The 2009 Salary Survey
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The 2009 Salary Survey
This is the first annual survey of employers and job seekers working in social media.
It was carried out in early February 2009.
While this poll has a small sample size, it is very targeted – receiving responses from those with
direct practical experience. The majority of responses were received from Australia, with 10% of
responses coming from the USA.
The survey asked JOB SEEKERS their salary expectations for social media oriented roles – at a
variety of levels. The survey also asked actual EMPLOYERS what salary they would be willing to
pay for roles at these levels. Interestingly, there was no difference in the salary levels indicated by
Australian and USA respondents.
The aim was to identify the degree of alignment between those hiring and those seeking work.
Both job seekers and employers indicated that they considered social media oriented roles to be
essential to the success of their businesses over the next 12-18 months.
ABOUT JOB SEEKERS
On the job seeker front, only a small percentage indicated that they were looking for work. The
remainder were either in fulltime or contract positions.
ABOUT EMPLOYERS
Almost all employers indicated that they operated small businesses with less than 10 employees
– and most were agencies. All employers were expecting to hire for roles in the next 12-18
months. All these roles would be at entry, mid and experienced levels. No senior level roles or
above were expected.
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Job Seeker Expectations
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What Kind of Role?
While strategy roles appeared popular, the majority of respondents indicated that they were interested in
hands-on community, evangelist and consulting style roles.
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Level of Seniority
Respondents indicated that they are looking for greater responsibility and challenges in their current roles.
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Employer Expectations
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Types of Role
There is a good alignment between the type of role wanted by job seekers and the expected needs of
employers.
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Level of Seniority
Employers indicate that they are only interested in employing more junior social media roles.
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Salary Results
The figures shown below are those with the maximum number of responses. Employees, in general, tended
to have expectations above these levels. Interestingly, for lower level roles, employers appear willing to pay
more than whatjob seekers expect. However, this seems to taper off at the high end, with employee
expectations significantly outstripping the levels indicated by employers.
Note: Where two sets of figures are shown, an equal number of responses were received.
Employees / Job Seekers Employers
Entry level 30,000-40,000 30,000-40,000
Mid level 50,000-60,000 50,000-60,000
Experienced 65,000-80,000 65,000-80,000
Senior 75,000-90,000 90,000-105,000
Executive 105,000-125,000 85,000-105,000
125,000-145,000
“Top Shelf” 140,000-160,000 120,000-140,000
160,000-180,000
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