Transcript AMWA Salary Survey 2002

AMWA Salary Survey 2007
Analysis of Data
Tinker Gray
Cindy Hamilton
Copyright 2007, American Medical Writers Association
All rights reserved
Disclosure
• No funding was received for this survey.
• Tinker Gray has no conflict of interest to
disclose.
• Cindy Hamilton is a freelance writer who
considers the salary survey when setting
fees and hourly rates.
History
Number of participants
2000
1822
1800
1811
1704
1600
1320
1400
1200
1000
886
800
600
400
200
0
1989
1994
2002
2004
2007
Overview
• Methods
• Results
 Demographics
 Income for employees
 Regression analysis
 Pharmaceutical and biotechnology
companies
 Income for freelances
• Discussion and summary
Methods
• Data collection
 Between April 18 and May 12, 2007
 Through independent survey Web site
• Notification
 AMWA e-mail update in March and April 2007
 Notice in AMWA Journal March 2007
 E-mailed to 5,370 members (~ 10% returned
undeliverable)
Definition: Employed by a company,
individual, or institution
• You are employed
 part-time or full-time
 by a company, institution, or individual
 either hourly, salaried, or by contract.
• The employer pays social security taxes
and deducts state and federal taxes from
your pay.
Definition: Freelance work
• You do work for hire by a company or
individual.
• You pay all of your own social security
taxes, and state and federal taxes are not
deducted from the pay you receive from
your client.
Definition: Employment
• Full-time employment:
 You work 32 hours or more per week
• Part-time employment:
 You work 32 hours or fewer per week
Definition: Income
• Total income: For employment by a company,
institution, or individual, report your total income
before deducting taxes.
• Gross income: For freelance work, report the
total amount of money collected from clients.
• Net income: For freelance work, report the
amount of income before deducting taxes and
retirement contributions and after subtracting
deductible expenses such as insurance,
subcontracting, and equipment.
Methods (cont’d)
• Questions pertained to salary and work
status for 2006.
• All questions required an answer.
• Some people stopped responding in the
middle of the survey; therefore, the total
number of responses varied slightly for each
question.
Overview
• Methods
• Results
 Demographics
 Income for employees
 Regression analysis
 Pharmaceutical companies
 Income for freelances
• Discussion and summary
Results: Number of Responses
By Type of Question
Response Type
2004
2007
1,811 (38%)
1,704 (33%)
Demographics
1,774
1,664
Description of work
1,751
1,650
Salary information
1,735
1,628
Employment
Demographics
• Men

Number: 281 (17%)

Mean age: 46.8 ± 11.5 years
• Women

Number: 1,383 (83%)

Mean age: 45.1 ± 10.3 years
Predominant Chapters*
Chapter
Number (%)
AMWA
Survey
Delaware Valley
887 (16.2)
238 (14.4)
New York
New England
651 (11.9)
547 (10.0)
167 (10.1)
157 (9.5)
Mid-Atlantic
324 (5.9)
136 (8.2)
Greater Chicago
307 (5.6)
96 (5.8)
*All chapters represented
Region of Primary Work
• NY, PA, NJ, DE, Eastern Canada: 30%
• Pacific NW, CA, HI: 14.6%
• Southeast US, MD, DC: 12.8%
• Midwest: 13.2%
• MA, CT, RI, VT, NH, ME: 8.9%
Highest Educational Level
Associate’s Degree or Below
2%
Advanced
Degree
33%
30%
35%
Master’s Degree
Bachelor’s
Degree
Field of Highest Degree
•Science (39.7%)
•Communication (3.8%)
•Liberal Arts (11.4%) •Public Health (3.3%)
•Journalism (4.9%)
•Nursing (1.8%)
•Pharmacy (4.8%)
•Technical Writing (3.2%)
•Medicine (4.1%)
•Medical Writing (1.0%)
•Other (24.3%)
Years in Biomedical Communication
Mean number of
years ± SD
• All: 10.5 ± 8.3
>25
21 − 25
• Men: 10.8 ± 8.8
• Women: 10.4 ± 8.2
• Some change in
percentages in groups
since 2004 survey
• <5 year group
changed from 23% to
35%
16 − 20
11 − 15
<5
6%
6%
11%
35%
14%
28%
5 − 10
Predominant Source of Income
Employment Type
AMWA
2004
Survey
2007
Survey
Employee
Not
available
1,976 (35%)
1,215
(67%)
596 (33%)
1,183
(69%)
521 (31%)
Freelance
Overview
• Methods
• Results
 Demographics
 Income for employees
 Regression analysis
 Pharmaceutical company
 Income for freelances
• Discussion and summary
Work Situation:
Employed by Company or Organization
• Number of respondents: 1,170
• Full-time: 1,107 (90%), including 54
respondents who do part-time freelance work
• Part-time: 66 (10%), including 19 respondents
who do part-time freelance work
Hours worked:
Employed by Company or Organization
• Full-time: Mean 43.2 + 6.3 hours/week
(range, 32 to 90)
• Part-time: Mean, 23.0 + 6.2 hours/week
(range 10 to 30)
Educational Level*
Degree
Women
n
%
22
2
n
2
%
0.7
Bachelor’s
473
34
74
26
Master’s
480
35
80
28
Advanced
404
29
125
45
Associate’s
or below
Men
*Employed full-time by company or organization
Mean Income
By Educational Level and Sex*
Degree
Associate’s
or below
Women
n
Mean
n
Men
Mean
13
68,769
2
71,500
Bachelor’s
322
73,522
53
90,640
Master’s
300
77,339
60
86,240
Advanced
226
91,797
83
101,872
*Employed full-time by company or organization
Primary Employer
Medical Device Co
Biotech
Company
4% 9%
9%
University or
Medical School
12%
OTHER
25% Pharmaceutical
CRO
Company
7%
Research or
Education
Health
Care Org
4%
7%
4%
Association/
11%
Professional Soc
Communication or Journal or
Publisher
Advertising
5%
Income by Primary Employer
Employer
n
Mean
%
change*
102 102,297 94,500
N/A
Biotech
company
Pharmaceutical 286 97,807
Medical device
35 85,451
company
Communication 95 83,338
or advertising
*Since 2004 survey
Median
93,000
86,000
+12
N/A
70,000
+1.5
Income by Primary Employer (cont’d)
Employer
n
Mean
Clinical research 87
organization
76,620
%
change*
72,600
+7.6
Medical Ed
company
96
77,088
75,000
N/A
Web/medical
company
10
73,500
76,000
N/A
Government
Other
22
63
71,014
76,295
75,600
73,000
N/A
+10.7
*Since 2004 survey
Median
Income by Primary Employer (cont’d)
Employer
n
Mean
Median
%
change*
Association or
professional society
36
68,574
64,000
+12
University or medical
school
Research or educational organization
Health care
organization
Journalism or
publishing
85
64,438
60,000
+6.9
46
63,443
60,000
+8.3
66
65,637
63,000
+8.9
38
58,692
55,500
+1.5
*Since 2004 survey
Income by Region
Region
n
Mean
Outside US and
34 88,809
Canada
NY, PA, NJ, DE,
312 90,744
Eastern Canada
AK, WA, OR, CA, HI, 155 91,537
Western Canada
MA, CT, RI, VT, NH,
92 83,670
ME
WI, MI, OH, IN, IL
133 78,044
*Since 2004 survey
Median
%
change*
92,000
+14.1
83,000
+12.3
84,000
+12
85,000
+5.3
76,000
+4.6
Income by Region (cont’d)
Region
n
Mean
Median
%
change*
KY,TN, NC, VA, WV, 134 73,317 68,000
+8.0
MD, DC
ND, SD, NE, MN, IA
29
76,331 71,000
+25%
AL, MS, GA, FL SC
51
71,658 65,000
+10.7
KA, OK, TX, MO,
AR, LA
74
66,856 63,500
+20.7
ID, MT, WY, NV, UT,
CO, AZ, NM
42
61,298 58,000
+8.3%
*Since 2004 survey
Income by Job Category
Category
n
Supervision or
administration
Writing/editing/
supervision
Writing (primarily)
Writing/editing
(equal mixture)
*Since 2004 survey
Mean
Median
61
%
change*
120,629 107,000
+3.2
234
99,004
90,000
N/A
206
80,441
78,250
+5.7
266
73,954
70,000
+1.9
Income by Job Category (cont’d)
Category
n
Mean
Median
Editing
(primarily)
172
64,500
60,000
%
change*
+8.9
Research and
writing
75
69,099
67,500
-1.5
Education
11
63,000
60,000
-14.0
Other
45
91,021
94,800
+18.5%
*Since 2004 survey
Income by Employment Level
Level
n
Mean
Median
%
change*
Entry
76 60,167 59,000
Middle
No supervision 425 69,340 65,000
Supervision
*Since 2004 survey
167 90,275 90,000
+24%
+9.6
+21.6
Income by Employment Level (cont’d)
Level
n
Mean
Median
Senior
No management 236 85,950 84,000
Management
148 116,208 105,000
*Since 2004 survey
%
change*
+8.6
+16.8
Mean Income by Company Size
Number of Employees
< 50
n
125
Mean
75,972
50 – 100
96
71,083
101 – 200
119
75,123
201 – 300
63
81,198
301 – 500
57
78,911
> 500
595
87,061
Mean Income and AMWA Certificate
Certificate
None
n
779
Mean
79,917
Core Curriculum*
227
85,432
61
99,897
(21% of respondents vs. 18% of
AMWA members)
Advanced
(5.7% of respondents vs. 3% of
members)
*Certificate versus no certificate, P <0.0001
Income in Relation to Inflation
• Mean income
 2004 Survey
 2007 Survey reported
by full-time employees
at companies or
organizations
• Inflation over 3 years
• Increase in income
*www.Inflationdata.com
$74,016
$82,232
9.3%*
11.1%
Overview
• Methods
• Results
 Demographics
 Income for employees
 Regression analysis
 Pharmaceutical company
 Income for freelances
• Discussion and summary
Analysis of Factors Affecting
Income
• Regression analysis with interaction was
performed for respondents who worked
full-time at companies or organizations.
• Regression analysis shows factors that
are predictive of income level.
Factors Considered in Analysis
• Educational level (less than bachelor’s,
bachelor’s, master’s, or any advanced
degree)
• Sex
• Years in biomedical communication
• Age
• AMWA certificate (of any kind)
Regression Analysis (cont’d)
• Like employers on basis of average income
 Group 1: Pharmaceutical company or
biotechnology company
 Group 2: Medical device company or
communications or advertising companies
 Group 3: All other employers (university or
medical school, association or professional
society, journal or publisher, health care
organization, and research organization)
Results of Regression Analysis
in 1059 subjects

High correlation between age and years of
experience, so years of experience was used
for analysis.

AMWA certificate was not significant in the
model.

Men earn more than women, even when they
have similar experience and education.

R2 = 0.5210, so model explains 52% of
variance in income.
Regression Analysis (cont’d)
Associate’s degree or less = $33,700
+
$28,950 pharmaceutical
or biotech
+
$14,475 medical device,
communications, advertising
+
$1,789 each year of experience
+
$9,294
Bachelor’s
degree
+
$18,588
Master’s
degree
+
$8,984 for being male
+
$27,882
Advanced
degree
Other Factors Added to the Regression
• Employment level (6 levels)
• Job category (7 categories)
• Included each factor separately in 2
analyses
Regression Analysis - Employment Level
Associate’s degree or less = $24,087
+
$29,730 pharmaceutical
or biotech
+
+
$8,478
Bachelor’s
degree
+
$25,434
Advanced
degree
$14,865 medical device,
communications, advertising
+
$991 each year of experience
+
Mid-nonsuper
$8,449
+
$16,956
Master’s
degree
+
$7,627 for being male
+
Mid-super
$25,478
+
Senior-nonsuper
$19,774
+
Senior-manage
$48,011
Regression Analysis - Job Category
Associate’s degree or less = $33,357
+
$26,468 pharmaceutical
or biotech
+
+
$8173
Bachelor’s
degree
+
$24,579
Advanced
degree
$13,234 medical device,
communications, advertising
+
$1,480 each year of experience
Edit
$5,080
+
$16,346
Master’s
degree
+
$8,799 for being male
+
Write
$3,286
+
Write-super
$17,558
+
Super-admin
$37,852
Closing the Income Gap
Between Men and Women?
% Difference
100
80
60
40
30
27
22
17
18
2004
2007
20
0
1989
1994
2002
Survey Year
Overview
• Methods
• Results
 Demographics
 Income for employees
 Regression analysis
 Pharmaceutical company
 Income for freelances
• Discussion and summary
Pharmaceutical Company:
Mean Income by Experience and Education
Men / Women
Advanced
Degree
Master’s
Degree
88,333 / 90,126
77,600 / 76,857
121,200 / 111,442
105,400 / 95,112
11 to 15
* / 123,000
* / 95,333
>15
* / 137687
* / 128,179
Years of
Experience
<5
5 to 10
* Fewer than 5 responses
Pharmaceutical Company:
Mean Income by Employment Level
Employment Level
Men
Women
Entry
73,600
67,500
Middle
No supervision
Supervision
90,519
110,000
86,563
110,319
Senior
No supervision
Supervision
101,272
145,100
97,935
137,056
Biotechnology Company:
Mean Income by Experience and Education
Men / Women
Years of
Experience
<5
5 to 10
Advanced
Degree
Master’s
Degree
114,150 / 90,882
87,780 / 70,485
* / 135,944
* / 95,764
* Fewer than 5 responses
Biotechnology Company:
Mean Income by Employment Level
Employment Level
Entry
Middle
No supervision
Supervision
Senior
No supervision
Supervision
* Fewer than 5 responses
Men
Women
*
69,905
84,741
141,250
81,573
116,705
117,116
161,333
89,206
152,625
Overview
• Methods
• Results
 Demographics
 Income for employees
 Regression analysis
 Pharmaceutical company
 Income for freelances
• Discussion and summary
Work Situation: Freelance
2004
2007
818
568
Full-time
376 (46%)
206 (36%)
Years experience
(range)
12.4 ± 8.5
(1 – 46)
12.9 ± 8.7
(1 – 46)
Respondents
Mean Years of Age and Experience
Employee
Freelance
43.8
48.4
Women
43.7
47.5
Men
44.0
53.7
9.2
12.9
Women
9.2
12.6
Men
9.1
14.9
Age (all)
Experience (all)
How Freelances Bill Their Clients
Usual Billing Method
2004
2007
By the hour
387 (55%)
364 (64%)
By the job
240 (34%)
143 (25%)
By unit of work
14 (2%)
39 (7%)
Other
63 (9%)
26 (5%)
How Freelances Bill for Revisions
Usual Billing Method
2004
2007
By the hour
379 (55%)
312 (55%)
By the job
148 (21%)
169 (30%)
10 (1%)
13 (2%)
158 (23%)
45 (8%)
By the page
Not applicable
How Freelances Bill for Revisions
(cont’d)
Number of Revisions
Included in Fee
2004
2007
Zero
10 (1%)
11 (1.9%)
One
182 (26%)
143 (25.2%)
Two
144 (21%)
137 (24.1%)
Three or more
44 (7%)
26 (4.6%)
Not applicable
315 (45%)
251 (44.2%)
How Freelances Charge for Rush Jobs
• New question: “If you do charge a rush
fee, what percentage do you charge? (If
you do not charge rush fee, enter a
zero.)”
• Answers
 No extra charge: 429 (76%)
 Range of charges: 0.05% to 200%
Do Freelances Reduce Their Rates?
• No: 34%
• Reasons for reducing rates*
 Believe in/care for cause: 24%
 Expand portfolio: 19.9%
 Get acquainted: 17.8%
 Volume discount: 16.7%
 Desperate for work: 11%
 Beginner rate: 7.7%
* Participants could give multiple reasons.
Most Recent Pay Raise
Other
12%
<2004
5%
2004
6%
17%
Never
23%
37%
2006
2005
Operating Expenses
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Health insurance: 36%
Licensing: 29%
Disability insurance: 15%
Errors of omission/liability insurance: 14%
Rental space: 10%
Other: 29%
None: 29%
Freelance Income*
• Mean gross income: $119,295
• Mean net income (gross income – deductible
expenses): $93,306
• Net income as percentage of gross: 78%
* Calculated in 196 freelance participants who reported both
gross and net income.
Mean Freelance* Income
By Educational Level and Sex
Degree
n
Women
Gross / Net
Bachelor’s
57
84,864 / 66,971
11 146,198 / 106,181
Master’s
57
117,384 / 85,406
9 143,888 / 107,444
Advanced
49 148,253 / 114,692 13 146,642 / 131,143
*Full-time freelance
n
Men
Gross / Net
Net Freelance* Income by Job Category
Job Category
n
Mean
Median
% change*
Writing (primarily)
93
110,232
93,000
+42.8
Editing (primarily)
14
46,071
43,000
+23.7
Writing and editing
63
75,891
65,000
+32.8
15
76,620
65,000
+45.3
11
97,181
58,000
+215
(equal mixture)
Research and
writing
Other
*Since 2004 survey
Differences Between 2004 and 2007
Respondents
Years experience
(range)
Full-time
2004
2007
818
568
12.4 ± 8.5
(1 – 46)
376 (46%)
12.9 ± 8.7
(1 – 46)
206 (36%)
How Profitable was Freelance Business
Compared with Previous 2 Years?
•
•
•
•
Better than average: 37%
Average: 27%
Worse than average: 16%
Not applicable (less than 3 years
experience): 20%
Freelance Hourly Rates
Job Category
Full-time
Writing
n
Mean Median Mode
206
97
100
100
Editing
Part-time
Writing
149
80
75
60
266
84
85
100
Editing
219
64
60
75
Mean Freelance Hourly Rates
In 2004 Versus 2007 Survey
2004
2007
% increase
Full-time
Writing
85
97
14
Editing
66
80
21
Writing
79
84
6
Editing
63
64
2
Part-time
Overview
• Methods
• Results
 Demographics
 Income for employees
 Regression analysis
 Pharmaceutical company
 Income for freelances
• Discussion and summary
Satisfaction With Work
Mostly Unsatisfied Very Unsatisfied
5% 1%
Satisfied 19%
30%
45%
Mostly Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Satisfaction With Pay
Very Unsatisfied
4%
Mostly Unsatisfied
14%
Satisfied
23%
Very Satisfied
25%
34%
Mostly Satisfied
Correlation between satisfaction with work and pay (R2 = 0.4373; P < 0.0001)
Survey Limitations
• Response rate in 2007 (33%) was lower than in 2004
(45%).
• Some employers, especially pharmaceutical
companies, instructed employees NOT to answer the
survey, which also occurred with the last 2 surveys.
This might have suppressed average income in this
survey.
• Other surveys conducted by AMWA may have
reduced response rate to this survey.
Summary
• Income for biomedical communicators is keeping
pace with inflation and income is related to
education and experience.
• Men still generally earn more than women,
despite consideration of factors such as
educational level and years of experience.

The income gap between women and men for
this survey was similar to what was reported in
2004.
Acknowledgments
• AMWA members who participated in the
survey
• Kanitha Andersen, MS for providing the
statistical analysis of that data
• Committee members who helped
improve and expand the questions of the
survey
Committee Members
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lori Alexander
Elizabeth Davies
Kathy Gilbert
Carol Gunderson
Allison Millard
Trish Rawn
Laura Singer
Jeannette Tomanka