Natural and applied sciences engineers are among the highest paid full time hourly wage earners according to he 2016 Statistics Canada Job Vacancy and Wage Survey. Only Management edged out engineers. Also, significant, the highest hourly wages in Canada were found in Alberta. Six out of the nation’s top ten regions for wages were in Alberta.
Mining, quarrying and oil extraction dominate
The highest wage for half of the segments were in the mining/quarrying and oil/extraction industries. The highest paid for any management occupation was in the mining/quarrying and oil/extraction segments at $64.45 — 64.7% of which were in Alberta.
Even within the segments such as sales, or business/finance, those who worked in mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction earned the highest ($29.45 per hour for sales, $38.95 for business/finance.) In other words, supporting teams that surround the highly paid engineers in the mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction industries earned more.
Below is the average full-time hourly wage by occupation and and sub segment, showing how mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction dominate:
Natural and Applied Sciences
Natural and Applied Sciences earned an average of $33.45 per hour, higher than education, law, and government services. The highest in the category of Natural and Applied Sciences were petroleum engineers at $62.75.
As an average by categories, only Management scored higher at $40.25. In this category Engineering Managers were the highest paid at $58.30. The highest for management occupations went to mining and oil/gas extraction, with an average of $64.45 per hour.
Individual Occupations (Top Ten)
The top ten included four engineering and/or natural sciences occupations:
- Petroleum Engineers average $62.75
- Engineering Managers average $58.30
- Geoscientists and Oceanographers $55.50
- Chemical Engineers $54.20
The average hourly wage to full time payroll employees combined, as a baseline, was $27.70.
