One factor behind the favorable job satisfaction found in the EHS ranks, according to ISHN’s 2015 EHS State of the Nation subscriber survey, could come down to the bottom line – salaries. Fifty-five percent of respondents expect “slightly higher” incomes in 2015, and 6% expect “much higher” salaries. Thirty-three percent expect their salaries to remain unchanged. Only 4% anticipate “slightly lower” salaries and 2% are braced for “much lower” salaries.

The mean annual gross salary of all respondents stands at $81,296.

Here’s a more specific breakout of salaries: 24% of survey respondents currently earn up to $55,000 annually; 56% earn $55,001 - $100,000; 17% earn $100,001 - $150,00; and 3% bring home more than $150,000 annually.

Salaries likely relate to age and years of job experience. According to ISHN’s survey, 41% of respondents have more than 20 years of professional experience. And 41% are between ages 50-59. About on in five (21%) have 11 – 20 years of experience on the job. And it so happens 21% of respondents are ages 40-49. Regarding age, 22% of pros surveyed are age 60-69; 10% are 30-39 years old; and 2% are 18-29 years of age. There is likely a bias, though unproven, in ISHN’s salary results: older professionals with more years of experience and higher incomes are probably more likely to be subscribers of the magazine and thus more represented in the survey response base. Younger pros might be under-represented; they might be more inclined to subscribe to ISHN’s web-based digital editions and make use of ISHN social media platforms. We are currently researching this and will report results of print, digital, and social media usage among professionals in the coming weeks. Also, younger pros with less experience are less likely to occupy the top EHS positions in organizations, and thus are less likely to be targeted for ISHN subscriptions by our circulation efforts.

ISHN’s exclusive subscriber survey was conducted by email November 18 – December 2, 2014. We heard from safety pros, executive managers, plant engineers, environmental specialists and industrial hygienists working in mostly mid-size 100-499 employee companies (22%) and companies with more than 5,000 employees (28%). Forty percent of the surveyed firms have annual revenues of more than $1 billion, and 48% have been in business for more than 50 years. Fifty-one percent of respondents come from either the petro refining / oil and gas sector; utilities; fabricated metal products manufacturing; construction; and transportation equipment manufacturing.