Top paying environmental jobs in Canada

While there are other incentives and benefits, salary compensation remains a top factor in employee satisfaction. Learn the top paying environmental jobs and how your salary compares to the national average.
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Post by: Jennifer Schultz, ECO Canada

While there are other incentives and benefits, salary compensation remains a top factor in employee satisfaction. But how does your salary compare to the national average? To help answer this question, ECO Canada recently conducted studies on 6 environmental sub-sectors: Energy, Site Assessment & Reclamation, Air Quality, Environmental Health & Safety, Water Quality and Sustainability.

Within these sub-sectors, core occupations were investigated including identifying the average starting salaries and salaries for workers with at least 5 years of experience. Note: only 6 areas of environmental employment out of 14 are included here. For a full list of environmental employment areas, see the EP specializations.

Top paying environmental jobs by sub-sector

Sub-SectorAverage Starting SalaryAverage Salary for Workers with 5+ Years of ExperienceOccupation with Highest Starting Salary
Energy$63,108$104,362Energy Engineers
Air Quality$56,686$89,320Occupational Hygienists (Indoor Air Quality Focus)
Water Quality$55,284$84,239Hydrogeologists
Site Assessment & Reclamation$54,540$88,043Managers/Directors
Environmental Health & Safety$50,350$81,517EHS Managers/Directors
Sustainability$49,552$72,416Chief Sustainability Officers
See top paying jobs in energy
OccupationAverage Starting SalaryAverage Salary for Workers with 5+ Years of Experience5-year Gain
Energy Engineer$80,833$150,45586%
Business Development / Marketing Manager$78,696$132,33968%
Energy Policy Analyst or Attorney (excl. government)$74,818$125,09167%
Senior Manager, Production Manager & Supervisor$71,432$145,622104%
Renewable Power Project Manager$70,667$101,46744%
See top paying jobs in site assessment & reclamation
OccupationAverage Starting SalaryAverage Salary for Workers with 5+ Years of Experience5-year Gain
Manager / Director$72,875$112,50054%
Hydrogeologist$64,333$114,66778%
Project Manager$61,621$104,80870%
Environmental Consultant$59,000$103,00075%
Environmental Engineer$57,325$94,52665%
See top paying jobs in air quality
OccupationAverage Starting SalaryAverage Salary for Workers with 5+ Years of Experience5-year Gain
Senior Manager / DirectorN/A$133,000N/A
Occupational Hygienist (Indoor Air Quality Focus)$67,750$92,65037%
GHG Auditor$62,500$92,12547%
Air Quality Project Manager (Scientist, Engineer)$60,500$108,72280%
Air Quality Auditor$60,000$85,00042%
See top paying jobs in environmental health & safety
OccupationAverage Starting SalaryAverage Salary for Workers with 5+ Years of Experience5-year Gain
EHS Manager/Director$66,900$103,00054%
EHS Engineer$57,900$98,60070%
EHS Coordinator/Advisor/Specialist$56,200$86,90055%
Occupational Hygienist$44,700$78,30075%
EHS Technician$39,700$67,30070%
See top paying jobs in water quality
OccupationAverage Starting SalaryAverage Salary for Workers with 5+ Years of Experience5-year Gain
Hydrogeologist$74,100$114,80055%
Environmental Health & Safety Professional (Water Quality Focus)$65,111$86,00032%
Watershed Officer$63,485$81,72929%
Water Well Driller & Pump Installer$62,486$108,66074%
Utility Engineer$57,583$86,81351%
See top paying jobs in sustainability
OccupationAverage Starting SalaryAverage Salary for Workers with 5+ Years of Experience5-year Gain
Chief Sustainability Officer$80,547$105,11931%
Sustainability Consultant$55,761$68,94024%
Sustainability Professional – Officer$54,076$63,22217%
Sustainability Researcher$53,142$61,25115%
Sustainability Educator$44,830$80,40279%

Looking for more job salaries? View our compensation guide. 

National vs. Provincial Wages

While knowing national average salaries is helpful, keep in mind they can vary widely across provinces. For example, according to Statistics Canada, New Brunswick’s average salary across all occupations is nearly 11% lower than the Canadian average, while Alberta’s is more than 20% higher. See how your province compares to the national salary average:

NLPEINSNBQCONMBSKABBCYTNWTNU
-9.6%-6.9%-6.9%-10.9%-4.9%0.0%-2.2%9.0%20.1%-4.5%26.2%27.1%-7.2%

Conclusion

Knowing the market value of your environmental job can serve as a handy guideline when negotiating your salary or researching your dream career. But remember, salary is only one part of your compensation package.

Sources: Careers in Air Quality: Occupational Profiles Report, ECO Canada, 2013 Occupations of Energy Professionals: Scoping Report, ECO Canada, 2012 Careers in Environmental Health and Safety: Occupational Profiles Report, ECO Canada,2013 Careers in Site Assessment and Reclamation: Occupational Profiles Report, ECO Canada, 2013 Occupations of Sustainability Professionals: Scoping Report, ECO Canada, 2012 Careers in Water Quality: Occupational Profiles Report, ECO Canada, 2013

See the latest ECO Canada environmental research.

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