Survey Shows Certification Impacts Compensation

Machinery Lubrication recently conducted an online survey of lubrication professionals in the United States to discover what they earn based on their experience, education level, geographic location, age and other relevant factors. In addition to earning power, the survey included questions regarding company size, job security, job satisfaction and future potential.

According to the results, professional certification seems to have a big impact on compensation, with those respondents holding some type of professional certification from the International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML) or another organization reporting 10 percent higher salaries than their non-certified peers.

“There are bonuses for any type of continuing education relative to our business,” said one respondent.

“It depends on the site and the qualifications they set in place, but for the most part they need to complete level I for oil analysis and lubrication (to be paid more),” wrote another survey participant.

Respondents with a professional certification were also among the most likely to have received a raise in 2011 and were more likely to serve as a supervisor than those without a certification.

Certifications were most common among respondents in the food processing, mining, rubber/plastic, paper, chemicals, power generation and petroleum product industries. In addition, men were almost twice as likely to hold a professional certification as their female counterparts.

Survey participants holding a professional certification also tended to work fewer hours on average than those without certification.

For more results from the Machinery Lubrication survey, go to www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/28660/2011-salary-survey-what-lubrication-professionals-earn-.