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RO INSIGHTS — 2020 US SOLAR SALARY SURVEY
R&O Energy
Helping to build tomorrow, today
US SolarSalary GuideHelping to build tomorrow, today
www.wearero.com
2020 started off with big expectations for Solar Installations, but while a large number
of projects will still go ahead there’s been a delay in the start date for a few. This has
resulted in the loss of 65,000 of the 250,000 people employed within Solar. This,
unfortunately, equates to the industry growth gained over the last five years.
The major positive, though, is that the industry generally views this as a short-term loss
with the expectations being that by the second half of 2020 (Covid restrictions
dependent) we will be back to “business as usual.” The areas that have been hit the
hardest are the Commercial and Residential markets, with Utility Scale Solar slightly
less affected. Conversations with our clients are still suggesting aggressive growth
plans for the industry and we at R&O are certain we’ll see lots of opportunities for hiring
over the coming year.
→
Renewable energy recruitment partners to clean energy & infrastructure.
Our teams of renewable energy recruitment specialists work in vertical market
sectors, focusing on specific disciplines. Our strength lies in the recruitment
and retention of professional technical engineering and construction
management staff at all levels.
Introduction
R&O Insights
Helping to build tomorrow, today
Brief Summary
About us
713 623 1124 | [email protected]
Salary & Benefits
R&O Insights
Helping to build tomorrow, today
713 623 1124 | [email protected]
Utility Scale
We’ve split the first part of our salary research into three key areas: Utility Scale,
Construction and CI/DG (C&I and Distribution Generation).
Segmenting Data
0-2 years
2-4 years
4-6 years
6-8 years
8+
Experience Salary Motivatedby bonus %
Receive bonus inlast 12 months %
% have leadershipresponsibility
$80,000
$95,000
$110,000
$135,000
$155,000
100
100
89
100
81
86
80
59
64
81
57
60
88
66
89
When looking at Utility Scale we uncovered some interesting stats around salary and bonuses. Our findings show that a
massive 94% of those working in Utility Scale, across all experience levels, were motivated by bonus illustrating how
important bonus schemes should be to Utility Scale employers. The number of people motivated by bonus did seem to
fall when Utility Scale professionals got to 8+ years’ experience, but with 81% of even the most senior workers claiming
it was a key motivator, it’s still something that companies should consider having in place.
In comparison to this extremely high percentage of Utility Scale workers who are motivated by bonus, our survey found
that only an average of 74% across all levels of experience actually received a bonus in the last 12 months. When it
came to the group of respondents who had between four and six years of experience, our results showed that just 59%
received a bonus in the last year – that’s a massive difference of 30% when comparing the percentage of those
motivated by bonus (89%) with those who actually benefited from one.
Again, definitely a consideration for companies wanting to attract and retain Utility Scale talent into their business.
When comparing average salaries across the three areas we surveyed, Utility Scale definitely stood out as the
specialism in which the most money can be earned, with both starting salaries and the salaries of those with extensive
experience, being considerably higher than those in both Construction and CI/DG.
Salary & Benefits
R&O Insights
Helping to build tomorrow, today
Construction
0-2 years
2-4 years
4-6 years
6-8 years
8+
Experience Salary Motivatedby bonus %
Receive bonus inlast 12 months %
% have leadershipresponsibility
-
$74,000
$93,000
$110,000
$130,000
-
80
79
83
86
-
60
50
68
64
-
100
86
84
100
When looking at the results of our salary survey for those working in construction, we found a similar pattern to the
Utility Scale findings, in that the percentages of workers motivated by bonuses, far exceeded the percentage of
workers who received one. In the past 12 months, an average of 48% of Construction professionals received a bonus,
yet 76% stated that a bonus was a motivator for them. When you take into account that over 86% of Construction Solar
specialists reported having leadership responsibility, it could perhaps be expected that bonus, in return for the
additional responsibility, would be more commonplace as a benefit offered by employers.
Interestingly, the percentage of those motivated by bonus increased almost incrementally with the amount of
experience a worker had, with the group most motivated by bonus being those with 8+ years’ experience. This is
opposed to the statistics we gained from Utility Scale professionals, where there was greater interest in bonus in the
groups with less experience.
Overall, bonus appears less important to the Construction sector than the Utility Scale sector, with motivation figures
and the number of workers receiving bonus being considerably less in Utility Scale.
713 623 1124 | [email protected]
Salary & Benefits
R&O Insights
Helping to build tomorrow, today
CI/DG
0-2 years
2-4 years
4-6 years
6-8 years
8+
Experience Salary Motivatedby bonus %
Receive bonus inlast 12 months %
% have leadershipresponsibility
$69,000
$75,000
$90,000
$105,000
$130,000
31
72
78
100
89
36
72
54
40
58
28
53
62
60
89
Average salaries in the CI/DG group surveyed were not dissimilar to those reported by the Construction group.
When looking once more at bonuses, an average of 74% across all experience levels stated that they were motivated by
bonus. There were some differences however, across the different levels of experience with a relatively low percentage
(just 31%) of those with 0-2 years’ experience stating they were motivated by bonus – that’s in comparison to a massive
100% of those with between six and eight years’ experience.
As may be expected, the leadership responsibility for this group increased incrementally with the number of years of
experience.
The Solar industry has been tackling gender diversity head on and is actively trying to
recruit females especially into Senior positions. One strategy successfully introduced by
many Solar companies is to encourage entry-level females into a market that has
historically been dominated by men. The success of these initiatives can be seen by the 6%
gender pay gap reported in our Solar Salary Guide and is considerably lower than the
national average of 18.9% reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics*.
*https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/women-had-higher-median-earnings-than-men-in-relatively-few-occupations-in-2018.htm
Gender Pay Gap
713 623 1124 | [email protected]
1
401 (k)
4 5
Benefits SpotlightTop 5 benefits that are most important to candidates
As well as looking at salaries and bonuses, we were keen to uncover which other benefits are of importance to
our three surveyed groups of Solar professionals.
The results illustrated that there were five benefits of the highest importance to candidates; these have been
included in order of importance in the graphic above.
R&O Insights
Helping to build tomorrow, today
1
Health Insurance
2
Flexible Working
3
Compensation
Culture/WorkEnvironment
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Health Insurance
401(k)
Working from Home
Flexible Working
Per diem coverage
Car Allowance
Training Coverage
Gym Membership
Enhanced Pension Contributions
Additional PTO
Benefits SpotlightTop benefits reported as most commonly offered to our respondents
In comparison, we have included a table of those benefits reported as most commonly offered to our
respondents. These are listed in the table below – the top five have been highlighted in green.
% Offered Benefit
R&O Insights
Helping to build tomorrow, today
Benefit
88%
76%
54%
52%
41%
31%
26%
15%
12%
11%
At first glance, the results are pleasing in that the most sought-after benefit, Health Insurance, was the most commonly
offered benefit for a huge 88% of respondents. It’s also positive to see that flexible working and 401(k) which are both
listed in the top five most important benefits, feature in the top five most commonly offered benefits too. If your
organization isn’t offering these top five benefits as standard, it may be worth making sure you’re staying competitive
by adjusting your offerings to match.
Differences to note, however, include company culture, which is listed as a sought-after benefit, but doesn’t appear as
an offered benefit at all. Could companies be missing a trick here by not highlighting their culture as a benefit to
prospective employees?
Although we’ve concentrated on the top five benefits, we’ve included a longer list of benefits offered, for information.
As can be seen from the table, items like a car allowance, training and gym memberships all feature. However, these all
come with a cost. In short, if your culture is a selling point, why not include it as a benefit? It can be considerably
cheaper to companies than some other benefits, but our findings show that it’s important and of value to candidates. It
could just make you an employer of choice for Solar talent looking for their next role.
713 623 1124 | [email protected]
0-2 years
2-4 years
4-6 years
6-8 years
8+
Benefits SpotlightTop benefit that is missing from packages
We further wanted to learn more about which benefits Solar candidates feel are often missing from their
packages. We’ve listed the most popular missing benefits, alongside experience levels in the table below.
Most Popular Missing Benefit
R&O Insights
Helping to build tomorrow, today
Experience
Increased Salary
More Vacation / PTO
Increased Salary
More Vacation / PTO
Overall Compensation and 401(k)
The most common two missing benefits were increased salary and PTO (Paid Time Off)/vacation. The only group who
didn’t state one of these as the top missing benefit was those having worked in Solar for 8+ years. Perhaps this is owing
to people of this level automatically earning more and accumulating more holiday allowance due to their time in the
sector.
Our figures suggest however, that employers should seek to include competitive rates of pay and vacation allowance,
to attract the best Solar talent to their organization. They’re of real importance to those working in the sector and are
often missed by employers.
Paid Time Off (PTO)
Distribution Generation and C&I
Utility Scale
Construction
Average days PTOVertical
19
15
14
Through analyzing the results of our Salary Survey, we found that the average PTO offered across all experience levels
is 15 days. Coming in at slightly above the average are DG/CI roles which, according to our findings, receive 19 days of
PTO. Construction receive the least PTO at 14 days.
713 623 1124 | [email protected]
Remote WorkingHow many remote working days our respondents reported they receive per week
R&O Insights
Helping to build tomorrow, today
The results of our survey showed that 67% of the Solar industry is offered some remote working options – a pleasing
outcome given that remote/flexible working options feature highly on the list of benefits most sought by workers.
However, this still leaves a significant 33% of Solar professionals who don’t partake in any remote working at all.
The most common remote working option was reported as 3+ days but could be reflective of stay at home roles.
Remote Working by years of experience
As may be expected, the above table showing remote working by years of experience shows that those who are just
entering the industry don’t often participate in remote working. Instead, it’s more commonly found to be a benefit
offered as experience levels increase.
For a benefit listed as one of the most five important to Solar professionals, regular remote working appears to be still
somewhat sporadic across the board.
1
2
3+
I do not work
remotely
Days workingremotely a week
% Of respondents % In leadership positions
23
10
34
33
27
50
29
23
0-2 Years(%)
23
8
15
54
1
2
3+
I do not work
remotely
Days workingremotely a week
2-4 Years(%)
23
4
32
41
4-6 Years(%)
30
8
35
27
6-8 Years(%)
17
11
22
50
8+ Years(%)
20
14
44
22
713 623 1124 | [email protected]
Remote WorkingFurther insights into Remote Working
R&O Insights
Helping to build tomorrow, today
Perhaps surprisingly, we uncovered that those on higher salaries, also seem to receive a better overall package that
includes the ability to work from home. It could be expected that remote working options may equate to a reduction in
salary, but for the Solar industry, this is not the case. As experience levels and seniority rise, so too does salary (average
of 10% higher basic), and the likelihood of regularly working from home.
Remote Working and the effect on salaries
Less than 5 years
More than 5 years
Years ofexperience
Average salary with noworking from home option
$73,500
$110,000
Average salary with aworking from home option
$80,000
$112,000
When looking at how important remote working is to those in the Solar industry, 75% of people who feel it’s important
are offered it. This suggests that Solar is an industry where remote working is provided if it's of value to you. Our advice
therefore, is for candidates to ask for it if it’s wanted, and for employees to offer it should employees request it – it’s
likely commonplace for your competitors, so you’re missing a trick in attracting/retaining Solar talent (particularly
those with experience) if you don’t.
With that in mind, there are still 25% of those surveyed who don’t see working from home as an important benefit, so
employers shouldn’t assume it’s an important benefit for all. This is where tailoring benefits packages based on
employees’ differing priorities (such as family/social factors/location) can be advantageous, if and where possible.
The importance of Remote Working to our respondents
remote working is
important
remote working is
not important
Opinion on remoteworking
% Do not work remotely
25
59
% Work remotely
75
41
713 623 1124 | [email protected]
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