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2012 Salary Survey

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Salary Survey, 2009

The 2009 IAI Salary Survey was conducted from September to December 2009. Members of the IA Institute, UXNet, IxDA and sigia-l were invited to participate. A total of 435 responses were collected. You may download the expanded results . We remain a relatively small community, so we removed city data from the results due to concerns about the privacy of individuals in places where a small, easily identifiable population of respondents live. A list of cities is available in the comments section and a narrower analysis by location is available by request.

Since respondents gave us a salary range instead of an exact salary figure, it is impossible to estimate a true average salary. In our analysis, we have estimated the average for various data points by taking the midpoint of the salary range a person selected and then averaging that figure for various data points, eliminating the "Over $200,000" and "Under $20,000" groups, which do not have a midpoint. We also present median salary estimates, based on midpoints, for comparison purposes, but it is better to read the survey results in terms of a percentage that fell within a range rather than thinking in terms of a specific salary.

Some of the survey findings:

Median Salary:

  • The highest response group at 14.3% was in the 80,000-90,000 USD range; however the three next-higher groups each represented about 11% of the total.
     
  • The inferred mean salary (not counting the Over 200,000 USD and Under 20,000 USD groups) was 90,000 USD, down 6,800 USD since last year, but 4,800 USD above the 2007 figure. For comparison purposes, the median midpoint was 84,999 USD.
     
  • Rates for freelance consultants ranged from 25.00 USD per hour to 638.00 USD per hour, with a median of 85.00 USD per hour.
     

Salary by Region:

  • US salaries remain the highest with all US regions at the top of the scale. US West and Alaska and Hawaii, were at the very top followed by US Northeast. Non-US regions follow in this order: United Kingdom, Canada, Asia, Non-UK European Union countries, India, South America, Africa and the Middle East.

    RegionInferred
    Average
    Salary
    ($USD)    		Median
    Salary
    ($USD)
    US: Alaska & Hawaii104,000104,000
    US: West104,754 104,999
    US: Northeast103,210 94,999
    US: South90,731 84,999
    US: Midwest82,263 84,999
    United Kingdom79,106 69,999
    Canada77,702 74,999
    Asia (except India)57,499 47,999
    EU (except the UK)56,041 49,999
    India48,749 49,999
    South America38,999 29,999
    Africa34,999 37,999
    Middle East32,499 32,499

  • Of those areas with 10 or more respondents, Los Angeles had the highest earners, followed by New York, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Toronto, Washington DC, Portland (Oregon), and London.
     
  • A number of areas with more than 3 respondents reported individual salaries within this range, including Barcelona, Baltimore, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Denver, Calgary, Detroit, Philadelphia, Austin, Vancouver and Madrid.
     
  • Note that a careful cost of living analysis should be considered when comparing one region to another, since living costs can be higher in some areas, particularly in the United States. Also when comparing on region to another, consider differences in benefits (such as medical) that are provided by the firm versus those that must be paid for by the individual or are subsidized by state programs. In the United States, these costs can be quite significant.
     

Age/Gender Demographics:

  • The field is predominantly 31-40 years old, but 46-50 year olds earn the most.
     
  • Slightly more men than women completed the survey, but the difference in salary earned is insignificant, amounting to a 200 USD per year edge for women. There are more men than women in both the Under 29,999 USD and Over 200,000 USD ranges.

Education Level:

  • 94% of respondents have a Bachelors Degree or higher, with 42% earning a Bachelors degree and 48% earning a Masters. Only 4% of the total respondents, or 16 people, have a Doctorate degree.
     
  • Earning a Masters degree appears to have very little effect on salary as a whole; in fact, women with a Masters earned almost 6,000 USD less annually versus women with a Bachelor degree, while men with a Masters gained just over 5,000 USD with the degree.
     
  • Earning a Doctorate degree appears to have the most significant effect on salary.
     

Experience Level:

  • Median salary data by years in current position indicate a significant increase in salary after the 6 month mark. Median salary data by years in current position do indicate significant increases at 2-3 years (13.2% and over 5 years (7.8%). Interestingly, responses to salary sorted by years serving within the field of IA indicate a corresponding increase beginning with at least 3 years of service.
     

Tasks Performed:

  • Responsibilities appear to be highly varied, with most tasks representing less than half of the respondent's day. Write in comments also indicate that task performance can vary from project to project, so wording the question as part of a day could be problematic when analyzing these results.
     
  • That said, we have found that 90 percent of respondents perform Wireframing/Sitemaps/Process Flows tasks, while 85.7 percent perform Interaction Design tasks.
     
  • The next most likely tasks performed by respondents are Strategic work (business models, high-level categorization, scenario development, life cycle assessment) at 83.9 percent, Other user research at 80.1 percent and Audience Definitions/Persona development at 79.0 percent.
     
  • Of these tasks, 22.0 percent spend more than half their time working on Wireframing/Sitemaps/Process Flows and 16.6 percent spend more than half their day on Interaction Design. A very small percentage, 3.3 percent and 4.5 percent respectively, say that these tasks are all they do.
     
  • 5.7 percent spend more than half their time on Graphic/Interface Design and 2.9 percent spend more than half their time on Usability Testing and 2.4 percent spend more than half their time on Content Management/Strategy. No other category approached these figures.
     

Management:

  • 31.7 percent of respondents or 138 people manage staff. 27.8 percent of respondents manage Full Time staff. 20.7 percent of respondents manage Contract staff. 10.1 percent of respondents manage Temp staff. 19.3 percent of respondents manage Management level staff.
     
  • Of those who manage staff, the average number Full Time staff managed is 3.6 people. Average Contract staff managed is 1.1 people. Average Temp staff managed is 0.1 people. Average Management Level staff managed is 0.5 people.
     
  • Six freelance consultants also manage staff.
     

Benefits:

  • The most cited benefits were Health/Medical Insurance, cited by 85.2 percent of respondents, Flexible Schedule at 69.9 percent, Family Leave (Maternity/Paternity/Partner/Adoption) 66.6 percent, Life Insurance at 66.1 percent, 401K or Other Investment Plan at 65.1 percent, Disability Insurance at 64.5 percent and Personal Time Off at 63.8 percent. The predominance of medical insurance benefits reflects a largely US respondent population. In many countries these and similar benefits are provided by the state.
     
  • 52.3 percent receive Bonus Pay. 6.4 percent get Overtime Pay and 17.1 percent get Compensatory Time, or additional time off. Check your local laws, though. Compensatory time off in lieu of pay is illegal in many areas.
     
  • 30.6 percent receive a Stock Options/Purchase Plan from their companies, 12.2 percent participate in Profit Sharing and 32.1 percent have access to corporate discounts. Other retirement benefits include Pension Plan at 20.9 percent.
     
  • 38 percent receive Tuition Reimbursement, but only 21.7 percent receive Professional Dues Reimbursement. 24 percent get Health Club/Gym Membership so at least some companies are taking care of their employees' bodies as well as their professional development. Only 2 percent have their Union Memberships paid by their employer.
     
  • Meals/Entertainment (13.8 percent) and Transportation/Commuting Reimbursement (28.10 percent) round out the physical needs of our respondents.
     

Below are the complete question-by-question results from the 2009 IAI Salary Survey:

1. How old are you?
  answered question
435
 
 skipped question
0
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
under 21  
0.0%
0
21-25
5.5%
24
26-30
16.8%
73
31-35
27.1%
118
36-40
27.6%
120
41-45
10.8%
47
46-50
6.7%
29
51-55
4.1%
18
56-60
1.4%
6
61-65  
0.0%
0
over 65  
0.0%
0
2. What is Your Gender?
  answered question
435
 
 skipped question
0
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
Female
49.0%
213
Male
51.0%
222
3. What is your educational level?
  answered question
435
 
 skipped question
0
 
Response
Percent
Response
Count
No degree
2.5%
11
High school
1.4%
6
Junior college
2.3%
10
Bachelor's
41.8%
182
Master's
48.3%
210
Doctorate
3.7%
16
4. Which of the following job titles best represents your current position? PLEASE be flexible and consider one from our list before you resort to "Other." Closeness is worth more to us than absolute accuracy.
  answered question
427
 
 skipped question
8
 
Response
Percent
Response
Count
Executive/President/Owner
1.4%
6
Information Architect
23.7%
101
Interaction Designer/Architect
16.2%
69
User Experience Planner/Designer/Architect
32.8%
140
User Researcher
2.1%
9
Usability Engineer/Designer
4.2%
18
Consultant
4.0%
17
Human Factors Engineer
0.9%
4
Business Analyst/Architect
1.9%
8
Content Manager/Strategist
0.9%
4
Creative/Art Director
0.7%
3
Enterprise Architect (EIA)
0.2%
1
Interface/GUI Designer
2.3%
10
Librarian
0.2%
1
Knowledge Management
0.7%
3
Programmer
0.5%
2
Project Manager
1.6%
7
Product Manager
1.4%
6
Taxonomist
0.5%
2
Technical Writer
0.5%
2
Technical/Knowledge Architect
0.5%
2
Web Coordinator  
0.0%
0
Web Designer/Developer
1.9%
8
Web Editor
0.5%
2
Webmaster
0.5%
2
Copywriter  
0.0%
0
5. If you answered "Other" in the previous question, please enter your title in the box below.
  answered question
10
 
 skipped question
425
 
Response
Count
Show replies
10
6. Which of the following best describes your position level?
  answered question
429
 
 skipped question
6
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
President
1.9%
8
Vice President
0.7%
3
Director
8.4%
36
Principal
5.1%
22
Manager
10.5%
45
Senior
50.3%
216
Junior
15.4%
66
Assistant
0.5%
2
Intern  
0.0%
0
Freelance Consultant
7.2%
31
7. During 2009, what do you estimate you will earn, including salary and bonus? (in US Dollars, before tax. Currency Converter)
  answered question
433
 
 skipped question
2
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
under $29,999
3.7%
16
$30,000-$39,999
3.7%
16
$40,000-$49,999
5.1%
22
$50,000-$59,999
6.5%
28
$60,000-$69,999
9.0%
39
$70,000-$79,999
14.3%
62
$80,000-$89,999
11.5%
50
$90,000-$99,999
11.1%
48
$100,000-109,999
10.9%
47
$110,000-119,999
7.4%
32
$120,000-129,999
4.8%
21
$130,000-139,999
2.5%
11
$140,000-149,999
3.0%
13
$150,000-159,999
2.3%
10
$160,000-169,999
1.4%
6
$170,000-179,999
1.4%
6
$180,000-189,999
0.2%
1
$190,000-199,999  
0.0%
0
$200,000-or over
1.2%
5
8. How large was your last salary increase?
  answered question
430
 
 skipped question
5
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
not applicable
30.2%
130
my salary decreased
7.4%
32
1-5%
37.0%
159
6-10%
14.4%
62
11-15%
4.0%
17
16-20%
2.8%
12
21-25%
1.4%
6
26-30%
0.7%
3
31-35%
0.5%
2
36-40%
0.2%
1
41-45%
0.2%
1
46-50%
0.2%
1
over 50%
0.9%
4
9. How long ago was your last salary increase?
  answered question
429
 
 skipped question
6
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
not applicable
22.6%
97
0-3 months ago
13.3%
57
3-6 months ago
12.6%
54
6-9 months ago
10.3%
44
9-12 months ago
14.2%
61
1-2 years ago
20.5%
88
2-3 years ago
4.9%
21
3-4 years ago
0.2%
1
over 4 years ago
1.4%
6
10. If you are a freelance consultant, what is the average hourly rate you charged in 2009 (please convert amount to US Dollars)?
  answered question
87
 
 skipped question
348
  Response
Count
Show replies
87
11. On average, how many hours do you work each week?
  answered question
433
 
 skipped question
2
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
Under 20 hours
1.2%
5
20-30 hours
2.3%
10
30-40 hours
34.4%
149
40-50 hours
52.4%
227
50-60 hours
8.5%
37
over 60 hours
1.2%
5
12. How much your time do you spend on these tasks:
  answered question
431
 
 skipped question
4
  Mostly review: Delegate to others Occasionally (not every day) An hour or so per day About half my workday More than half my workday This is all I do N/A Response
Count
Taxonomy development (thesauri, metadata, controlled vocabularies, etc.) 16.7% (70)
42.6% (179)
 5.0% (21) 1.4% (6) 0.7% (3) 0.0% (0) 33.6% (141)
420
Strategic work (business models, high-level categorization, scenario development, life cycle assessment) 3.1% (13)
43.0% (182)
 24.1% (102) 12.1% (51) 4.0% (17) 0.7% (3) 13.0% (55)
423
Wireframing/Sitemaps/Process flows 6.3% (27) 20.6% (88) 23.0% (98)
24.8% (106)
 18.7% (80) 3.3% (14) 3.3% (14)
427
Audience definitions/Persona development 9.4% (39)
55.1% (228)
 16.9% (70) 5.3% (22) 1.2% (5) 0.5% (2) 11.6% (48)
414
Usability testing 17.5% (73)
54.4% (227)
 14.1% (59) 3.4% (14) 1.2% (5) 1.7% (7) 7.7% (32)
417
Other user research 11.3% (47)
49.9% (208)
 21.6% (90) 7.4% (31) 1.0% (4) 0.2% (1) 8.6% (36)
417
Content generation/copywriting 31.6% (130) 25.3% (104) 7.3% (30) 2.2% (9) 0.7% (3) 0.2% (1)
32.6% (134)
411
Content management/strategy 21.3% (88)
32.9% (136)
 16.7% (69) 2.2% (9) 1.7% (7) 0.7% (3) 24.6% (102)
414
Interaction design 8.3% (35) 18.8% (79)
26.8% (113)
 23.5% (99) 12.1% (51) 4.5% (19) 5.9% (25)
421
Graphic/interface design
29.9% (125)
 21.3% (89) 12.0% (50) 8.9% (37) 3.6% (15) 2.2% (9) 22.2% (93)
418
Database design 29.3% (120) 6.4% (26) 1.7% (7) 0.2% (1) 0.2% (1) 0.0% (0)
62.1% (254)
409
IT integration/programming 29.1% (118) 8.6% (35) 3.9% (16) 0.7% (3) 0.5% (2) 0.5% (2)
56.7% (230)
406
Project management 15.2% (63) 24.2% (100) 22.5% (93) 8.5% (35) 4.1% (17) 0.0% (0)
25.6% (106)
414
General business consulting 11.9% (49) 28.2% (116) 14.8% (61) 3.2% (13) 1.7% (7) 0.0% (0)
40.3% (166)
412
General IT consulting 20.3% (83) 14.4% (59) 4.4% (18) 1.5% (6) 0.5% (2) 0.0% (0)
58.9% (241)
409
Business administration/operations (non-IA) 17.3% (71) 18.7% (77) 15.1% (62) 1.5% (6) 0.7% (3) 0.7% (3)
46.0% (189)
411
Marketing/proposal writing 13.7% (56) 28.3% (116) 13.7% (56) 1.7% (7) 0.5% (2) 0.0% (0)
42.2% (173)
410
Staff training/recruiting/team management 13.7% (56) 29.5% (121) 16.3% (67) 4.4% (18) 0.5% (2) 0.0% (0)
35.6% (146)
410
Travel 8.7% (36)
48.3% (199)
 7.5% (31) 0.7% (3) 0.5% (2) 0.2% (1) 34.0% (140)
412
Other 7.3% (17) 6.8% (16) 10.3% (24) 4.3% (10) 0.4% (1) 0.4% (1)
70.5% (165)
234
13. If you answered "Other" in the previous question, please let us know what kind of activity you perform.
  answered question
55
 
 skipped question
380
  Response
Count
Show replies
55
14. If you manage staff, how many people report to you on a typical project?
  answered question
155
 
 skipped question
280
  Response
Average		 Response
Total		 Response
Count
Fulltime Staff  
3.64
503
138
Contract Staff  
1.43
152
106
Temp Agency  
0.30
18
60
How many are Managers?  
0.65
65
100
15. How long is your annual paid vacation?
  answered question
429
 
 skipped question
6
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
not applicable
13.1%
56
under 6 days
0.5%
2
6-10 days
10.0%
43
11-15 days
35.4%
152
16-20 days
19.1%
82
21-25 days
14.7%
63
over 25 days
7.2%
31
16. How many public holidays do you get in addition to your paid vacation? (Also called "bank holidays")
  answered question
417
 
 skipped question
18
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
0 days
10.6%
44
1-3 days
3.4%
14
4-6 days
26.4%
110
7-9 days
30.2%
126
9-11 days
23.0%
96
11-13 days
3.4%
14
13-15 days
1.7%
7
over 15 days
1.4%
6
17. Does your job provide any of the following benefits? (check all that apply)

We understand that in some countries, certain of these benefits may be directly provided by your government or required by law. Please only check an item if your EMPLOYER provides the benefit, regardless of whether your government requires it.
  answered question
392
 
 skipped question
43
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
Bonus Pay
52.3%
205
Overtime Pay
6.4%
25
Compensatory Time
17.1%
67
Flexible Schedule
69.9%
274
Health/Medical Insurance
85.2%
334
Disability Insurance
64.5%
253
Life Insurance
66.1%
259
Flexible Medical Spending (e.g. Medical FSA or Health Savings Account HSA)
57.7%
226
Flexible Dependent Care Spending (e.g. Dependent FSA)
40.6%
159
Domestic Partner Benefits
38.3%
150
Family Leave (Maternity/Paternity/Partner/Adoption)
66.6%
261
Personal Time Off
63.8%
250
Dependent Care/Child Care/Babysitting
9.7%
38
Stock Options/Purchase Plan
30.6%
120
401K or Other Investment Plan
65.1%
255
Pension Plan
20.9%
82
Other Profit Sharing Plan
12.2%
48
Professional Training on the Job
47.2%
185
Professional Dues Reimbursement
21.7%
85
Tuition Reimbursement
38.0%
149
Union Membership
2.0%
8
Health Club/Gym Membership
24.0%
94
Transportation/Commuting Reimbursement
28.1%
110
Meals/Entertainment
13.8%
54
Corporate Discount Program
32.1%
126
Show replies Describe above benefits or enter additional items:
24
18. How long have you worked at your present job?
  answered question
428
 
 skipped question
7
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
under 3 months
7.5%
32
3-6 months
8.2%
35
6-9 months
5.1%
22
9-12 months
6.8%
29
1-2 years
22.9%
98
2-3 years
21.0%
90
3-4 years
11.0%
47
4-5 years
5.1%
22
over 5 years
12.4%
53
19. How long have you worked in your current field? (combine time worked at your current and past positions in this field.)
  answered question
428
 
 skipped question
7
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
under 1 year
2.1%
9
1-2 years
7.9%
34
2-3 years
5.6%
24
3-4 years
8.9%
38
4-5 years
8.4%
36
5-6 years
7.9%
34
6-7 years
3.7%
16
7-8 years
5.8%
25
8-9 years
6.1%
26
9-10 years
11.9%
51
over 10 years
31.5%
135
20. How many people does your company employ?
  answered question
425
 
 skipped question
10
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
Self-employed
9.9%
42
2-5 employees
2.6%
11
6-10 employees
4.9%
21
11-25 employees
4.2%
18
26-50 employees
7.1%
30
51-300 employees
20.7%
88
301-750 employees
9.9%
42
751-3000 employees
10.1%
43
over 3000 employees
30.6%
130
21. How many people perform Information Architecture related tasks:
  answered question
422
 
 skipped question
13
Number of People
 
 1 (just me) 2-5 6-10 11-20 > 20 Response
Count
In your workgroup 30.5% (128)
46.5% (195)
 14.1% (59) 5.5% (23) 3.3% (14)
419
In your company 19.1% (79)
34.9% (144)
 16.0% (66) 10.2% (42) 19.9% (82)
413
22. Where do you physically work?
  answered question
430
 
 skipped question
5
  Never 1-25% 26-50% 51-75% 76-99% 100% Rating
Average		 Response
Count
At home 15.3% (60)
65.6% (257)
 6.9% (27) 4.3% (17) 6.6% (26) 1.3% (5)
2.25
392
Own office
90.2% (257)
 2.5% (7) 2.8% (8) 0.4% (1) 2.5% (7) 1.8% (5)
1.28
285
Employer/Company offices 8.5% (33) 6.4% (25) 6.7% (26) 13.3% (52)
46.7% (182)
 18.5% (72)
4.39
390
Client office/premises
50.2% (163)
 33.8% (110) 7.4% (24) 3.7% (12) 3.7% (12) 1.2% (4)
1.81
325
Shared office/coworking with others
79.6% (226)
 10.9% (31) 1.1% (3) 1.8% (5) 2.8% (8) 3.9% (11)
1.49
284
Other (airport, car, train, cafe)
57.8% (177)
 41.5% (127) 0.7% (2) 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0)
1.43
306
23. Where do you work geographically? If you travel a lot, where is your base of operations? (U.S. regions are based on U.S. Census regions with the addition of Alaska & Hawaii as a separate category)
  answered question
428
 
 skipped question
7
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
Africa
0.2%
1
Asia (except India)
0.9%
4
India
0.9%
4
Australia and Pacific Rim
3.0%
13
Canada
8.6%
37
Central America, Mexico, Caribbean
0.5%
2
EU (except the UK)
5.6%
24
United Kingdom
6.8%
29
Non-EU Europe  
0.0%
0
Middle East
0.5%
2
South America
2.1%
9
US: Northeast (includes D.C.)
25.5%
109
US: South (Texas through Delaware)
9.6%
41
US: Midwest (Eastern Plains and Midwest states)
12.1%
52
US: West (Pacific and Mountain States)
23.4%
100
US: Alaska & Hawaii
0.2%
1
24. Are you located in or near a major metropolitan area? (Note: we know this is subjective, but give it your best shot)
  answered question
432
 
 skipped question
3
  Response
Percent		 Response
Count
Yes
95.6%
413
No
4.4%
19
25. If "yes" to the previous question, what is the name of this city?
  answered question
403
 
 skipped question
32
  Response
Count
Show replies
403
26. Please use this space to provide any additional information, clarification or thoughts on salaries and compensation in the field of Information Architecture.
  answered question
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