Scientists' salaries rise

Remuneration for science graduates has risen strongly in the last year, an APESMA survey has found.

The 2007 Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia (APESMA) Scientist Remuneration Survey has found that, for graduates, the median salary rose by 6.1 per cent to $48,250 over the past 12 months.

The report also found that salaries paid to professional scientists grew by an average of 5.3 per cent over the last 12 to 18 months.

In other findings:

• Average annual rises of 5.8% were reported in the private sector, whilst respondents in the public sector reported increases averaging 4.8%
• 87.1% of employed survey respondents were engaged in full-time positions, 4.9% in part-time, 6.4% were self-employed and the remaining 1.6% were engaged on an hourly contract basis
• 33.7% of all respondents held tertiary qualifications in a field other than science
• 20.3% of full-time respondents indicated they were working more hours this year compared to last year
• 60.7% of full-time respondents reported receiving no additional compensation for any work beyond normal working hours
• 36.7% of full-time respondents indicated their employment contracts were governed by enterprise agreements whilst 11.3% indicated they were party to an Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA).