Icon recognises that to effectively advocate for fair pay and conditions for members of the conservation profession our campaigns and consultation responses must be supported by accurate and reliable data. Data is also necessary to inform decision-making on areas of policy related to pay and reward.
The Conservation Salaries Survey 2022 was designed to ensure that Icon could gather information relevant to all conservation professionals in the UK regardless of their specialist area of practice, length of experience or job role.
Update - 22 November 2022
In response to the publication of the Museums Association’s Salary Research and Recommendations (November 2022) we have reviewed our data for conservation roles so that we can present the same range of data points. The data is presented in this Addendum to the Icon Conservation Salaries Survey report.
The Conservation Salaries Survey 2022 identified that the average salaries across the conservation profession are:
- Early career: £26,346
- Mid-career: £32,333
- Senior Professionals: £37,925
Icon believes these should be the minimum salary expectations.
We would strongly advocate for fair levels of remuneration that are in line with those expected by a highly skilled and technical profession. Based on our salary benchmarking, we recommend these to be the starting point for salaries: Early career - £28,491; Mid-career - £35,000; Senior Professionals - £46,125. Find out more about Icon's conservation salary benchmarking here.
