Maintenance Technology magazine released the results of its “2000 Survey of Maintenance Salaries” in the December 2000 issue. Questionnaires were sent to a random sample of the magazine’s 53,000 readers, all of whom are involved in or are responsible for plant equipment maintenance and reliability. The industries represented in the study were processing industries, manufacturing industries, utilities (electricity, gas, water), and facilities (government, hospitals, colleges, office buildings, etc.). A summary of the results follows:
- Slightly more than half of the respondents received an annual income between $40,000 and $70,000.
- Average income for respondents working in processing industries was $65,245; in manufacturing industries, $62,761; in utilities, $68,725; in facilities, $57,176.
- Average income rose with age, peaking around $70,000 for respondents in their 50s.
- When asked how they felt about their level of compensation in relation to their job responsibilities, 54% of the respondents believed their pay was “too low” up from 43% last year.
- 63% of the respondents said their pay was based on individual performance, not company or team performance.
- 41% of respondents received a bonus last year.
- About half of the respondents were between 40 and 55 years old.
- Average income for respondents with associate degrees was $51,814; with bachelor degrees, $72,933; with advanced degrees, $79,005.
- 12% of respondents were registered professional engineers, certified plant engineers, or both. Professional engineers had an average income of $78,700, while certified engineers received an average income of $65,000.
- Asked whether they favored a nationally recognized professional certification for reliability and maintenance management, 49% favored certification, 14% did not favor certification, and 37% had no opinion.
- Average income for corporate or multiplant involvement was $86,667; for maintenance or reliability manager level, $65,772; for plant management level, $62,600; for maintenance engineer or technician level, $52,630.
- 90% of the respondents had some responsibility in the designing/buying sector; 73% had some responsibility in the managing sector; 73% had some responsibility in the hands-on sector; 60% had some responsibility in all three sectors.
- Average tenure of respondents was 13 years with their present employer and 18 years in the reliability and maintenance field.
Based on a report in Maintenance Technology magazine.
