Canadian salary survey ranks SWO communicators fifth
(posted June 5, 2007)
By Joanna Magee, IABC London member
Have you ever wondered how your salary in London compares to other communicators working in different parts of Canada? The IABC Research Foundation, in partnership with IABC Toronto, recently completed the 2007 IABC Profile Study: Trends in Communication Profession Compensation, designed as a comparative guide for communicators and public relations practitioners.
Between late 2006 and early 2007, IABC members from around the world were invited to participate in an online profile survey that collected information on educational background, sector/industry of employment, years of experience, and salary. Of the 3,370 surveys received, 1,121 were completed by those who indicated they belonged to a Canadian based IABC chapter.
The Canadian survey yielded some interesting results.
Based on a 2006 median base salary, communicators in Ottawa ($80,000), Toronto ($75,000) and Montreal ($75,000) were the top three earners in Canada. Meanwhile, members in the Southwestern Ontario IABC chapters (which include the Golden Horseshoe, Grand Valley and London) placed fifth, with a median base salary average of $69,867, finishing ahead of Edmonton ($66,500), British Columbia ($66,219) and Calgary ($64,954).
If you were an IABC member located in Southwestern Ontario in 2006 and earned a base salary of:
- $54,742, you earned more than 25% of survey respondents
- $69,867, you earned more than 50% of survey respondents
- $83,000, you earned more than 75% of survey respondents
Southwestern Ontario median base salary averages have increased during the last several years; in 2003, the average salary was $52,500. It was also interesting to note that just under one quarter of all respondents (24%) reported being “very satisfied” with their salary level.
A majority of the survey respondents were female (81%), and 79% of all respondents had received some type of university education. In terms time working in the field of communications, 8% of respondents had less than three years of experience, 38 % had 3-10 years of experience, 37% had 10-20 years of experience, and 17% had 20 or more years of experience.
The top areas of communication job focus included corporate communication (22%), internal communication (18%), and external communication (12%). Frequent job titles mentioned were Manager (24%), Director (17%) and Specialist (10%).
The survey also shows the field of communications continues to expand. Ninety-one per cent of respondents indicated that during the last two years, their communication department, practice or firm’s staff size had either increased (52%) or stayed the same (39%), and a majority of respondents (88%), reported an increase in salary over the past two years. And the top three industries most likely to report increases in staff or size were government/military, education and finance/banking.
The full report is posted online, but will be available for IABC members only. Username and password will be required for access. You will find the full report here.
Listen to the one-hour audio webcast donated by CNW Group. Jonathan Yuill, research analyst with Calgary based ResearchWorks, presents the Canadian findings, including salaries by selected demographics - years of experience, education, industry sector, title, accreditation and gender. The one hour presentation includes some datapoints reflecting the Toronto market as well as a comparison between median salaries in the USA, Canada and Outside North America (which includes Asia and Europe). The presentation also includes hourly rates for independents and information related to variable pay.
Marketing Magazine also reported on the results of the salary survey in an online story posted June 19.
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