The challenging economic times of the past decade have left many to wonder what professions will truly need employees in the future. As can be expected, many look for the new cutting-edge job or the one that offers some security. What about facility management? Can anyone say that there won’t be facilities in the future?

While telecommuting, virtual offices and the tech gadget you’re probably using to read this blog make it easier for you to work outside of your company’s facility, I think you’ll have a hard time finding anyone who says that companies won’t have headquarters, manufacturing organizations won’t have plants, doctors won’t treat patients in hospitals or universities will be vacant. As long as there are facilities inhabited by companies whose goal is a positive triple bottom line, who want to create environment that fosters productivity, there will be a need for facility managers.

The good news for the current FM and those looking to the field as a career possibility is that compensation is on the upswing. According to IFMA’s “Profiles 2011 Salary and Demographics Report,” combining base salary and bonus pay, the average FM pulls in US$99,578 in total compensation annually which is up from US$91,766 in 2007. Even those do well when they first enter the profession, as practitioners with three or fewer years in facility management earn US$65,000 a year, up from US$56,000 in 2004.

Profiles 2011 also found other positive salary-related info for FMs. Read more about it through the Profiles 2011 IFMA news release.