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BIM SALARY GUIDE UPDATE: How supply and demand is impacting senior level salaries

Last Friday we published the latest BIM Salary Guide. It has been interesting to read the responses and speak to so many people about the patterns in Trends.

The vast majority of questions are about the salaries for downward pressure on senior level, firmwide roles – despite some opportunities offering higher levels.

There are two parts to the answer:

Part 1: Why salaries are trending lower for higher level roles.

This is, as always, due to which way the supply and demand balance tips. Salaries trend lower when demand decreases and supply increases.
Pre-Covid, as companies began to worry about the bottom line, costs were cut – with a focus on central overhead. By and large, jobs funded by live projects remained protected. Jobs funded centrally have been vulnerable for a couple of years.
Covid accelerated the culling of many firmwide BIM/digital roles. Those who have been lucky enough to keep their jobs have, mostly, had salaries frozen or reduced with bonuses a rarity for the most fortunate.
Over the last year, companies looking for new, senior level staff, have had far more choice – with many applicants willing to accept a lower salary if that’s what it takes to secure a rare and highly competed for role.
Hence, average salaries are not as high as they were.

Part 2: If salaries have reduced why are there opportunities higher than the average?

The salary guide is an average. There will always be an odd, high salary on offer. There will always be low ones too. The average is somewhere in the middle and helps us see what good – and bad – looks like.

As employers become more confident and the bottom line is protected by good profits and a healthy flow of work, strategic, future thinking recruitment builds and the balance tips the other way. As demand increase and supply dwindles, salaries go up. As was happening in the run up to 2019.

I hope this helps explain the firmwide role trends appearing in the BIM Salary Guide

Mike Johnson

33 years specialising in AECO recruitment. What I have learned over the years is that too much talent is squandered because there is not enough information available to help. dbe.careers is a free 'knowledge hub' of career centric information for everyone working in the Digital Built Environment - or thinking about joining us.