Food scientist salaries

Tuesday, 18 February, 2014

The median salary for food scientists in Australia is $102,689, according to the latest Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Employment and Salary Survey.

In the US, IFT members earned a median salary of $90,000 in 2013 and this was up 3.4% ($87,700) from the 2011 survey.

Responses to the wide-ranging survey suggest that the economic climate is taking less of a toll on food science and careers than it did two years ago - 42% of survey respondents stated that the economy has had no impact on employment within their organisation.

Around 4000 people completed the biannual survey, which is about a quarter of the IFT’s US membership.

Highlights from the survey include:

For the first time in the history of the IFT survey, women respondents represent a slight majority (52%). Among those under age 30, women account for 65% of respondents.
A total of 87% of survey respondents are either highly (39%) or somewhat (48%) satisfied with their jobs.
Among survey respondents, the average work week is 45 hours; 19% of respondents reported working in excess of 50 hours weekly.
Intellectual stimulation is the number one contributing factor to job satisfaction by a very wide margin, chosen by just over half (51%) of respondents.
For the first time, the survey included international respondents. Median food science salaries around the globe (converted to US currency) ranged from $16,600 in the Philippines to $102,689 in Australia.

In addition, the survey included salaries for those individuals with a Certified Food Scientist (CFS) credential. IFT debuted the CFS credential in 2013 to recognise the applied scientific knowledge and skills of food scientists, and the Employment and Salary Survey suggests that it is indeed a beneficial designation. According to survey data, CFS recipients earn a median salary of $101,000 vs a median of $81,048 for those who do not have CFS certification. CFS certification is obtained by passing an exam that tests food scientists on a central body of knowledge that defines the core professional competencies of a food scientist.

To read the full results of the IFT Employment and Salary Survey, visit http://bit.ly/1lDJRdm.