The Association of Professional Engineers

and Geoscientists of British Columbia

2012
Report On Members
Compensation And Benefits

NTRODUCTION

Introduction
We are pleased to present the ndings of a comprehensive compensation and benets survey of APEGBC
members undertaken by the Association in June 2012. The most recent member compensation survey was
undertaken in June 2010.
The primary intent of this report is to provide information on base annual compensation, total annual
compensation and other non-monetary benets earned by APEGBC members employed in full-time
positions in British Columbia.
The best indicator of professional compensation is obtained through an Employment Responsibility
Evaluation. Members can refer to the Benchmark Employment Descriptions to conrm the accuracy of
their responsibility point level assessment. Both can be found at www.apeg.bc.ca/compensationsurvey.
Section A provides base salary and total annual compensation values by responsibility point level for the
overall dataset and by industry sector. Section A also includes information on total other compensation,
working hours, benets and perquisites.
Section B provides secondary demographic and other informational tables that may be of interest to some
readers, including compensation reports presented by degree received, year of graduation, member status,
size of organization and gender.

Note: The compensation survey data and exhibits included within this report are intended
to provide the reader with general benchmarks and be used as a guideline for comparing his or
her compensation with overall industry values. Compensation values should be determined
and calculated by the level of responsibility for the position. Therefore, the prediction of
compensation based on any one factor is difcult due to market forces and general economic
conditions; and caution should be exercised.

2012 APEGBC. All Rights Reserved.

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

The Association of Professional Engineers

and Geoscientists of British Columbia

2012
Report On Members
Compensation And Benefits

Table of Contents
Survey Methodology ........................................................................................................................................4
Section A - Results ...........................................................................................................................................5
Reported Base Salary and Total Annual Compensation by Responsibility Level ................................ 5
Reported Base Salary by Industry .............................................................................................................. 6
Working Hours and Other Compensation ............................................................................................... 8
Employee Benefits and Perquisites ............................................................................................................. 9
Vacation Entitlements .................................................................................................................................. 9

Section B - Survey Demographics and Other Compensation Tables

Employment Status.....................................................................................................................................10
Reported Base Salary and Total Annual Compensation by Responsibility Level and Gender ........10
Reported Base Salary by Bachelors Degree ............................................................................................11
Reported Base Salary by Graduate Degree Received .............................................................................12
Reported Base Salary and Responsibility Level by Year of Graduation ..............................................13
Compensation by Size of Organization ...................................................................................................14
Reported Base Salary by Member Status and Gender ...........................................................................14
Compensation by Region and Gender Including Non-BC Respondents ...........................................15

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

SURVEY METHODOLOGY
Practising APEGBC members were invited to participate in an online survey of members compensation by
email in June 2012. A total of 2,424 responses were received.
The primary intent of this compensation survey is to provide data for BC-based APEGBC members. As such
the majority of tables in this report present information for this subset of the entire sample. Section B also
contains selected reports for the entire valid data set including respondents from the rest of Canada and
around the world.
As in previous years, the analyses dealing with compensation use a subset of the total respondents; members
who indicated that they were full-time students, retired, employed part-time or unemployed were removed
from the data set. All respondents who did not indicate both compensation data and responsibility point
level were also removed. Also, respondents with reported base salary and total compensation of less than
$25,000 are removed. The remaining British Columbia-only compensation subset is comprised of 1,476
valid responses. Tables representing base salary or total compensation are based on a smaller sample since
cases that reported a total compensation less than the base salary are removed; the remaining subset for
these tables includes 1,242 valid responses.
The survey asked respondents to provide information on their base annual compensation, defined strictly as
base salary. A number of tables in this report also provide total annual compensation values defined as base
annual compensation plus taxable benefits such as medical, insurance and pension contributions paid by the
employer as well as cash compensation such as bonuses, commission, profit sharing and paid overtime.
Compensation definitions are as follows:
% Mean numerical average of compensation values;
% Median 50% of values are below and 50% of values are above this compensation;
% Low Decile 10% of values are below and 90% of values are above this compensation;
% Low Quartile 25% of values are below and 75% of values are above this compensation;
% High Quartile 75% of values are below and 25% of values are above this compensation;
% High Decile 90% of values are below and 10% of values are above this compensation.
In many tables, both median and mean compensation information is provided. Median figures are often
a better indicator of compensation changes and ranges since median values are less affected by very high
and very low responses. However, mean values provide a true arithmetic average, which may be of interest
to some readers. Low and high decile information is not provided when a response sample is less than 10.
Additionally, low and high quartile information is not provided when a sample is less than 25 respondents.
Similarly, mean and median values have not been reported for samples sizes that are less than five.
The size of the 2012 return sample (2,424) decreased over that obtained in 2010 (4,897respondents). While
a sufficient sample was obtained to validate many of the analyses, again, caution should be exercised when
examining smaller data subsets of the entire sample.

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

SECTION A - RESULTS
REPORTED BASE SALARY AND TOTAL ANNUAL COMPENSATION
BY RESPONSIBILITY LEVEL
Reported base salary and total annual compensation by responsibility point level is illustrated in Exhibit 1a and
Exhibit 1b respectively. These analyses provide both low and high, decile and quartile values to illustrate the range of
base salary and total annual compensation paid to individuals within the same responsibility point range.
The median base salary for all respondents and all responsibility point levels is $87,500, and ranges from a low of
$57,250 at 200-249 point to $187,500 at the 800+ point level. Compared to 2010 median base salary values, most
point level ranges have recorded an increase, and the median base salary for the entire sample has increased 2.9%
over the two-year period.

Exhibit 1a - Reported Base Salary by Responsibility Level June 2012

Responsibility
Point Range
Less than 200
200-249
250-299
300-349
350-399
400-449
450-499
500-549
550-599
600-649
650-699
700-749
750-799
800+*
Total

Total
Jobs

Median
Points

Mean

61
115
130
165
153
121
114
109
81
57
54
41
33
8
1,242

178
223
277
318
370
425
476
518
573
623
680
718
770
850
398

57,141
59,842
68,012
78,268
89,006
94,731
101,646
109,532
117,258
118,335
143,625
154,721
182,867
224,000
95,732

Low
Decile

Low
Quartile

2012
Median

High
Quartile

High
Decile

2010
Median

43,400
50,156
52,200
61,000
68,800
71,543
72,750
86,000
90,000
77,376
85,559
90,000
104,400
N/S
57,000

49,700
54,000
58,041
66,875
76,625
80,000
84,875
94,750
100,200
103,500
115,000
120,000
137,500
N/S
69,000

58,000
57,250
66,000
75,000
85,400
91,520
100,500
106,000
114,000
120,000
127,563
140,000
165,000
187,500
87,500

63,000
64,000
75,000
85,500
95,990
105,000
110,000
120,000
128,691
136,500
166,013
187,500
191,000
N/S
112,000

71,904
75,000
84,000
100,000
115,000
116,560
129,500
135,000
154,000
145,200
200,000
214,800
273,000
N/S
140,000

53,500
58,000
62,350
72,000
82,000
90,000
98,800
102,000
110,000
118,000
122,000
124,250
140,000
N/A
85000

Increase
2012/2010
Median
8.4%
-1.3%
5.9%
4.2%
4.1%
1.7%
1.7%
3.9%
3.6%
1.7%
4.6%
12.7%
17.9%
N/A
2.9%

N/S - Insufficient Sample Size, N/A - Not Available

*due to the very few number of respondents in the 800-849 and 850+ point level

Exhibit 1b - Reported Total Annual Compensation by Responsibility Level June 2012

Responsibility
Point Range
Less than 200
200-249
250-299
300-349
350-399
400-449
450-499
500-549
550-599
600-649
650-699
700-749
750-799
800+
Total

Total
Jobs

Median
Points

Mean

61
115
130
165
153
121
114
109
81
57
54
41
33
8
1242

178
223
277
318
370
425
476
518
573
623
680
718
770
850
398

59,787
63,604
74,863
86,842
104,637
107,124
117,380
135,017
135,595
146,927
161,847
207,833
223,790
343,250
111,789

Low
Decile

Low
Quartile

2012
Median

High
Quartile

High
Decile

2010
Median

45,000
52,300
55,000
64,000
72,000
74,900
81,250
90,000
96,000
78,800
112,500
113,200
119,400
N/S
58,500

51,250
55,000
62,000
72,000
81,869
85,000
91,765
104,750
110,000
106,611
125,000
143,044
147,500
N/S
73,893

58,500
59,000
71,063
82,040
92,000
102,000
109,000
120,000
125,000
133,000
150,000
170,000
184,000
260,000
95,950

65,750
70,000
80,000
96,750
110,500
120,000
127,500
138,250
148,968
166,500
180,000
260,500
260,500
N/S
127,034

80,000
84,400
94,000
114,800
133,526
141,097
150,000
162,546
180,000
211,250
237,500
338,400
380,000
N/S
166,741

55,000
61,000
67,000
77,000
87,700
98,000
108,000
114,000
124,549
133,000
140,000
160,594
158,625
N/A
130,000

Increase
2012/2010
Median
6.4%
-3.3%
6.1%
6.5%
4.9%
4.1%
0.9%
5.3%
0.4%
0.0%
7.1%
5.9%
16.0%
N/A
2.5%

N/S - Insufficient Sample Size, N/A - Not Available

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

REPORTED BASE SALARY BY INDUSTRY

Exhibit 2 presents the distribution of reported base salary by industry. Consulting Services comprises
the largest sector with 45.7% of the respondents. The next largest reporting sector was Utilities/
Communications/Transportation at 11.6% of respondents followed by Government at 11.5%.
A comparison of median base salary by industry sector to the overall median for all sectors yields the
following: Management Consulting +37.1%, Eng/Geo Consulting -5.7%, Utilities/Communication/
Transportation +3.4%, Government +2.8%, Primary and Resource Industries +14.7%, Construction and
Manufacturing -2.9%, High Technology -5.1%, and Other 1.7%.
Exhibit 2 - Reported Base Salary by Industry - June 2012

Industry

Total
Jobs

% of
Total

All Sectors
1242 100.0%
Consulting Services
568 45.7%
General Management
Consulting
17
1.4%
Engineering Consulting
503 40.5%
Building Science
15
1.2%
Chemical
8
.6%
Civil
60
4.8%
Construction
6
.5%
Electrical/Electronic
50
4.0%
Engineering Physics
2
.2%
Environmental
39
3.1%
Fire Protection
4
.3%
Food/Beverage
1
.1%
Forest
4
.3%
Geological
2
.2%
Geotechnical
38
3.1%
Groundwater
1
.1%
Industrial/Manufacturing
11
.9%
Land Development
5
.4%
Marine/Naval
9
.7%
Materials Handling
10
.8%
Mechanical
46
3.7%
Metallurgical/Materials
6
.5%
Mining
34
2.7%
Petroleum (Energy)
12
1.0%
Power (Energy)
23
1.9%
Project Management
6
.5%
Pulp & Paper
4
.3%
Structural
59
4.8%
Surveying/Geomatics
1
.1%
Transportation
22
1.8%
Water Resources
15
1.2%
Other
9
.7%
Geoscience Consulting
49
3.9%
Environmental
14
1.1%
Geochemistry
3
.2%
Geology
6
.5%
Geophysics
5
.4%
Geotechnics
5
.4%
Hydrogeology
6
.5%
Management
2
.2%
Mineral Exploration
7
.6%
Other
1
.1%

Mean

Lower
Decile

Lower
Quartile

Median

Upper
Quartile

Upper
Decile

95,732
93,900

57,000
55,000

69,000
63,295

87,500
82,000

112,000
110,000

140,000
140,200

143,894
90,926
68,048
96,625
88,562
98,667
87,245
N/S
86,186
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
78,605
N/S
100,076
122,800
70,650
94,240
87,539
123,667
99,211
104,845
94,637
167,050
N/S
86,615
N/S
95,157
93,997
117,622
106,607
87,595
N/S
225,833
80,140
72,340
90,667
N/S
95,571
N/S

57,200
55,000
45,000
N/S
54,000
N/S
56,460
N/S
54,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
53,600
N/S
63,960
N/S
N/S
55,100
54,400
N/S
59,000
52,150
50,800
N/S
N/S
54,000
N/S
59,300
62,792
N/S
49,300
47,466
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S

83,750
63,227
55,000
N/S
61,250
N/S
60,375
N/S
69,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
61,000
N/S
80,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
65,000
N/S
63,170
N/S
80,000
N/S
N/S
58,000
N/S
64,950
N/S
N/S
60,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S

120,000
80,000
65,000
102,000
73,100
97,500
77,960
N/S
82,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
70,000
N/S
90,640
55,000
66,150
71,500
78,000
105,500
87,750
105,040
89,250
152,400
N/S
80,000
N/S
83,524
92,580
113,000
85,000
84,000
N/S
107,500
85,000
74,000
79,000
N/S
90,000
N/S

189,350
110,000
73,725
N/S
109,000
N/S
108,040
N/S
105,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
86,250
N/S
125,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
108,741
N/S
122,500
N/S
110,000
N/S
N/S
110,000
N/S
118,500
N/S
N/S
113,500
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S

310,000
137,200
112,000
N/S
144,500
N/S
133,170
N/S
135,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
117,840
N/S
153,400
N/S
N/S
221,700
128,900
N/S
170,000
174,300
145,000
N/S
N/S
127,000
N/S
140,970
131,400
N/S
170,000
156,500
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

Note: Caution should be exercised when small samples are used to calculate median and mean compensation values. Median
values have not been provided for samples of less than five respondents. Additionally, compensation values should be determined and
calculated by the level of responsibility for the position and as such, the prediction of compensation based on any one factor is difficult
due to market forces and general economic conditions, and caution should be exercised.
Exhibit 2 - Reported Base Salary by Industry (continued)

Industry
Utilities, Communications, Transportation
Communication and Telecommunication
Electric Power and Gas Utilities
Facilities Management
Pipelines
Transportation
Water Supply
Other
Government
Crown Corporations
Education
Federal
First Nations
Health Care
Military
Provincial/Territorial
Regional, Municipal and Local
Other
Primary and Resource Industries
Agriculture
Aquaculture
Chemical
Forestry
Mining
Oil and Gas
Pulp & Paper
Other
Construction and Manufacturing
Concrete & Precast
Construction
Design/Building
Fabrication
Manufacturing, heavy
Manufacturing, light
Other
High Technology
High Technology/Manufacturing
Instrumental/Controls
Product Development
Research & Development
Software Development
Systems Integration
Other
Other
Financial Planning
Management Consulting
Non-Profit Association
Service Industry
Other
N/S Insufficient Sample Size

Total
Jobs

% of
Total

Mean

Lower
Decile

Lower
Quartile

Median

Upper
Quartile

Upper
Decile

144
8
104
2
3
19
5
2
143
8
24
11
1
5
6
35
49
3
121
2
2
2
8
78
18
7
5
139
2
59
18
1
43
15
1
90
19
4
28
20
13
4
3
37
1
1
2
10
23

11.6%
0
8.4%
0
0
1.5%
0
0
11.5%
0
1.9%
0
0
0
0
2.8%
3.9%
0
9.7%
0
0
0
0
6.3%
1.4%
0
0
11.2%
0
4.8%
1.4%
0
3.5%
1.2%
0
7.2%
1.5%
0
2.3%
1.6%
1.0%
0
0
3.0%
0
0
0
0
1.9%

97,337
70,688
97,492
N/S
N/S
100,826
92,951
N/S
94,132
96,313
105,208
102,291
N/S
86,200
72,867
76,014
102,786
N/S
109,763
N/S
N/S
N/S
100,450
115,009
109,094
104,438
81,400
92,251
N/S
92,833
101,479
N/S
84,213
97,229
N/S
89,088
83,713
N/S
85,896
81,930
117,347
N/S
N/S
107,140
N/S
N/S
N/S
129,983
99,885

61,350
N/S
62,000
N/S
N/S
53,000
N/S
N/S
65,800
N/S
67,500
83,600
N/S
60,000
60,000
56,600
69,936
N/S
70,112
N/S
N/S
N/S
50,000
72,317
65,800
N/S
N/S
55,000
N/S
55,000
52,700
N/S
55,270
57,879
N/S
55,000
42,000
N/S
54,500
48,850
66,250
N/S
N/S
58,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
51,500
53,376

72,000
N/S
74,250
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
77,200
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
68,000
87,000
N/S
84,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
85,750
N/S
N/S
N/S
68,000
N/S
65,800
N/S
N/S
69,125
N/S
N/S
65,775
N/S
N/S
60,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
74,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S

90,500
74,000
90,500
N/S
N/S
94,147
97,500
N/S
90,000
98,500
100,000
101,000
N/S
80,000
72,100
78,000
100,000
N/S
100,400
N/S
N/S
N/S
103,000
102,250
109,500
104,260
72,000
85,000
N/S
85,000
99,000
N/S
85,200
90,000
N/S
83,000
80,000
N/S
75,750
75,000
106,800
N/S
N/S
89,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
100,450
87,300

112,750
N/S
113,125
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
110,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
85,000
123,000
N/S
126,242
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
135,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
106,000
N/S
105,000
N/S
N/S
98,200
N/S
N/S
106,906
N/S
N/S
100,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
121,500
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S

132,000
N/S
127,000
N/S
N/S
195,000
N/S
N/S
126,841
N/S
153,500
125,840
N/S
N/S
N/S
91,600
130,000
N/S
169,100
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/S
180,000
171,950
N/S
N/S
138,200
N/S
135,000
153,400
N/S
130,200
137,720
N/S
135,175
117,000
N/S
151,300
129,000
194,000
N/S
N/S
160,600
N/S
N/S
N/S
440,013
161,800

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

WORKING HOURS AND OTHER COMPENSATION

Working Hours
The most commonly reported standard work week is 40 hours, indicated by 58.5% of the respondents. A
37.5-hour base week is reported by 34.4% while 7.1% have a base week of 35 hours. The average number of
hours worked weekly is 44 hours.
Other Financial Compensation
The amount of total other financial compensation paid as a percentage of total annual compensation
is presented by responsibility point range in Exhibit 3. In general, other compensation forms a larger
percentage of overall compensation at higher responsibility levels.
Exhibit 3 Other Compensation as a Percentage of Total Annual Compensation 2012

Less than 200

200-249
250-299
300-349
350-399
400-449
450-499
500-549
550-599
600-649
650-699
700-749
750-799
800+
Total

Total
Jobs

Mean Base
Salary

Mean Total
Compensation

Total Other
Annual
Compensation

Other Compensation as a
Percentage of Total
Annual Compensation

61
115
130
165
153
121
114
109
81
57
54
41
33
8
1,242

57,141
59,842
68,012
78,268
89,006
94,731
101,646
109,532
117,258
118,335
143,625
154,721
182,867
224,000
95,732

59,787
63,604
74,863
86,842
104,637
107,124
117,380
135,017
135,595
146,927
161,847
207,833
223,790
343,250
111,789

2,646
3,762
6,851
8,574
15,631
12,393
15,734
25,485
18,337
28,592
18,222
53,112
40,924
119,250
16,057

4.4%
5.9%
9.2%
9.9%
14.9%
11.6%
13.4%
18.9%
13.5%
19.5%
11.3%
25.6%
18.3%
34.7%
14.4%

Exhibit 4 provides the percentages of respondents by industry that receive additional compensation over
base annual compensation. Additional compensation is usually in the form of a performance/merit bonus,
indicated by 32% of respondents, followed by overtime paid to 18.2% of respondents and profit sharing paid
to 11.1% of respondents.
Exhibit 4 - Percentage of Respondents Receiving Other Compensation
Project/
Completion
Total Jobs
Bonus
All Sectors
Consulting Services
Management Consulting
Engineering Consulting
Geoscience Consulting
Utilities, Communications
Government
Primary and Resource Industries
Construction and Manufacturing
High Technology
Other

1,476
694
23
613
59
157
163
145
168
107
42

10.6%
10.4%
4.3%
11.3%
5.1%
12.1%
1.8%
15.2%
13.7%
14.0%
4.8%

Commission

Overtime

Performance/
Merit Bonus

Profit
Sharing

Stock
Options

Other

0.34%
0.14%
0.00%
0.16%
0.00%
0.64%
0.00%
0.00%
0.60%
0.93%
2.38%

18.2%
22.91%
0.00%
23.49%
25.42%
18.47%
16.56%
17.24%
10.71%
6.54%
9.52%

32.0%
27.52%
34.78%
27.57%
23.73%
63.69%
6.75%
50.34%
30.95%
28.97%
33.33%

11.1%
14.12%
4.35%
14.03%
18.64%
2.55%
0.00%
16.55%
16.67%
6.54%
7.14%

6.8%
5.62%
0.00%
5.22%
11.86%
5.10%
0.00%
17.93%
4.17%
17.76%
2.38%

9.3%
7.64%
4.35%
7.34%
11.86%
11.46%
11.04%
13.10%
8.33%
11.21%
7.14%

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND PERQUISITES

The majority of respondents indicated that their employer pays for, or partially subsidizes, BC basic medical coverage
(77.5%), extended health benefits (90.2%), long-term disability (79%), dental plans (91.3%), vision plans (83.7%)
and life insurance (78.3%). Related education costs are at least partially reimbursed for 71.9% of respondents, 47.2%
participate in an employer-sponsored RRSP plan, 47.7% participate in an employer-sponsored pension plan and
76.3% have their APEGBC Association fees paid for or partly sponsored by their employer.
Exhibit 5 provides a summary of the percentages of respondents receiving various benefits and perquisites.
Exhibit 5 - Employee Benefits and Perquisites
Benefit provided
100%
Partially
Total
Employer Paid Employer Paid Provided
Life Insurance
39.3%
Provincial Medical Plan
51.4%
Extended Health Plan
39.4%
Dental Plan
33.2%
Vision Plan
29.8%
Prescription Drug Plan
33.3%
Long-term Disability
34.0%
Life/Accident Insurance
34.2%
Pension Plan
13.3%
RRSP Plan
9.1%
Education (related)
43.0%
Education (unrelated)
2.5%
APEGBC Membership Fees
69.3%
Other Professional Membership Fees41.9%
Company Paid Parking
35.2%
Company Supplied Car
11.4%
Car Allowance
17.3%
Telecommuting
34.5%
Flex-time
66.0%
Fitness Facility/Membership
29.1%
Employee Share Ownership
25.4%
Bonus or Profit Sharing Plan
43.2%
Stock Options
17.7%
Isolation Allowance
12.5%
Parental Leave
25.5%

39.0%
26.1%
50.9%
58.1%
53.9%
53.0%
45.0%
42.1%
34.4%
38.1%
28.9%
9.8%
7.0%
8.6%

78.3%
77.5%
90.2%
91.3%
83.7%
86.3%
79.0%
76.3%
47.7%
47.2%
71.9%
12.3%
76.3%
50.5%
35.2%
11.4%
17.3%
34.5%
66.0%
29.1%
25.4%
43.2%
17.7%
12.5%
25.5%

Not
Provided

No Response
Dont Know

14.4%
19.1%
7.0%
6.8%
11.3%
8.7%
12.6%
13.4%
39.8%
40.2%
18.0%
66.7%
20.3%
30.2%
58.9%
82.9%
76.4%
57.6%
29.3%
64.9%
67.8%
50.1%
74.7%
72.0%
46.1%

7.2%
3.4%
2.7%
1.8%
5.0%
5.0%
8.4%
10.3%
12.5%
12.7%
10.1%
21.0%
3.5%
19.2%
5.9%
5.7%
6.2%
7.9%
4.7%
6.0%
6.8%
6.6%
7.6%
15.4%
28.3%

Note: the percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding

VACATION ENTITLEMENTS

Exhibit 6 - Vacation Entitlements

The most commonly reported vacation entitlement is three

weeks. 66% of respondents receive between three and four weeks
of vacation annually and 19.2% receive five or more weeks each
year. Exhibit 6 presents the vacation entitlements of respondents.

Vacation Weeks
2
3
4
5
6
7
8+
No Response
Total

Count

Percent

210
576
398
138
69
45
32
8
1,476

14.2%
39.0%
27.0%
9.3%
4.7%
3.0%
2.2%
.5%
100.0%

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

SECTION B - SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS AND OTHER COMPENSATION TABLES

EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Exhibit 7 illustrates the employment status of this years respondents as of June 2012. As the survey launch
notice invited participation from members with practising status only, responses do not reflect the actual
distribution of full-time, part-time, students and unemployed members in the APEGBC membership and
are provided for informational purposes related to this survey only. Full-time salaried/ contract workers
account for 88.8% of respondents, while 1.6% indicated that they are employed part time. Owners/
partners comprise 3.9% of the sample, while 2.2% of respondents are self-employed. Students, retired
or unemployed members, and members who did not indicate their employment status make up the
remainder at 3.6% of the respondents.
Exhibit 7 - Employment Status of Respondents June 2012

Employment Status
Full-time Salaried
Full-time Contract
Part-time Salaried
Part-time Contract
Owner
Partner
Self-employed
Student
Retired
Unemployed
Not Reported
Total
Column Percent

Gender
Female Not Given

Male
1,357
77
9
8
49
16
32
0
0
0

247
15
11
1
3
1
4
0
0
0

1,548
63.9%

282
11.6%

416
38
4
5
20
5
18
48
15
22
3
594
24.4%

Total
2020
130
24
14
72
22
54
48
15
22
3
2,424
100.0%

Row
Percent
83.4%
5.4%
1.0%
0.6%
3.0%
0.9%
2.2%
2.0%
0.6%
0.9%
0.1%
100.0%

REPORTED BASE SALARY AND TOTAL ANNUAL COMPENSATION

BY RESPONSIBILITY LEVEL AND GENDER
Exhibit 8 presents mean and median base salary and total annual compensation for male and female
respondents by responsibility point level. Median total annual compensation is higher for women at the
responsibility point levels less than 250, 300-349 and 350-399 when compared to the male respondents.
Median base salary values are also higher for women in the point ranges less than 200, 200-249, and 350-399.
Exhibit 8 - Reported Base Salary & Total Annual Compensation by Responsibility Level and Gender
Male Respondents
Total
Jobs
Less than 200
49
200 - 249
93
250 - 299
105
300 - 349
136
350 - 399
125
400 - 449
100
450 - 499
99
500 - 549
91
550 - 599
73
600 - 649
53
650 - 699
47
700 - 749
38
750 - 799
30
800+
8
N/S - Insufficient Sample Size
10

Female Respondents

Median
Base Salary

Median
Total Annual
Compensation

Mean
Total Annual
Compensation

Total
Jobs

Median
Base Salary

Median
Total Annual
Compensation

Mean
Total Annual
Compensation

56,500
57,000
66,560
75,000
85,000
92,210
101,500
106,500
114,000
120,000
138,673
140,000
165,000
187,500

58,000
57,600
72,000
82,000
91,000
102,500
109,250
120,000
128,000
136,000
156,000
174,000
191,500
260,000

59,250
63,119
74,270
86,809
99,135
109,630
118,897
137,524
136,914
147,681
161,976
208,767
234,136
343,250

12
21
22
25
24
20
12
13
6
3
6
1
3
0

59,750
63,000
60,000
73,000
89,125
91,750
86,063
97,500
108,000
N/S
119,000
N/S
N/S
N/S

61,750
65,916
66,575
82,500
94,883
100,750
99,000
109,000
113,616
N/S
136,922
N/S
N/S
N/S

61,979
66,026
76,355
84,614
132,938
95,452
102,705
117,629
117,412
N/S
162,807
N/S
N/S
N/S

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

REPORTED BASE SALARY BY BACHELORS DEGREE

Exhibit 9 presents reported base salary by bachelors degree received. The median base salary for all disciplines is
$87,500 and the median responsibility point level was 398 points. Mineral exploration graduates reported the highest
median base salary of $117,900 and the highest responsibility level with a median point level of 592.

Note: Caution should be exercised when small samples are used to calculate median and mean compensation values. Median
values have not been provided for samples of less than five respondents. Additionally, compensation values should be determined and
calculated by the level of responsibility for the position and as such, the prediction of compensation based on any one factor is difficult
due to market forces and general economic conditions, and caution should be exercised.
Exhibit 9 - Reported Base Salary by Bachelors Degree

Geoscience
Environmental
Geochemistry
Geology
Geophysics
Geotechnics
Hydrogeology
Hydrology
Management
Mineral Exploration
Other
Engineering
Aeronautics/Aerospace
Agriculture
Bioresource
Biosystems
Building Science
Chemical
Civil
Computer
Construction
Electrical/Electronic
Engineering Physics
Environmental
Fire Protection
Food/Beverage
Forest
Geological
Geotechnical
Industrial/Manufacturing
Marine/Naval
Materials Handling
Mechanical
Metallurgical/Materials
Mining
Petroleum (Energy)
Power (Energy)
Structural
Surveying/Geomatics
Transportation
Water Resources
Other
Not Reported
Total
N/S - Insufficient Sample Size

Number of
Responses

% of Total

100
12
1
58
4
8
4
1
1
8
3
1,139
18
3
7
1
2
64
274
10
5
165
27
27
2
1
10
28
20
8
6
2
294
24
27
3
10
53
4
15
8
21
3
1,242

8.1%
1.0%
0.1%
4.7%
0.3%
0.6%
0.3%
0.1%
0.1%
0.6%
0.2%
91.7%
1.4%
0.2%
0.6%
0.1%
0.2%
5.2%
22.1%
0.8%
0.4%
13.3%
2.2%
2.2%
0.2%
0.1%
0.8%
2.3%
1.6%
0.6%
0.5%
0.2%
23.7%
1.9%
2.2%
0.2%
0.8%
4.3%
0.3%
1.2%
0.6%
1.7%
0.2%
100.0%

Mean

Base Salary
Median

Median
Points

112,765
76,886
N/S
123,704
N/S
97,588
72,349
N/S
N/S
121,850
N/S
94,258
91,235
N/S
97,004
N/S
N/S
105,665
95,729
88,680
109,000
91,019
92,979
81,578
N/S
N/S
86,063
89,823
87,823
95,063
84,692
N/S
90,375
114,651
120,590
N/S
92,690
100,738
N/S
96,109
83,533
76,850
N/S
95,732

91,000
68,250
N/S
94,250
N/S
92,250
63,600
N/S
N/S
117,900
N/S
87,000
80,750
N/S
95,700
N/S
N/S
102,000
85,000
90,500
110,000
82,000
92,000
82,000
N/S
N/S
81,500
77,750
83,300
93,000
84,500
N/S
84,120
94,365
98,000
N/S
101,200
88,118
N/S
83,400
85,400
80,000
N/S
87,500

467
323
N/S
472
N/S
542
N/S
N/S
N/S
592
N/S
391
368
N/S
398
N/S
N/S
457
389
403
380
381
360
360
N/S
N/S
423
339
375
453
417
N/S
377
389
408
N/S
410
448
N/S
438
327
273
N/S
398

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

11

REPORTED BASE SALARY BY GRADUATE DEGREE RECEIVED

Respondents who have reported obtaining postgraduate degrees represent just 35.7% of the 1,242 valid BC
respondents. Exhibit 10 illustrates the effect of higher education on compensation.

Exhibit 10 - Reported Base Salary by Graduate Degree Received

Number
MASc/MEng
MSc
MBA
Other Masters Degree
PhD/DSc

12

188
128
60
15
52

Base Salary

Median
Points

Mean

Median

440
478
546
533
526

102,835
102,621
131,832
95,625
112,113

98,500
93,280
116,500
94,000
105,000

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

REPORTED BASE SALARY AND RESPONSIBILITY LEVEL BY YEAR OF GRADUATION

The reported median base salary results by year of graduation are presented for the survey respondents in Exhibit 11.
The largest increase in responsibility level was reported by respondents who received their degree in 1977 with an
increase of 42.86% from 2010 to 2012.

Note: Caution should be exercised when examining individual years where small samples are used to calculate median and mean
compensation values. Median values have not been provided for samples of less than five respondents. Additionally, compensation
values should be determined and calculated by the level of responsibility for the position and as such, the prediction of compensation
based on any one factor is difficult due to market forces and general economic conditions; and caution should be exercised.
Exhibit 11 - Reported Base Salary and Responsibility Level by Year of Graduation
Total Jobs
2012
2012 or Later
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
1980
1979
1978
1977
1976
1975 and Earlier
Not Reported
N/A - Not Available

16
42
74
56
56
68
44
52
38
49
36
29
33
28
35
18
31
36
36
21
28
26
24
22
21
29
17
21
28
24
18
13
16
13
20
9
16
65
34

Median Points

2010

2012

2010

%
Change

N/A
N/A
17
95
140
166
141
156
139
147
119
113
95
82
79
90
79
57
86
86
105
77
79
71
78
75
83
69
81
62
75
62
69
45
34
43
44
205
105

197
205
232
257
277
312
316
350
339
349
364
398
416
439
468
405
500
472
474
440
488
533
501
516
578
513
508
509
526
603
511
543
601
608
476
525
609
596
490

N/A
N/A
213
210
223
265
265
307
316
330
346
376
388
415
429
460
441
435
465
467
458
515
493
498
488
578
548
526
515
554
521
588
549
562
566
573
558
579
400

N/A
N/A
8.92%
22.38%
23.99%
17.74%
19.06%
13.84%
7.28%
5.76%
5.20%
5.85%
7.22%
5.78%
9.09%
-11.96%
13.38%
8.51%
1.94%
-5.78%
6.55%
3.50%
1.62%
3.51%
18.44%
-11.25%
-7.30%
-3.23%
2.04%
8.75%
-2.02%
-7.65%
9.38%
8.19%
-15.90%
-8.38%
9.14%
2.94%
22.38%

2012 Median
Base Salary

2010 Median
Base Salary

2012/2010 Change
in Median Base
Salary

55,500
57,800
57,598
60,000
62,755
70,000
72,563
80,000
77,850
80,000
89,000
89,000
90,000
90,000
96,000
104,500
100,000
95,450
98,750
102,500
113,250
116,500
112,500
120,000
115,000
107,000
100,000
113,000
111,500
139,000
114,565
104,000
115,919
120,000
113,065
150,000
123,563
125,000
91,400

N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
62,450
54,000
55,000
58,800
60,000
64,500
70,000
74,000
78,300
77,000
79,310
87,500
90,500
86,500
89,780
92,500
87,500
98,793
97,000
95,500
97,750
108,000
100,000
100,000
104,000
103,000
99,000
103,000
115,000
97,014
105,200
105,000
108,058
115,000
92,261

N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
0.49%
29.63%
31.93%
36.05%
29.75%
24.03%
27.14%
20.27%
14.94%
16.88%
21.04%
19.43%
10.50%
10.35%
9.99%
10.81%
29.43%
17.92%
15.98%
25.65%
17.65%
-0.93%
0.00%
13.00%
7.21%
34.95%
15.72%
0.97%
0.80%
23.69%
7.48%
42.86%
14.35%
8.70%
-0.93%

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

13

COMPENSATION BY SIZE OF ORGANIZATION

Median base salary and total annual compensation by size of organization is presented in Exhibit 12.
Members in organizations of 251- 500 employees reported the highest median base salary and total annual
compensation of $92,800 and $103,000 respectively.

Exhibit 12 - Compensation by Size of Organization

1 - 10
11 - 20
21 - 50
51 - 100
101 - 250
251 - 500
Over 500
Not Reported

Count

Median
Points

2012 Median
Base Salary

2012
Median Total
Compensation

84
69
118
89
131
126
618
7

478
370
360
348
396
407
410
455

84,500
78,000
80,000
72,000
85,000
92,800
91,500
85,000

97,990
87,000
88,000
77,728
90,242
103,000
101,807
89,654

REPORTED BASE SALARY BY MEMBER STATUS AND GENDER

Exhibit 13 presents reported base salary by member status and gender. Analysis suggests that obtaining
professional engineer and professional geoscientist status pays. The change in median responsibility
level from EIT to P.Eng. increases 85.3% which also correlates to an increase in median base salary of
61.3%. For GIT to P.Geo., the change in median responsibility level increases 65.3% with a median base
salary increase of 64.6%.
Exhibit 13 - Reported Base Salary by Member Status and Gender

Employment
Status

Median
Count Points

2012
2012
Median
Median
Base
Total
Salary Compensation

P.Eng.
788 465 100,000 110,000
P.Geo.
78 496
98,750 107,000
P.Eng./P.Geo.
8 438 103,000 113,063
Limited Licence
9 546
90,300 120,000
Provisional Member 2
N/S
N/S
N/S
EIT
335 251
62,000
65,150
GIT
20 300
60,000
64,263
Not Reported
2
N/S
N/S
N/S
N/A - Not Available, N/S - Insufficient Sample Size

14

Count

Median
Points

85
17
2
0
0
55
8
1

411
438
N/S
N/S
N/S
245
283
N/S

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

Female
Median
Median
Base
Total
Salary Compensation
89,250
90,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
63,000
58,850
N/S

100,000
95,000
N/S
N/S
N/S
65,916
64,263
N/S

Count
682
61
6
9
2
274
12
1

Median
Points

Male
Median
Median
Base
Total
Salary Compensation

471
505
420
546
N/S
253
306
N/S

100,000
109,248
103,000
90,300
N/S
62,000
60,000
N/S

110,000
117,500
107,000
120,000
N/S
65,000
68,666
N/S

COMPENSATION BY REGION AND GENDER INCLUDING NON-BC

RESPONDENTS
The 2012 compensation survey received responses from 248 APEGBC members outside of British
Columbia. While the intent of the survey and this report is to provide information to assist members and
BC employers in setting BC compensation levels, and all previous compensation analyses use the valid
sample of 1,476 BC respondents only. Exhibit 14 reports base salary and total annual compensation by
region and gender for the larger worldwide sample of 1,734 valid respondents.

Exhibit 14 - Compensation by Region and Gender Including Non-BC Respondents

Branch/Region

Count

Vancouver Island
76
Victoria
88
Lower Mainland
1,077
Okanagan
75
West Kootenay
35
East Kootenay
20
South Central
34
Central Interior
38
Peace River
21
Northern
12
Elsewhere in Canada
185
Outside of Canada
63
Not Reported
10
Total
1,734
N/A - Not Available

Median
Points

2012 Median
Base Salary

2012
Median Total
Compensation

Count

Male
Median
Points

423
407
380
395
400
333
383
348
323
413
555
590
407
405

82,500
83,000
85,000
84,000
83,000
86,950
87,500
80,800
84,000
75,280
124,000
120,000
89,500
90,000

86,000
85,928
90,500
89,102
94,700
105,500
96,500
94,500
101,914
70,280
136,000
132,000
95,000
95,000

8
17
164
6
9
6
7
8
3
N/A
20
1
N/A
249

418
468
315
278
356
318
300
318
235
N/A
443
N/S
N/A
346

2012 Median
Base Salary

Count

Female
Median
Points

95,774
78,000
72,750
61,500
81,000
79,000
72,100
74,500
N/S
N/A
116,383
N/S
N/A
76,000

68
69
891
67
25
13
27
29
18
12
163
62
1
1,445

423
381
393
428
403
333
438
383
352
413
566
588
N/S
423

2012 APEGBC Report On Members Compensation And Benefits

2012 Median
Base Salary
81,000
83,000
87,000
88,000
85,000
93,000
93,000
85,000
87,000
75,280
124,000
120,000
N/S
91,520

15

2012
Report On Members
Compensation And Benefits

Association of Professional Engineers

and Geoscientists of BC
Suite 200 - 4010 Regent Street
Burnaby, BC V5C 6N2
Tel: 604-430-8035
Fax: 604-430-8085
Toll Free: 1-888-430-8035
www.apeg.bc.ca