - 20,000 +11.1
IChemE Institution of Chemical Engineers
ICE Institution of Civil Engineers
IEE Institution of Electrical Engineers
IMechE Institution of Mechanical Engineers
RSC Royal Society of Chemistry
