2005 Salary Survey - Haymarket Media Group

SalarySurvey2005forPDF 2/15/05 7:01 PM Page 1
SALARY
SURVEY
2005
Last year’s survey showed in black and white the effect of years
of economic downturn.Salaries were down,there was a mid-level
talent crunch and half of the PR industry was looking for a new job.
But for some time now, the winds of change have been blowing,
and the outlook for jobs, talent, and compensation is far brighter.

SalarySurvey2005forPDF 2/15/05 7:01 PM Page 2
SALARY SURVEY 2005
Heading in the
Salaries are up, the raise has returned,
and recruiters are scouring résumés and
companies for top talent. The job market
is undoubtedly back. By Anita Chabria
PR salaries are once again on the upswing as the
strengthening economy continues to generate
new business and organic growth for agencies
and corporations alike.This year, the average
salary of respondents in the PRWeek-Korn/
Ferry International Salary Survey was $87,461,
which represents a 7.19% rise over the $81,594
they say they received last year.
“Salaries have definitely risen in the past
year,” says Nels Olson, practice leader of external
affairs at Korn/Ferry. “Companies are
spending more on their communications
functions.”
“This is the strongest economy on the agency
side that I’ve personally seen since the first
quarter of 2001,” agrees Donna Renella,VP of
talent at Weber Shandwick and chair of the
Council of PR Firms’ HR Roundtable.“For the
first time in three years, salaries are becoming
unstuck.I’m not going to say that the floodgates
have opened, but what I will say is that people
are able to be compensated for their increased
contribution on a merit basis, as well as a promotion
basis.”
More than a quarter of respondents (26.4%)
in this year’s survey say they are making
between $50,000 and $74,999; 19.4% bring in
between $75,000 and $99,000;and 26.4% report
making above that amount (that’s up from
23% who reported paychecks of that size for
the prior year.) On the lower end of the pay
scale, 9.9% are getting by on under $35,000,
while 16.4% say they make between $35,000
and $49,999.
Hiring market heats up
This good news about salaries also points to
other bright indicators for PR,most notably one
of the hottest hiring markets in recent years.
Across the country and at all levels, recruiters
are scouring résumés and raiding competitors
to find talent at a rate that some are comparing
to the dot-com days.
“The top thing I take away from this is that
the job market is back,”says Don Spetner,chief
marketing officer of Korn/Ferry.“It’s a reflection
of the end of cost-cutting and the stretching
to the limits of productivity.It’s as if we’re emerging
from the darkness and spring is here.”
Those on the front lines of hiring PR talent
say the bump in salaries, though still modest,
may be the first warning of an impending shortage
of good people as agencies and corporations
continue to expand to meet new demands.
Increasing salaries are a sign not just of a resurgence
of business,they say,but also the resulting
talent crunch many companies are suddenly
facing after years of working with a minimal
staff.As the hiring heats up, for the first time in
recent memory,signs seem to be pointing to an
atmosphere that favors employees.
“There is competition out there now,” says
Hill & Knowlton’s chief talent officer Ellen
Shedlarz.“The past two years were clearly an
employer’s market.It’s much more competitive
this year. Everybody is sort of back in the
spirit of hiring.”
Sabrina Horn, head of technology PR firm
The Horn Group, agrees. “There didn’t seem
like there was a nice ramp up,” she says. “It
went from being,‘I don’t want to hire anybody’
to a hiring frenzy.”
This year, 1,864 professionals, who have an
average of 11.9 years in the business under their
belts, responded to the survey. More than a
third (36.9%) work in agencies.Another 24%
are in corporate settings,while 12.8% are in the
nonprofit sector.Slightly fewer (7.3%) are selfemployed.A
small number of respondents also
report working at IR agencies, government
offices, trade associations, and other settings.
The respondents also represent a range of
professional levels, with 10.1% holding chairman
or president titles, and 14.9% stating their
position as directors or managers. About the
same number (14.6%) fall into VP role,including
EVP and SVP. PR managers make up one
fifth (20.9%) of respondents, and another fifth
(20.4%) come from the ranks of account supervisors,
account managers, SAEs, and AEs. But
no matter what title each respondent holds,they
collectively prove to be a hard-working bunch,
clocking an average of 48.1 hours in the office
each week.
Despite all that hard work, when it comes to
gender, women are still far behind their male
colleagues in terms of pay.The average man in
the survey is breaking six figures with a salary
of $107,960, while his female coworker toils
away for an average of $75,498.
Julie Biber,VP and director of recruitment at
Edelman,is surprised by this.“When I talked to
male candidates,”she says,“I’m not seeing them
34.3%
feel they’re wellcompensated
in their current
positions
Compensation
How well compensated do you feel?
Base: 1864
Undercompensated
22.5%
Well compensated
34.3%
Extremely well
compensated
9.3%
Adequately
compensated
33.9%
Job seeking?
Yes, but not in PR—5.8%
Job change
Next increase Change incentive
FEBRUARY 21, 2005 • www.prweek.com 16
Subscriptions: 800-558-1708 • PRWEEK
25
20
15
10
5
0
Yes, in PR
29.8%
11.8%
None
4.6%
Under 2%
27%
2 to 3.9%
21.1%
4 to 5.9%
9.2%
6 to 9.9%
8.2%
10 to 14.9%
No
64.4%
Base: 1864 Base: 1864
What percentage raise do you expect at your
next pay review?
1.3%
15 to 19.9%
Base: 1864 Base: 1864
1.4%
20 to 24.9%
0.4%
25 to 29.9%
Salary by gender
US $ in thousands
US $ in thousands
100
80
60
40
20
0
120
90
60
30
0
$37,678
$87,461
$35,331
$56,558
$54,587
$107,960
$86,295
$72,035
1.0%
30%+
$75,498
Total Men Women
Base: 1864 Base: 1864
Salary by age group
Base: 1864
$108,780
$90,533
14.1%
Don’t know
$135,578
$122.387
25
20
15
10
5
0
10%
5% or less
No
41.7%
Don’t know
27.4%
10%
15%
20%
Yes
30.9%
What minimum raise would make you
interested in leaving your current job?
13.3%
Salary by industry
Art/Ent../Media $74,722
Financial services $104,119
Food & beverage $86,139
Govt./Public services $66,806
Education $59,675
Retail $70,708
Sports $68,545
Telecommunications $72,270
Travel/Tourism/Leisure $93,239
Trade association $69,966
Healthcare/Pharma $93,349
Tech/internet $105,852
Nonprofit/Charity $59,712
Industrial/Manufac. $105,963
Other $102,081
$129,830
12.7%
17.4%
28.5%
25% or more
18.2%
Wouldn’t leave
0 20 40 60 80 100
US $ in thousands
21-25 years 26-30 years 31-35 years 36-40 years 41-45 years 46-50 years 51-55 years 56-60 years 61-65 years 66-70 years 71+
$107,047
Men Women
Likely to change jobs within one year?
$129,299
$93,827
$142,767
$112,356
$117.630
$81,250
$121,250
$82,500
$130,417

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right direction
SALARY SURVEY 2005
making $25,000 more”than female candidates.
The gap may be due to factors other than gender
bias,however.Recruiters say that more men
tend to gravitate towards areas of PR that pay
higher, such as financial communications. In
addition,many women will leave the workplace
to have children,often stranding them at lower
salary levels when they return. Regardless of
the reason, the disparity remains a concern,
especially in an industry where women have
been able to rise to the highest ranks.
“It’s disappointing that there are still these
artificial barriers left,”says Alan Arkatov,chief
strategy officer at Los Angeles-based Rogers
& Associates.
Bill Imada,chairman and CEO of IW Group
PR,also based in LA,seconds that thought,but
adds that PR is not alone.“It’s unbelievable,”
he says, “but that actually falls in line with
national statistics.”
Less surprisingly, older survey respondents
come out ahead on pay day, vastly outearning
younger professionals. PR pros seem to break
the $100,000 mark in their 40s.Those in the 36-
40 age range report earning an average of
$97,557,while those in the 41-45 range are some
of the highest earners,bringing in an average of
$128,510.The oldest respondents – those age 71
and above – make the most,with an average of
$130,417. That points to the increasing use of
experienced communicators at the C-level as
senior strategists and counselors.
Just over 20% of respondents are also getting
in the spirit of the rebounding job market and
report taking a new job in the last year.Another
30.9% say that they are likely to change jobs in
the coming year.
“People are willing to make moves,” says
Spetner.“They are excited by new opportunities.
Demand outstrips the supply right now.
There is much less fear in the marketplace.”
As well as the 29.8% who also admit they
are currently seeking a new PR position,
another very large percentage (49.9%) say
they had been approached by a headhunter in
the past year.
Olson considers the large percentage of
people who have met with a recruiter to be an
excellent sign of “how robust the business is.”
A premium on experience
Interestingly,some of the toughest jobs to fill are
junior to mid-level positions.Recruiters say that
because of the downturn, many companies
stopped hiring and training for the past two to
four years.That makes it hard to find candidates
with that amount of experience who are ready
to begin a move up the job ladder.
Renella asks,“If no one was hiring an entrylevel
class in 2002,how many people with three
years’ experience are available?”
Michael Olguin, head of San Diego-based
Formula PR,says he has encountered that problem
often. He has also had difficulty with PR
practitioners who began their careers during
the dot-com boom and now suffer from having
been promoted too quickly without having
learned the necessary skills.
“You get people who are just not that qualified
and were overpaid for their experience
level,” he says.“We had a [young woman] who
had come in off the dot-com era and could not
handle the pace and the expectations.”
ChevronTexaco’s GM of public affairs Dave
Samson says he has seen the same thing.
“During the boom,frankly a lot of people got
elevated titles and jobs that were beyond their
experience levels,”he says.
That’s good news for candidates with more
traditional backgrounds, especially at wellknown
companies. Having a high-profile
résumé and an employment history with bigname
entities can translate into a higher paycheck
in this market.
“If you’re going for people who are coming
from blue-chip companies or senior posts at
agencies, they tend to be more expensive,”
says Samson.
Certain sectors of the industry and certain
markets are especially hot when it comes to pay
and hiring.Not surprising,healthcare practices
are always on the lookout for talent and offer
some of the highest pay.Respondents who specialized
in this area report an average income of
$93,349. Most recruiters agree this is an area
that never slowed down and saw little impact
from the bad economy. However, specialized
talent in this area is still scarce, making experienced
people worth a premium.
“Healthcare has been the place for the past
three years,”confirms H&K’s Shedlarz.
More unexpectedly,says Olson,“technology
has come back really strong.” Survey results
back this claim.Those specializing in tech/internet-related
PR report a healthy salary average
of $105,852. Locations known for tech PR also
report higher salaries than other parts of the
country. Silicon Valley and the Bay Area are
once again hot markets. The average Silicon
Valley/San Jose salary is $106,119, while PR
pros in San Francisco are making an average of
$108,985. Even Seattle comes in high, with an
average of $101,700.
However,the high cost of housing still makes
it a challenge to find people willing to move to
areas like San Francisco. “It’s hard to recruit
up there,”admits Spetner.
In a more general market focus, consumer
goods is also a very busy practice area for
hiring, although the salaries are not as robust
as more specialized practices.The average food
and beverage communications professionals
report a salary of $86,139, while those in retail
PR say they make $70,708.
“Consumer seems to have been strong for
most of this year,”says Kathy Cripps,president
of the Council of Public Relations Firms.
Olson points out that most of the highestpaying
jobs, and many of the hottest markets,
are still on the East Coast – for now. Boston
(with an average salary of $132,087) and New
30.9%
claim they’re
likely to change
jobs in the
coming year
The senior ranks
As Donald Trump would ask,is it book smarts
or street smarts that gets you to the top?
When it comes to the corporate PR world,
schooling turns out to be less important than
many people would imagine, according to a
survey of those people at the very top of the
PR profession – chief communications officers
at Fortune 200 companies – conducted by
Korn/Ferry International.
Of the 53 CCOs who responded to the
recent survey, only 29% have advanced degrees,
and only five of those are in journalism
or communications.The rest are split between
MBAs,law,and others.
“Traditionally in this function,the advanced
degree is helpful, but practical experience
far outweighs [its] value,” says Nels Olson,
practice leader for external affairs at Korn/
Ferry.“In the top searches we’re involved in,
rarely,if ever,do they say an advanced degree
is a requirement.”
Even those in the PR education field agree
with Olson.
“I would not recommend six years of PR
education,” says Jerry Swerling, head of
PR studies at the USC Annenberg School
of Journalism.Instead,he sees the PR masters
as a tool for those trying to segue into the profession
post-college.
Korn/Ferry International compiled data on 53 chief communications officers of
Fortune 200 companies (26% response rate from companies with revenue of
$10 billion and above)
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GENDER
Women
34%
AVERAGE COMPENSATION
Men
66%
School might not be on the agenda for most
of the survey respondents because this group
has been busy at the office for the past few
decades. More than a third of Fortune 200
CCOs have 30 or more years’ experience in
PR, while 36% have 25 to 29 years’ worth.
Slightly less than a fifth (17%) have been on
the job for 20 to 24 years,and only 8% come in
between 15 and 19 years.
And while women certainly are represented
in the sample (34%),men still dominate at this
high level. Olson, however, says he sees that
figure changing.
“You’re going to see a larger trend of more
females in the top jobs,” he predicts. “It’s
just a matter of time.They are working their
way up.”
Olson adds that he sees a trend of growing
compensation for this top tier. The average
base salary for a CCO is $327,000. But that’s
not the whole picture. They also report an
average annual bonus of $222,000 and a complete
compensation package worth $549,000.
That includes a range of stock grants worth
$50,000 to $500,000. For the cream of the
crop, 8% say that they have cash packages
worth $1 million or more – proving that good
communicators are apparently worth their
weight in gold.
YEARS EXPERIENCE
20-24
years
17%
15-19
years
8%
25-29
years
36%
Compensation $ amount
Range of average annual stocks grants value: $50,000 - $500,000
30 or more
years
39%
Average Base Salary $327,000
Average Annual Bonus $222,000
Total Average Cash Package $549,000
BREAKDOWN OF COMPENSATION PACKAGES DO RESPONDENTS HAVE AN ADVANCED DEGREE?
$250K–$299K
13%
$300K–$499K
30%
Source: Korn/Ferry International
$1Million
or more
8%
$700K–$999K
15%
$500K–$699K
34%
Yes
29%
No
71%

SalarySurvey2005forPDF 2/15/05 7:01 PM Page 4
Salary by job title
US $ in thousands
Base: 1864
150
100
50
0
$162,191
Chairman/
President/
CEO
$126,867
York ($115,730) remain the most lucrative
markets, surprisingly followed by Milwaukee,
where the average respondent is living well on
$100,500 a year.
“You see that in terms of the biggest jobs,the
$1 million-or-more ones,they are still predominantly
in the Northeast,”explains Olson.“That
is because a number of those older, blue-chip
companies are headquartered there.”
Renella adds, “New York is an interesting
market because it has the greatest supply of
candidates,but also the greatest demand.”
Despite so many areas of growth and the
growing evidence of a hiring fever sweeping the
industry,Jim Delulio,head of Southern California-based
PR Talent, cautions that there isn’t a
job-search frenzy yet.While people are willing
to consider changing jobs, it is usually after
some careful thought, and they are not willing
to move just anywhere to grab a bigger pay-
Salary by PR discipline
Community relations $52,123
check.There has to be a significant number of
benefits to make the move attractive.
“I am seeing people looking for the next
right move and being more cautious about
jumping,”he says.
Motivating the talent
Still, when it comes to motivators for job
changes for survey respondents, money is still
the top factor. Over half (54.7%) rate money
to be “extremely important” or “very important.”
Only three people (.2%) say it’s not
important at all.
Taking it a step further, more than a third of
respondents (39.8%) say they are “very aggressive”
or “aggressive” when it comes to salary
negotiations,while almost half (45.4%) say they
are “neutral”on the topic.For respondents who
have taken a new job in the past 12 months,only
11.3% say more money had been the reason
behind the switch. Still, when asked what is the
minimum pay raise that would interest a candidate
in another position, more than half
(54.3%) offer a relatively modest percentage
between 5% and 25%.
“There are variables like proximity to home
and experience of management to consider
before changing jobs, but otherwise I’d leave
my current position for a 15% increase in
salary,” says an AAE at a boutique PR firm in
New Jersey (who did not want to be named),
who currently makes $30,000.
When it comes to increasing salary without
a job switch, aspirations seem to be more
modest.When asked what percentage increase
in salary they expect at their next review,11.8%
say none. Most respondents (48.1%) say they
think their pay will increase between 2% and
6%.Respondents are also split fairly evenly on
their feelings about their compensation.Fortythree
percent say they are well- or extremely
well-compensated.”A slightly larger percentage
(56.4%) complain that their compensation
is either only adequate or that they are undercompensated.
Aside from salary,candidates are once again
asking about (and employees are demanding)
Financial/IR $144,564
Reputation management $120,612
Brand management $92,331
Crisis management $97,588
COO
Don Spetner... job candidates seek “a chance to
blossom,to be appreciated,and to win”
$104,789
Director/
Managing
director/
Partner
Internal/employee comms $83,255
Marketing comms $84,899
Public affairs/Government $88,927
Other $79,148
$187,615
0 30 60 90 120
US $ in thousands
EVP
SALARY SURVEY 2005
$155,108
SVP
$115,431
VP
$67,616
PR
manager
Base: 1864 Base: 1864
$64,134
Account
supervisor
$53,273
Account
manager
$49,850
54.7%
rate money as
‘extremely’ or
‘very’ important
motivators for
changing jobs
SAE AE/PR
officer
programs for career development and opportunities
for growth as part of the compensation
discussion.
“It’s going to become important for PR
agencies to have good training and benefits
because those are things that help retain people,”says
Horn.
Spetner agrees, saying that candidates are
“looking for a chance to blossom, to be appreciated,and
to win.”
Similar to the statistics over the importance
of money,over half (55.2%) of those polled say
that they are extremely ambitious or very
ambitious when it comes to attaining the highest
professional rank possible in their career. But
more than a quarter (26.9%) say they aren’t
satisfied with the career opportunities within
their companies. A further 32.8% say their
company does not provide adequate training.
That reality is making it more imperative for
employers to provide talent with ways to grow
within a company – or risk losing them to
the competition.That means a renewed focus
on creating an employee-friendly atmosphere
that provides not only challenges, but also
opportunities.
“Culture and chemistry are two big parts of
the equation,” says Edelman’s Biber, echoing
what survey participants said about their reasons
for changing jobs.“Candidates are looking
for our philosophy, our vision, our value
system.”
Horn has seen the same trend.
“The whole thing that we call the ‘employee
experience’ is coming back in terms of its importance,”
she says. “It’s something people
appreciate and want.”
Interestingly, while employees are demanding
more from their employers,they are also less
willing to acclimate. Just 9.9% give themselves
an A+ on their willingness and ability to adapt
to organizational politics.Twenty-five percent
give themselves an A when it comes to fitting
in,and another 23.4% say they rate an A-.
Of respondents who had taken a new job in
the past year, factors such as seeking new challenges
(22.2%), promotion (12.4%), and bore-
Salary by work setting
PR agency $103,117
IR agency $103,625
Corporation $95,181
Government $64,269
Nonprofit $60,007
Self/Freelance $84,905
Trade association $86,789
Education $57,744
$39,789
Other $65,709
$71,557
Freelance
$53,587
Other
0 20 40 60 80 100
US $ in thousands
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SalarySurvey2005forPDF 2/15/05 7:01 PM Page 21
Salary
by city
Sacramento
$70,100
Base: 18
•
•
•
•
• Seattle
$101,700
Base: 28
dom/job dissatisfaction (12.1%) are cited as the
reason for doing so.
“They are making the decisions based on
more than just compensation and benefits.They
are making lifestyle changes,” says Chevron-
Texaco’s Samson.
H&K’s Shedlarz agrees, and says those
lifestyle considerations become even more
important to senior-level professionals.
“The most important concern for any senior
hire is the client experiences they’re going to
have,”she says.“That is the number-one driver.
That’s how people develop. That’s what gets
them up in the morning.”
Jenna Fisher, a recruiter with search firm
Russell Reynolds,adds,“Part of it is that people
move when they have the opportunity to have
a bigger role.”
That reality, explains Biber, has led some
companies to go beyond just training to offer
fast-track moves up the corporate ladder as a
way to keep employees.
“What I’m hearing is [that companies are]
faster [in making] promotion moves than in the
past to keep people,” she says.“[Agencies] are
creating more opportunities within their firms.”
Keeping with the need to entice employees
beyond salary,perks are also once again a topic
of interest. Vacations and flex-time inquiries
from job candidates are on the rise in interviews.
The survey results show that 28.5% of respondents
say they currently are given 11 to 15 days
•
San Francisco
$108,985
Base: 71
San Jose/
Silicon Valley
$106,119
Base: 31
Los Angeles/
Orange County
$86,789
Base: 130
San Diego
$93,828
Base: 18
Dave Samson... people are changing jobs “based
on more than just compensation and benefits”
•
Phoenix
$74,719
Base: 16
• Denver
$68,386
Base: 22
41%
said they would
be willing or very
willing to move
in order to get
a better job
SALARY SURVEY 2005
Houston
$76,708
Base: 20
Minneapolis
$87,072
Base: 25
St. Louis
$75,881
Base:21
•
•
Milwaukee
$100,500
Base: 10
•
Chicago
$93,857
Base: 117
Dallas
$74,620
Base: 40
•
•
off a year, 21.8% get between 16 and 20, and
14.5% get between 21 and 25 days of vacation.
“If I could choose between an extra week of
vacation or a raise that was equivalent to the
time off,I’d probably choose the vacation,”says
Anne Williams, a PR account manager in Salt
Lake City who didn’t want to name the agency
she works for.
Horn also points out that PR is a field with
many women,and accommodating their needs
is increasingly smart business for retention as
well as hiring.“There are a lot of working moms
out there, so flexible schedules are definitely
something that we continue to hear about and
provide,”she says.Others point out that fathers
are often under the same pressures, and flextime
is increasingly appealing to them as well.
Compensation beyond salary
Bonuses have also made a slight recovery from
their dot-com popularity and subsequent belttightening
demise. Of the 1,864 respondents,
1,218 say they are eligible for a bonus this year.
Sixty-one percent of those say it would be based
at least in part on individual performance,while
66.6% cite company performance as a factor,
pointing to multiple aspects that go into determining
bonuses.
Horn adds that she is also seeing a slight
resurgence in the popularity of signing bonuses.
“That sort of fell by the wayside for the past couple
of years,”she points out.
•
Detroit
$80,655
Base: 29
Cincinnati
$69,643
Base: 14
Atlanta
$83,256
Base: 54
Ellen Shedlarz... “definitely seeing more of a
willingness to relocate”by employees
•
Pittsburgh
$53,083
Base: 13
•
•
•
•
•
Columbus
$95,511
Base: 9
Cleveland
$92,625
Base:12
Boston
$132,087
Base: 53
•
•
Wilmington
$66,200
Base: 5
•
•
•
•
Miami
$91,122
Base: 17
But Samson says that’s still not a common
practice, and only in rare circumstances would
his company consider a signing bonus.
“We haven’t had to do to many of those this
past year,”he says.
Also returning from the dot-com days is a
renewed interest in stocks and equity of all
forms.Almost a third of respondents (30.3%)
report owning shares in the company where
they worked.
“I would say you’re definitely seeing the
structure of compensation packages changing,”
says Olson.“You’re seeing many more grants
of restricted stocks”instead of options.That has
to do with accounting rules, he says. Other recruiters,
however, also see it as a trend towards
an entrepreneurial marketplace.
“Over the past 12 months, I’ve seen a bit of
a resurgence of venture capital and private
equity-funded companies,” says Russell
Reynolds’ Fisher.“And people are beginning to
become more willing to move to more risky
companies. I’ve had many candidates say to
me point blank,‘Don’t make my compensation
a hindrance.’ People are willing to take packages
more focused on risk and reward rather
than straight cash.”
Porter Novelli’s global HR director Greg
Waldron says this is a positive trend and that
he would like to see more “novel approaches”
to compensation in the PR industry. He fears
that there is a cap to salaries since firms can only
bill out a person at a certain rate. He adds that
increasing competition for talent might make
straight compensation deals too pricey for firms.
Renella agrees that there is a limit to how
high salaries can go.
“We won’t be able to give that employee a
25% salary increase and bill them out at the
same margin,”she points out.
One thing employees don’t seem to mind
giving up is their hometown. More and more
are willing to move if it means a good job.
“We are definitely seeing more of a willingness
to relocate,”says Shedlarz.
Forty-one percent of survey respondents say
they would be willing or very willing to move
in order to get a better job,while only 7.2% say
they would be very unwilling to pack up the U-
Haul.And not many people say that they had
turned down a job based on the need to relocate.In
fact,more than half (56.7%) claim they
had never done so, while 19.3% say they had
done it only once in their careers.
But Olson says that willingness to move does
not come as a surprise.
“Historically, [PR] has not had an issue with
people relocating,” he says.“Across the board,
most folks will move for the right opportunity.”
•
New York
$115,730
Base: 265
Philadelphia
$83,667
Base: 39
Baltimore
$71,300
Base: 20
Washington,
DC
$86,742
Base: 183
PRWEEK • Subscriptions: 800-558-1708 21
www.prweek.com • FEBRUARY 21, 2005

SalarySurvey2005forPDF 2/15/05 7:01 PM Page 22
75.6%
are committed or
very committed
to remaining in
the PR industry
Accreditation
Salary by accreditation with the PRSA,
IABC, or other
US $ in thousands
$102,031
No matter what the future trends turn out to
be, recruitment experts say that companies are
already committed to aggressive retention and
hiring strategies for the foreseeable future.
“The overall tone or theme has been for firms
or companies to do whatever it takes to keep
their top players,” says Biber. “We are very
conscientious of having a work-life balance.”
PR Talent’s Delulio sees the same trend.
“I think companies are being more aggressive
about retaining,”he says.“But they are also trying
to build a culture and an operating philosophy
that engenders loyalty because, obviously,
if you turn over your people, you are going to
turn over your clients.Whenever there is a talent
shortage, they focus on the need to have a
culture and an employee-centered mentality.”
Diversity issues
Another area where companies are making a
strong push in hiring and retention is in the
diversity arena, and the experts agree that the
numbers aren’t yet where they should be.
The majority of survey respondents (63.1%)
are women,which points to good gender diversity.However,most
of the respondents (87.6%)
are also white.About 5% are identified as black,
while Asian practitioners make up 2.5%, Hispanics
make up 4.4%, and Native Americans
account for only 0.5%.Those figures are a far
cry from demographic averages across the US
and point to a serious need for more outreach
into minority candidates.The lack of minorities
is especially apparent at the top levels.
“There are still not enough women and
minorities at the senior-most levels and clients
are asking for it,”says Spetner.
Furthermore,the salaries of respondents who
report being in an ethnic or racial minority are
far lower than non-minorities.While the average
Caucasian practitioner reports a salary of
$90,056,black practitioners say they make only
$67,223.The disparity is even greater for Asians
and Native Americans, who report averages of
$62,227 and $48,211, respectively. Hispanic PR
pros fare a bit better at $75,622, perhaps pointing
to corporate America’s growing recognition
of this market.
“I’m not surprised,” says IW’s Imada.“The
communities of color are not typically getting
the pay because they don’t have anyone who
preceded them [in the agency or company]. So
they typically start off in a lower-level position,
as the receptionist, in the mail room, or they
start off as an account coordinator.”
Most agency recruiters say their companies
SALARY SURVEY 2005
$85,272
Accredited Not accredited
Base: 1864 Base: 1542 (undergrad); 415 (masters)
Donna Renella... candidates from schools with
“diverse populations has gone up considerably”
Salary by degree major
Salary by ethnicity
US $ in thousands
80
60
40
20
0
$69,629
$72,201
$90,056
$93,583
$67,223
$99,040
$89,154
PR/communications Journalism Business Liberal Arts Social Science
$62,227
White Black Asian Hispanic Native Other
American
are dedicated to diversity outreach, and have
extensive programs in place on college campuses
across the country, even reaching out to
potential PR practitioners as early as their
freshman year. Some say they are starting to
see a payoff from those efforts.
“On the entry level,the number of candidates
that we are seeing from schools that are members
of diverse populations has gone up considerably,”says
Renella.
Recruiters also say they are dedicated to this
market because it represents untapped talent –
something that can be in short supply in traditional
hiring methods.
“This industry tends to be a bit incestuous with
hiring,”says Shedlarz.“If we don’t start to think
outside the box, we won’t have fresh talent.”
For H&K, Shedlarz says the solution is in
being open. For example, her agency recently
made a public affairs hire with no PR experience.
Instead, the candidate had been deputy
editor of the editorial group at the New York
Daily News. “He brings a lot to the party in a
different perspective,”she says.
Rosanna Fiske, partner at Coral Gables, FLbased
Communique/Rise Strategies and chair
of the PRSA’s national diversity committee,
also sees that progress has been made, and
expects to see more.
“It’s a matter of mathematics,” she says,
pointing out that as the population continues to
become more diverse, there will naturally be
more diverse candidates and more diverse people
moving into higher-paying roles.
“More diverse society, more diverse workplace,
more diverse candidates,” she says.“It’s
just a reality that the older you and I get, the
more diverse a society we’ll have in the US.”
She adds that diversity may become a real
recruitment tool in the future as younger generations
place greater emphasis on having it.
“For the younger generation, diversity is a
part of their lives,” she notes. “Many of them
almost require it.They see it as a need.”
Another interesting figure on this year’s
survey is the number of respondents with a
degree in PR – an indicator of the growing number
of universities that offer a specific program
in this discipline. Over a third of respondents
(35.9%) say they majored in the profession as
undergraduates.Another 20% studied journalism.
Only 4.8% came with a business degree.
Renella points out that there are now 173
accredited PR programs at US universities,
which is a boon to recruiters.
“It gives us much better candidates,”she says.
$110,743 $109,668
Undergraduate Masters
$75,622
$98,039
$48,211
$106,343
$79,313
$124,673
“It also gives us more realistic candidates.”
Jerry Swerling,principal of Swerling & Associates
and director of PR studies at the USC
Annenberg School of Journalism, agrees, and
sees that such degrees are finally being granted
a bit more respect.
“Finally the value of PR education is being
recognized by the industry,” he says. He also
sees a PR degree as a benefit for hiring because
“you have folks with a more rigorous background,
folks who’ve really been seeped in the
business, but also the business of the business.”
But for most, PR education stops at the
undergraduate level. Few practitioners continue
on for an advanced degree. Among the
respondents, 9.3% report having a masters in
PR.Three percent say they have received a masters
in journalism, and 5.8% say they have an
MBA. Degrees above the masters level are
almost non-existent: Fewer than 2% report
having a PhD in PR, journalism, or business.
But with or without a degree,the majority of
respondents (67.1%) report that they find their
jobs to be very rewarding or rewarding.Almost
a third of those (30.8%) find their job to be even
more rewarding than the year before.
Most PR pros say that they enjoy their dayto-day
work and find their jobs to be fulfilling.
And an edifying 75.6% say they are very committed
or committed to keeping communications
as their career.
Recruiters add that there is no reason they
should not feel optimistic. With both salaries
and opportunities on an upswing for the foreseeable
future, the industry has a lot to offer
both newcomers and veterans.
“There has never been a better time to be in
the business,” says Spetner.“And that will continue
for the next 10 or 20 years.”
The PRWeek Salary Survey 2005 was conducted
by PRWeek and Millward Brown.
The survey was open to all PRWeek readers.
Respondents were invited via e-mail and
were also allowed to enter the survey through
PRWeek’s website.A total of 1,864 respondents
completed the survey from January 18-31,2005.
Results are not weighted.Based on this sample
size,the results are accurate to a margin of +/-
2.3% at a 95% confidence level.This report
offers selected highlights only.The full survey
results – offering numerous salary breakouts
and opinion-based responses – are available in
Excel format for $150.Please contact Christie
Casalino at christie.casalino@prweek.com.
FEBRUARY 21, 2005 • www.prweek.com 22
Subscriptions: 800-558-1708 • PRWEEK
US $ in thousands
120
90
60
30
0
Base: 1864