2007 Profile of the Fire Protection Engineer

Society of Fire Protection Engineers

Fire Protection Engineering salaries continue to climb.

The median USA compensation is now $98,200. Having
a P.E. commands an average 20% salary premium.

The 2007 SFPE Employment & Salary Survey results

The Society of Fire Protection Engineers has surveyed show modest growth in compensation over the past two
the fire protection industry (SFPE members and non- years. According to the responses, people in the fire
members) about different aspects of their education and protection industry experienced single digit growth in
employment since 1976. In the summer of 2007, SFPE both salary and total compensation (salary plus incentive
conducted its fourteenth survey. Over 1,800 people pay) since the previous SFPE survey in 2005. Based on
responded from 51 countries. Table 1 shows the data from respondents who provided base salary and
responses for the top nine responding countries. The incentive compensation figures (bonuses, overtime,
remaining countries had five or fewer responses (18 with commission, etc), the median annual salary is $90,000
one response each). Given the low number of responses and the median total compensation is $98,200. This is a
from most countries, the majority of the analysis covers 5.9% and 6.7% growth from 2005 for salary and total
only the USA to ensure statistical relevance. Data from compensation respectively. [Note, these figures are for
other countries are discussed on pages 3 and 4. only the USA respondents, other countries are discussed
later in the report.] This increase is slightly below the
Table 1 - Responses by Country rate of inflation in the USA, which the Consumer Price
Country Total Index reported as 7.1 % for the same two year period.1
United States of America 1517 83.3%
Canada 69 3.8% As with previous SFPE surveys, the respondents are well
United Kingdom 35 1.9% educated – 4% have doctorates, 28% have master’s
Australia 22 1.2% degrees, 57% hold a bachelor’s degrees, 5% hold an
New Zealand 20 1.1% associates degree, and only 6% have no post secondary
Saudi Arabia 14 0.8% education. Furthermore, 44% hold a professional
China 11 0.6% engineer’s (P.E.) license. As for age and gender, the
Sweden 11 0.6% respondents are nearly all male (91%) and have a median
China Hong Kong SAR 8 0.4% age of 46.
As with previous surveys, a link from the SFPE web site Table 2 gives the median2 base salaries by years of work
took members and others to a questionnaire that asked experience (practicing engineering). The correlation
about education, service time, age,
gender, employment role, total Table 2: Base Salary vs. Years of Work Experience
compensation, and benefits. A
Number of
total of 1821 people responded, Experience Respondents 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile
of which 1736 (95.3%) were
Less than 6 years 166 $42,000 $51,000 $60,000 $70,000 $80,000
full-time salaried employees;
50 (2.7%) were part-time 6 - 10 years 195 $58,000 $66,000 $75,000 $85,000 $100,000
employees, 26 (1.4%) were 11 to 15 years 166 $62,000 $73,000 $88,000 $101,000 $120,000
retired, and 4 (0.2%) were 16 to 20 years 188 $69,000 $83,000 $98,000 $109,000 $125,000
unemployed in 2006. Five 21 to 25 years 199 $68,000 $82,000 $94,000 $107,000 $130,000
(0.3%) declined to respond to
26 to 30 years 207 $72,000 $87,000 $102,000 $120,000 $146,000
the employment status question.
31 - 35 years 176 $74,000 $90,000 $103,000 $125,000 $150,000
More than 35 years 107 $65,000 $81,000 $100,000 $128,000 $160,000
[Data from USA respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation information]
between salary and work Table 3: Total Compensation (Salary & Incentive) vs. Years of Work Experience
experience is statistically Number of
insignificant (R2 = .07). This Experience Respondents 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile
indicates there are many other Less than 6 years 166 $48,000 $54,000 $63,000 $78,000 $90,000
factors that are driving 6 - 10 years 195 $62,000 $72,000 $83,000 $95,000 $114,000
compensation (role, responsibility,
11 to 15 years 166 $66,000 $80,000 $98,000 $120,000 $150,000
industry, education, performance,
16 to 20 years 188 $75,000 $90,000 $108,000 $126,000 $150,000
geography, etc.).
21 to 25 years 199 $74,000 $90,000 $101,000 $125,000 $155,000

Table 3 gives the median total 26 to 30 years 207 $78,000 $95,000 $113,000 $134,000 $179,000
compensation (salary plus 31 - 35 years 176 $75,000 $95,000 $116,000 $145,000 $200,000
incentive pay) by years of work More than 35 years 107 $70,000 $94,000 $117,000 $150,000 $185,000
experience in engineering. The [Data from USA respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation information]
statistical correlation between
salary / total compensation and Table 4: Total Compensation (Salary & Incentive) vs. Highest Education
work experience is also Number of
insignificant (R2 = .08). As with Experience Respondents 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile
Table 2, this indicates that other No Post Sec. Edu 79 $52,000 $74,000 $85,000 $118,000 $150,000
factors are significant in Associate 63 $48,000 $65,000 $90,000 $110,000 $155,000
determining total compensation. Bachelor 857 $62,000 $78,000 $98,000 $122,000 $150,000
As with salary, there is a steady
Master 377 $68,000 $84,000 $104,000 $130,000 $160,000
increase in total compensation
Ph.D. 36 $67,000 $90,000 $98,000 $130,000 $150,000
with years of experience.
[Data from USA respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation information]
Table 4 gives the median total
compensation (salary and Table 5: Base Salary vs. Years of Work Experience
incentive compensation) by Number of
highest education level of the Experience Respondents 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile

respondent. There is a trend up 0-1 year 32 $40,000 $48,000 $53,000 $60,000 $84,000
until reaching Ph.D., but the 1.5 - 2 years 24 $34,500 $43,000 $55,000 $60,000 $67,500
overall relationship is not 2.5 - 3 years 32 $42,500 $50,000 $58,000 $66,500 $74,000
statistically significant. 3.5 - 4 years 44 $44,000 $51,500 $60,000 $67,000 $74,000
5 years 34 $52,500 $61,000 $70,000 $77,500 $86,000
The analysis outlined in Table 2
[Data from USA respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation information]
split the data into five year
segments for work experience in Table 6: Total Compensation (Salary & Incentive) vs. Years of Work Experience
engineering. To address the
Number of
question of early career
Experience Respondents 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile
compensation (0-5 years work
0-1 year 32 $45,500 $52,000 $55,000 $63,000 $90,000
experience), Table 5 gives
median salaries (no incentive 1.5 - 2 years 24 $40,000 $43,000 $58,000 $63,000 $67,000

compensation included) for the 2.5 - 3 years 32 $45,000 $54,000 $60,000 $72,000 $74,000
data from respondents with five 3.5 - 4 years 44 $50,000 $55,500 $66,000 $74,000 $78,500
or less years of work experience. 5 years 34 $55,500 $55,500 $79,500 $86,000 $92,000
This analysis suggests a median [Data from USA respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation information]
starting salary of $53,000 for the
USA respondents, versus $49,000 segments as in Table 5. As with Table 3, there is a
in 2005. general rise in total compensation vs. work experience,
but the relationship is not statistically significant. The
Table 6 gives the median total compensation (salary and data suggest a median starting total compensation of
incentive pay) by years of work experience for the same $55,000.
The USA compensation analysis Table 7: Total Compensation (Salary & Incentive) vs. Age
in the previous tables reflects
Number of
the reported work experience in Respondents
Age 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile
fire protection engineering.
Another way to view this data is 25 or less 39 $45,500 $52,000 $55,000 $59,500 $67,000
by age of the person. The 26-30 147 $53,000 $62,000 $73,500 $83,000 $95,000
summary of this analysis is in 31-35 151 $55,000 $70,000 $85,000 $102,500 $130,000
Table 7. As with Table 3, there 36-40 162 $69,000 $82,000 $95,000 $122,000 $150,000
is an upward trend in total
41-45 210 $70,000 $90,000 $106,000 $125,000 $150,000
compensation versus age. This
is expected. The median climbs 46-50 197 $75,000 $89,000 $104,000 $130,000 $172,500
rapidly, plateaus at 41-45, and 51-55 219 $73,000 $89,000 $109,000 $135,000 $160,000
then drops after 61. This is 56-60 186 $74,000 $94,500 $115,000 $145,500 $184,500
consistent with other
61-65 65 $75,500 $90,000 $108,000 $144,000 $175,000
compensation studies
66-70 27 $45,000 $65,000 $100,000 $132,000 $185,000
outside of the SFPE.
[Data from USA respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation information]

The analysis up to this Table 8: Total Compensation vs. Country

point considers only data
Number of
from full-time employees Experience Respondents 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile
in the USA. Table 8
USA 1412 $62,500 $78,000 $98,000 $125,000 $143,000
shows a similar analysis
for nine countries that had Canada 64 $64,500 $80,000 $95,000 $110,000 $123,000
more than seven UK 29 $66,000 $81,000 $99,000 $130,000 $152,500
responses. Given the low Australia 19 ---- $69,500 $93,000 $112,000 ----
response totals for New Zeland 17 ---- $53,500 $71,000 $83,000 ----
countries outside of the
Saudi Arabia 12 ---- ---- $17,000 ---- ----
USA, Canada, and the UK,
Sweden 11 ---- ---- $73,500 ---- ----
it is not statistically valid
to report the deciles or in China 9 ---- ---- $82,000 ---- ----
some cases the quartiles China Hong Kong SAR 8 ---- ---- $63,000 ---- ----
as a few responders can [Data from all respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation data. Decile / Quartile /
skew the median in small Median values were not calculated for low respondent count]
populations. Table 9: Total Compensation (Salary & Incentive) vs. Role
Number of
The survey asked Experience Respondents 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile
respondents to report their Supv. - Engr. / Tech. 662 $72,000 $87,000 $110,000 $136,000 $175,000
supervisory status. World Supv. - Non Tech. 68 $60,000 $72,000 $84,000 $120,000 $156,000
wide, 46% have no Non Supv. 679 $52,000 $66,500 $84,000 $100,000 $116,000
supervisory
[Data from USA respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation information]
responsibilities,
49% supervise engineers
or technical staff, and 5% supervise non technical staff. The following four tables show the analysis of the data
Table 9 shows the median total compensation by in finer detail. Table 10 (next page) displays the total
supervisory role in the USA. The highest compensation compensation of the USA respondents who have a
is for those supervising engineering and technical staff. Bachelor degree as their highest education vs. years of
work experience practicing engineering. As with other
views of the data, there is a general positive trend of
total compensation vs. years of work experience.
 Table 10: Total Compensation (Salary & Incentive) for Bachelor Degree vs. Work Experience
There is a similar trend for Number of
respondents that have achieved a Experience Respondents 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile
Masters degree. Table 11 is a Less than 6 years 94 $47,000 $52,500 $59,000 $71,000 $84,000
summation of the analysis of total 6 - 10 years 103 $60,000 $70,000 $80,000 $88,000 $108,000
compensation vs. years of 11 to 15 years 90 $63,000 $75,000 $90,000 $110,000 $146,000
engineering work experience for 16 to 20 years 114 $75,000 $85,000 $104,000 $121,000 $143,000
those with Masters degrees. As
21 to 25 years 124 $78,000 $91,000 $103,000 $125,000 $150,000
would be expected when reviewing
26 to 30 years 147 $82,000 $95,500 $110,000 $134,000 $165,000
the data in Table 4, the total
31 - 35 years 117 $75,000 $95,500 $115,000 $143,000 $168,000
compensation for those with Master
More than 35 years 65 $74,000 $91,000 $110,000 $140,000 $189,000
degrees is generally higher for
comparable work experience. [Data from USA respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation information]

Table 11: Total Compensation (Salary & Incentive) for Masters Degree vs. Work Experience
The data was further analyzed by
Number of
looking at the respondents’ role. Experience Respondents 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile
This analysis takes a deeper look
Less than 6 years 52 $58,100 $63,000 $70,000 $82,000 $103,000
into the data used to develop Table
6 - 10 years 70 $63,200 $77,000 $87,000 $102,000 $120,000
9. For non-supervisory respondents,
11 to 15 years 60 $72,000 $88,000 $105,000 $129,500 $150,000
the total compensation vs. years of
engineering work experience is 16 to 20 years 47 --- $104,000 $116,000 $130,000 ---

outlined in Table 12. As expected, 21 to 25 years 47 --- $89,000 $105,000 $127,000 ---
there is a general trend of greater 26 to 30 years 34 --- $108,000 $125,000 $160,000 ---
total compensation with increased 31 - 35 years 41 --- $99,000 $126,000 $153,000 ---
years of work experience. More than 35 years 25 --- --- $130,000 --- ---
[Data from USA respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation information]
Table 13 shows the data analyzed
Table 12: Total Compensation (Salary & Incentive) for Non Supv. vs. Work Experience
for supervisors of engineers vs.
work experience. The general trend Number of
Experience Respondents 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile
of increasing total compensation vs.
Less than 6 years 125 $45,250 $54,000 $60,200 $74,000 $89,700
work experience is also present. As
expected when looking at Table 9, 6 - 10 years 88 $54,100 $69,000 $77,000 $86,500 $97,500

there is a higher total compensation 11 to 15 years 67 $62,500 $74,800 $89,000 $100,700 $128,000
for supervisors than non-supervisors. 16 to 20 years 82 $73,000 $85,000 $101,000 $121,000 $144,900
21 to 25 years 95 $73,500 $89,300 $97,300 $118,300 $146,300
The data shows that being a 26 to 30 years 91 $70,000 $85,800 $101,300 $123,000 $137,900
Professional Engineer (P.E. or P. 31 - 35 years 81 $74,600 $92,700 $102,000 $118,800 $145,000
Eng.) has compensation benefits. More than 35 years 46 $55,000 $80,000 $110,000 $144,500 $167,500
Table 14 (next page) shows the [Data from USA respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation information]
summary of total compensation
Table 13: Total Compensation (Salary & Incentive) for Engr. Supervisors vs. Work Experience
versus being a Professional
Engineer or not. There is a 20% Number of
Experience Respondents 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile
premium for the median salary. The
Less than 6 years 25 --- $52,000 $71,000 $81,200 ---
median age for the P.E. population
is 45 while the median age for non 6 - 10 years 92 $65,500 $78,000 $89,700 $105,000 $122,000

P.E.’s is 46. This would show that 11 to 15 years 89 $65,500 $84,000 $105,500 $130,000 $170,000
the premium is not attributed to the 16 to 20 years 102 $78,000 $93,250 $113,000 $130,000 $150,000
increased work experience needed 21 to 25 years 98 $74,000 $89,800 $109,000 $133,500 $160,000
to obtain a P.E. (with the associated 26 to 30 years 109 $88,600 $104,000 $120,000 $150,000 $190,000
increase in work experience and 31 - 35 years 87 $81,500 $99,000 $132,700 $156,000 $250,000
salary). Thus, it pays to be a P.E! More than 35 years 58 $85,000 $100,000 $122,000 $157,200 $250,000
[Data from USA respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation information]
Incentive Compensation Table 14: Total Compensation (Salary & Incentive) vs. P.E. / Not P.E.
Number of
Of the total respondents, 75% Experience Respondents 1st Decile 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile 9th Decile
received incentive compensation PE / P. Eng. 757 $76,000 $88,000 $106,000 $130,000 $162,000
in 2006 vs. 62% in 2004. Non P.E. 655 $55,000 $68,000 $88,000 $115,000 $145,500
Incentive compensation includes
[Data from USA respondents working full time that chose to submit compensation information]
bonuses, commissions, and
overtime pay. Of these, the
percent of salary that was variable ranged from the
minimum of <1%, a median of 10%, an average of 14% Table 15 – Salary Increases in 2006
and the maximum being 87%. Number of % Salary Inc.
Country
Respondents in 2006
Raises USA 1402 4%
Canada 62 3%
United Kingdom 30 5%
As for salary increases the median increase world wide
Australia 19 5%
was 4%. For specific countries see Table 15. For
New Zealand 17 4%
countries with less than 10 responses, no data is reported.
Saudi Arabia 12 6%
China 11 3%
Sweden 10 5%
Benefits
Employment Status
Benefits are as important to many as compensation.
Table 16 outlines the benefits reported for USA, Canada,
and the United Kingdom. (Countries with greater than The employment status for the world wide response
30 responses.) indicates that 4.5% of the population was unemployed
for some period of time in 2006. In the USA, it was
4.4%. Canada had a 7.3% reported unemployment rate.
Table 16 – Benefit Analysis The United Kingdom respondents reported an 8.6%
Country of Respondent unemployment rate. (Only these three countries had a
Benefit Description total response rate large enough to make valid
USA Canada UK
401(k) 82% 10% 24% comparisons.)
401(k) company match 73% 15% 24%
Flexible Spending 68% 10% 27% As for job mobility, of the respondents world wide, 12%
Flex. Spend. – Co. matched 11% 6% 6% changed employers in 2006. In the USA, it was 12%.
Medical Insurance 95% 88% 58% Canada had a low rate of 4%. In the United Kingdom,
Dental Insurance 86% 85% 24% 17% of the respondents reported an employer change in
Pension / Retirement Plan 54% 64% 61% 2006.
Co. paid Professional Dues 81% 78% 67%
Tuition Reimbursement 73% 70% 42% Note: Due to the survey construction, the SFPE member status
Vacation / Sick / Holiday Time 95% 88% 88% for the respondents is uncertain. Therefore, to ensure analysis
integrity, member status was not considered. This will be
Company car 27% 42% 30%
corrected with the next survey by improving the membership
status question.

Mark Tschiegg P.E.

Swiss Re
1
Inflationdata.com – inflation calculator
2
The median (the point where half the salaries are higher and half are lower) is used instead of the mean (the arithmetic average of all
salaries) because the mean is affected by extreme values. The median is the preferred measure of a typical salary or income as it is not
skewed by extreme low or high salaries. Quartiles and deciles help describe the variability around the median.