Careers in Sustainability: Higher Job Satisfaction and Better Pay

A new IEMA report reveals that sustainability jobs boast both better compensation and increased job satisfaction than the UK national average.

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von Maggie Wong, April 2, 2018

This article originally appeared on 2degrees.

Nearly seven out of ten environment and sustainability professionals say they are satisfied or highly satisfied in their jobs, above the national average for UK workers.

Those jumping sectors into sustainability are even more pleased at 78%.

This may be thanks to median salaries rising 2.6% from £39,000 to £40,000 in 2017 – comfortably above the £28,758 the typical UK employee takes home. Some 17% of professionals in the sector also gained a promotion during the past year.

That’s according to the IEMA’s latest State of the Profession survey, which reports the pay, potential and pitfalls of the environment and sustainability profession.

“It’s fantastic that yet again, we are able to report that this is a profession that exceeds the national averages for job satisfaction, employability and pay,” says IEMA’s CEO Tim Balcon. “Anyone looking for a job that recognises and rewards dedication and the ability to make positive change should look no further. People in this profession are happy, do rewarding and varied work, are in control of their development, can rely on the right kind of career mobility and have healthy salaries”.

Over half (56%) say they are optimistic about tacking the challenges ahead – up 13% from last year – and respondents describe their roles as “challenging” (74%), “rewarding” (54%) and full of opportunity” (38%).

You can find the full IEMA survey report here.

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