2023 Geoscience Salary Survey

2023 Geoscience Salary Survey A collaboration between the GESGB & WeConnect Energy

Edinburgh, UK

+44 (0) 131 264 0000 (UK)

contact@weconnectenergy.com

Abu Dhabi, UAE

+971 (0) 2 818 6895 (UAE)

www.weconnectenergy.com

Contents Introduction................................................IV Survey Analysis............................................1 Education & Skills........................................4 Expertise & Employment..........................8 Remuneration and Benefits...................14 Flexible Working........................................20 Job Security...............................................24 Future Careers & Industry Trends........28

Disclaimer This report was produced following an online survey of geoscientists between December 2022 and February 2023.

The purpose of the survey and subsequent report is to better understand the geoscience industry needs, remuneration and benefits. The survey was taken anonymously by 654 respondents.

This report is free to use. Please acknowledge the GESGB and WeConnect Energy if you intend to share.

Thank you, WeConnect Energy

Introduction

Maria Iredale Executive Director, GESGB

Richard Madden Chief Executive Officer, WeConnect Energy

GESGB is pleased to present the 2023 Geoscience Salary Survey, the results of which will be of particular interest to the members of the GESGB. It’s great to work with WeConnect Energy (formerly Subsurface Global) for a second time, to provide a broader picture on what is happening in the geoscience market.

Thank you to all the geoscientists who participated in the 2023 Geoscience Salary Survey. We appreciate your input which has allowed for a comprehensive and in-depth examination of this year’s data.

This year, the survey has provided combined data sets on demographics, remuneration, benefits and the change in the working culture, post pandemic.

The data was collected from geoscience industry professionals working at all levels.

The aim of the survey is to gain insights into the current working practices and to track changes, using the benchmarks established in the last survey. This is a fast-changing industry, with challenges that the community could not have anticipated, even a decade ago.

We thank all the respondents that participated this year, this enabled us to provide GESGB members and the wider geoscience community with accurate and relevant data.

IV

The geoscience landscape has witnessed several shifts in 2023, influenced by global socio-economic dynamics and industry-specific changes. As the energy sector evolves and demands for sustainable sources of energy intensify, we delve deep into understanding remuneration patterns, career trajectories, and potential future scenarios. This survey goes beyond just salary; we look at individual drivers, aspirations, and concerns in today’s geoscience world.

We hope that this year’s findings serve as an essential guide for both professionals and organisations within our industry. We’re committed to refining and enhancing this survey annually to offer an accurate reflection of our ever-evolving sector. Whether you’re an employer or a professional seeking new challenges, this survey offers indispensable insights.

We hope you enjoy the report. Kindly spread the word within your circles.

Survey Analysis

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1

Survey Analysis

by Stephen Pickering GESGB Figure 2. Age Group

2021

40%

Male vs Female breakdown

30% 26% 26%

28%

25% 26% 21%

20%

13%

11%

10%

21%

12%

78%

5%

Ethnicity

6%

8%

5%

7%

Prefer Not To Say

White 1%

Asian Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Groups

20%

Black, African, Carribean

2

1%

11%

2% 3%

70+

60 - 69

50 - 59

40 - 49

2% 30 - 39

20 - 29

Non-white ethnic groups only make up 16% of the respondents.

This has remained unchanged since 2021.

Figure 1. Ethnicity

23%

18%

83%

3%

Male Female Prefer Not To Say

Female

3%

84%

78%

Male

2% 2%

Other

20%

Figure 3. Gender 1%

6%

70+

60 - 69

50 - 59

40 - 49

30 - 39

20 - 29

The survey’s importance lies in understanding an ever-evolving geoscience industry and is made possible by participant contributions.

2% 2%

0%

Other

This survey covers demographics, remuneration, benefits, and post-pandemic working culture changes among geoscience professionals, aiming to track industry shifts and provide valuable insights based on data from industry professionals.

2023

Women only make up 20% of the total workers in the sector that were surveyed, yet interestingly, the gender split between 20-29 is almost 60:40

Figure 4. Gender vs Age Group

3

Education & Skills

4

5

Education & Skills Membership of highly qualified individuals with strong academic backgrounds remained unchanged since 2021. Respondents with a Masters degree saw the largest salary rise between 2021 and 2023.

60% 50%

2023

2021

40% 30%

150,000 143,710

140,393

138,800

20%

123,623

100,000

53%

111,988

100,774

13%

10%

101,417

11%

91,488

8%

8%

5%

0%

GESGB

50,000

Geological Society

EAGE

SPE

AAPG

SEG

1%

SEAPEX

Energy Institute

Figure 7. Geoscience Society Affiliations (Multiple Choice)

0

Bachelors

Masters

Doctorate

All None of the Above

3%

Figure 5. Mean Salary (GBP) VS Highest Education Attained

4%

13%

BEOS EGC

6%

Night School

9%

University of Aberdeen

58% of respondents marked a Masters degree as their highest academic qualification

Evening Lectures

6%

Imperial College

42% 5%

Royal Holloway University of Leeds University of Manchester

Durham University

SIG Meetings Africa Conference

7%

Other 4% 4% 14%

Heriot Watt

4% 3%

Figure 6. Top Universities Attended

6

1%

17%

Almost 60% of members have attended GESGB events either in person or online

Figure 8. GESGB Events Attended

7

Expertise & Employment

8

9

Expertise & Employment Figure 9. Main Areas Of Activity

Exploration is the main area of activity of our respondents.

Other 14%

Production 7% Development 34%

Exploration 38%

New Ventures 7%

In 2021, the majority of respondents were working on development activity. Interesting to see the shift back to 2018 with Exploration being more prominent.

35% of respondents have experience in UKCS. 35%

Employment Status Full Time

80% of the geoscience community are in full time employment.

Part Time

83%

Figure 11. Employment Status

75% describing themselves as geologists, geophysicists, geoscientists or petrophysicists.

35%

30% 25%

Sales & Business 2%

20%

Nontechnical 1%

15% 10%

12% 10% 5%

4%

3%

2%

10

Gulf of Mexico

SE Asia

North America

South America

North Africa

Middle East

West Africa

NW Europe

UKCS

0%

1%

1%

Oceania

5%

Caspian

5%

9%

Figure 10. Current Geographical Areas Worked On By Respondents

Other

13%

Geologist 35%

Geoscientists 15%

Technical Management 15%

Geophysicist 20%

Not Specified 6%

Intern

1%

Junior

6%

Senior

40%

Lead

26%

Manager

17%

Director

5%

Executive

3%

Other

2%

Petrophysicist 5%

Figure 13. Seniority

Figure 12. The Split Of Expertise Within The Industry

11

Expertise & Employment 18% 18% 2023 2021 16% 16% 15% 14% 14% 13% 12% 12% 12% 11% 10% 10% 10% 10%

8% 6%

The number of less experienced staff significantly decreased.

0-5 years decreased from 12% to 5%, indicating a lack of industry recruitment.

8%

9%

6%

There has been a significant shift in the number of years of industry experience. The mode increased from 11-15 years to 21-25 years.

7%

5%

4% 2%

2%

41-45

36-40

31-35

26-30

21-25

16-20

11-15

6-10

0-5

46+

1%

0%

Figure 14. Years Of Experience Of Respondents 25%

24% 22%

20% 17%

15% 12%

10%

9% 7% 5%

5%

3%

Academia

Government Agency

Independent Consultant

Small Service Co

Large Service Co

Small Independent

Major (Integrated)

Large Independent

Other

1%

0%

Figure 15. Employer Organisation Type

12

13

Remuneration and Benefits

15

Remuneration and benefits 80%

Figure 18. Mean Salary (£) VS Highest Education Attained

20%

Paid annually

Paid day rate contract basis

The majority of respondents work between 163 and 202 days per year

41% of respondents are satisfied with their salary

2023 150,000

2021

143,710

140,393

138,800

123,623 111,988 100,774

100,000

101,417 91,488

50,000

Figure 16. Mean Annual Salary Operating Companies (£)

0-5

Majors

Large Small Independents Independents

Large Service Company £116,727

£90,094

16-20

£135,374

21-25

£146,587

26-30

£168,775

31-35

£165,733

36-40

£164,894

41-45

£180,840

46+

£69,33

20k

0

Figure 17. Mean Annual Salary Service Companies (£)

16

All

The average salary for geoscientists between 21 and 25 years of experience has risen by £15,200 (11.5%) since 2021

200k

50,000

11-15

180k

Small Service Company £71,896

160k

109,770

140k

114,531 103,850

£73,033

120k

121,705

6-10

100k

130,971

All Oil Companies

Doctorate

£37,273

80k

157,103

100,000

Masters

2021

148,488

108,915

Bachelors

60k

150,000

All Service companies £101,888

40k

2023

0

Figure 19. Mean Salary VS Years Of Experience 17

Remuneration and benefits (cont.)

17%

0-5

15%

9%

16%

6-10

15%

11-15

12%

74%

12%

16-20

Job Sharing 1%

41% of the respondents are satisfied with their renumeration rewards package

Travel/Car Allowance 31%

Shares 34%

Other 15%

Retention Bonus 7%

Flexible Working 35% Gym/Leisure 25%

Housing Allowance 7%

14% 20%

26+ Years

5%

29%

30%

Defined contribution Final salary None Other

Figure 21. Pension

15%

21-25

0%

The average Day Rate based upon survey respondents has declined from £962 to £856 in 2023.

12%

25%

£856 per day

14%

15%

£962 per day

2023

2021

4%

10%

2021

Retired

11%

2023

5%

20%

6%

Figure 22. Respondents Projected Years Until Retirement

The numbers of employees with final salary pensions continues to decline, going down by 6% since 2021.

28% of retired respondents marked work-life balance as the reason for retirement

VS

22% Age 6% Career Satisfaction 44% Other

Figure 23. Reason For Retirement

Figure 20. Most Common Benefits (Multiple Choice) 18

19

Flexible Working

20

21

Flexible Working

Figure 26. What Do You Enjoy The Most About Working From Home? (Multiple Choice)

Covid-19 has had a profound impact on our working lives, influencing a shift from traditional office-based working to hybrid or fully from home.

52%

50%

49%

40%

62%

30%

26%

24%

20% 14%

10%

2%

Geographic Freedom

Hybrid Office Home

Cost-effective

Before Covid-19, 68% of respondents had never worked from home.

Work Environment

59% 62%

Comfortable

41%

No Commute

0%

26%

Now 12% of respondents work from home and 62% work in a hybrid setting.

12%

Other

12%

Less Childcare Cost

now work in a hybrid set up

Work-Life Balance

are more likely to accept a job if hybrid working is offered

57%

Flexibility

84%

60%

Figure 24. Work Set Up 80%

79%

57%

70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 11%

10%

2%

0%

Employed

Self Employed

Unemployed

5%

3%

SemiRetired

Retired

of respondents marked flexibility as the most enjoyable part of working from home

Figure 25. Employment Status

22

23

Job Security

24

25

Job Security When asked in 2021, 96% of people stated they were concerned about future work

60%

of respondents believe the job market is more secure in 2023 than 2021

Figure 27. Job Security In 2023

Extremely Unsatisfied

Would You Consider Working Elsewhere In The World?

13%

19%

24%

Unsatisfied

25% 81%

31%

Neither

75% 20%

Satisfied

Extremely Satisfied

12%

Yes

No

Figure 29. Relocation Consideration

Figure 28. Job Security Satisfaction 26

27

Future Careers & Industry Trends

28

29

Future careers

Figure 31. For What Reason Would You Consider Working Elsewhere In The World?

Career plans in the next 12 months

51%

Other 10%

34%

Broaden my skill set

Increase my salary

35%

Better Pay/ Benefits 34%

Work-Life Balance 23%

In comparison to the 2021 figures (61% & 34%), respondents are now placing less emphasis on self-improvement and more on increasing their salaries.

Job Security 15%

34%

of the respondents would consider moving jobs for better pay

Family 14%

Safety 4%

The desire for better pay is a common theme throughout the responses in this survey.

33%

30% 70%

25%

Home

60%

20%

19%

17%

15%

50% 40%

12%

10%

35%

30%

5%

4%

6%

6%

20%

3%

13% 12%

10%

0% CCS

Energy Storage

Geothermal Hydrogen

Academic Low Carbon / Renewables

Figure 30. Where Do You Plan To Develop Your Career?

30

Work

68%

Other

None of the Above

12%

1%

0% UK

Europe

11%

10% 4%

5%

5% 1%

1%

West

Middle

South

North

Africa

East

America

Africa

5%

4% 3%

3%

South

North

East

America

2% 3% Oceania

2% Other

Asia

Figure 32. Work/Home Location 31

Industry Trends with Peter Bottomley

Echoing the comments from Maria and Richard, I would also like to thank the geoscience community for taking part in this survey.

For Diversity & Inclusion, we see virtually no change to the ethnicity of respondents. The 20% pay gap between the average male and female salaries also remains. However, one interesting point to note is that the average female salary for those between 26-35 years’ experience is greater than the male equivalent. Does this show us a marked improvement in female leadership?

In terms of employment opportunities within energy transition, 51% of respondents wish to broaden their skillset (61% in 2020/21). It is also clear that CCS continues to be the flavour of choice for E&P Geoscientists seeking to diversify their careers.

32

28%

15%

Interesting or meaningful work

Remuneration and benefits

9%

In terms of industry trends, I thought the most productive commentary would be to link back to our key observations from our last survey.

In 2020/21, the key insight from our salary survey proved to be a distinct lack of attraction and retention of young talent. Our view in 2021 was that this would lead to (another) significant demographic industry gap in years to come, which would in turn inflate the salaries of geoscientists.

From our survey results, we can see that the average salary of geoscientists between 10-25 years’ experience has increased from £106,599 to £124,351. This is not surprising. However, what is indeed surprising is that the average salary for those with less than 10 years’ experience has declined. Furthermore, only 5% of those surveyed are under 29 years old. In 2021, this figure was 12%. For the geoscience industry, we expect a battle for talent will commence.

Figure 33. What Do You Value The Most In The Workplace?

Ability to learn new skills

As for the contracting and consulting population of our G&G community, we do see an increasing shift towards permanent staff employment opportunities (79% respondents are in staff roles). Only 14% of respondents work on a Ltd Co consulting basis, while PAYE contractors make up the remaining 7%.

Strong staff salaries and benefits, coupled with the emphasis on IR35 compliance, has certainly led to a decrease in contracting.

For myself, the most intriguing data is to understand what makes our community tick. The motivations of our community, and its consistencies over the last three years, can be best exemplified by the following figures, indicating the most-valued aspects of the working life.

Chief Operating Officer, WeConnect Energy

11% Culture & workplace

6% Career progression

12%

9%

Working as part of a team

Flexible working

4%

6%

Ability to mentor or train juniors

Individual contribution

Interesting or meaningful work is still the top priority for geoscientists within the workplace, as it was in 2021.

Special thanks to Jodie Ferguson for her invaluable assistance and contributions to the Geoscience Salary Survey during her 3-month internship with us.

WeConnect Energy 33

For questions, feedback or queries, please reach out to

contact@weconnectenergy.com

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