Salary Survey

APEGA's Salary Survey provides market data on current compensation and benefits for the engineering and geoscience functions in Alberta. Each spring, permit holders submit their data to Mercer for analysis and aggregation, with the report released in the fall. 

Based on feedback from our permit holders, we transitioned to the Mercer Job Family Library in 2020. In previous editions of the APEGA Salary Survey, the data did not distinguish between management roles and non-management roles. The transition to the Mercer Job Family Library enables the reporting of both role types, resulting in a better picture of industry compensation.

In addition, the industry categories used in the previous editions of the survey have been updated to a more comprehensive structure. Instead of using a list of 10 industries, the new list follows an industry hierarchy:

  • super sector – the largest industry sector
  • sector – the sectors within the super sectors
  • sub-sector – the sub-sectors within the sectors
Please note: The survey reports are subject to copyright laws. Information contained within the APEGA Salary Survey cannot be used, modified, sold, or transformed for any purpose without prior consent from APEGA and Mercer.

Member Information

Salary Survey Report

APEGA's annual Salary Survey assists APEGA members in having informed annual compensation-based conversations. The report provides data on the market value for engineering and geoscience work for different levels. It does not state what people should be paid.

The report contains:

  • regional compensation trends
  • employment trends
  • Mercer Job Family Library guide
  • base salary median values for engineering and geoscience
  • base salary by gender for engineering and geoscience
View the 2023 Salary Survey Members' Report (PDF)
APEGA Salary Survey Member Report 2023 cover

Salary Survey Changes

  • Changes to levels
    In 2020, we transitioned from using A- to F+ as responsibility levels for the survey methodology to the Mercer Job Family Library. This enabled us to separate professional work from management work and report the data separately. The professional levels are listed as P1 to P6, and the management levels are listed as M1 to M5. The levels are part of Mercer’s proprietary, global job library and not specific to the APEGA Salary Survey.
  • How to use the levels
    The methodology fits multiple professions and is not specific to engineering and geoscience. The levels focus on the work being done in a job and not the person in it. To accurately interpret the survey results, compare the level descriptions in the report with the responsibilities and scope of your work. The level that contains most of your work is the correct level to interpret the survey results.
  • Responsibility-level tool
    The report used to include an Excel-based tool to help individuals match levels between the old and current methodologies. However, it sometimes provided inaccurate information. Therefore, it has been removed. No replacement exists. We recommend having a peer or supervisor assist you with gauging your level to interpret the results.

Permit Holder & HR Professional Information

Participate in the 2024 Salary Survey

Permit holders with more than one full-time equivalent employee are eligible to participate. Contact [email protected] to participate in the 2024 survey.

Our salary data are company reported, not member reported, providing you with accurate and actionable information. Participation provides you with current market trends, enabling you to create competitive compensation and benefit packages, thus reducing employee turnover.

The compensation information will assist you in creating new or benchmarking existing compensation structures. Participating companies get complimentary access to a collection of reports, including access to an online custom reporting tool.

Participating companies receive free access to the:

  • policies and practices PDF
  • complete data as an Excel dataset for easy analysis and filtering
  • detailed compensation data by position and specialization
  • Mercer Job Family Library position list
  • survey participation webinar
  • results presentation webinar
  • custom reports using Mercer’s WIN online reporting tool

Participation opens each spring, closing in June. Results are shared in September.

Contact [email protected] to participate in the 2024 survey.