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
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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.
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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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