Barry's Blog - Salary Survey Results
Table of Contents:I. Salary Survey Results
II. 1906 facts
Hello everybody.
"And the beat goes on..............."
I. Sarary Survey Results:
"Give it to me one more time..........."
133 people completed last week's Salary Survey. This was an unscientific survey, meant only to "sample" the current salary / compensation of arts administrators. And while there were obvious design flaws, still the results are interesting.
First, the sample pool was surprisingly balanced and representative of the composition of the arts field, as to discipline, budget size and number of employees. The vast majority of respondents were employed by organizations that have been in existence at least ten years; slightly over half the sampled organiztions had a budget increase in the past year; and the respondents were fairly evenly divided as to job areas (with Executive Directors the largest category - probably due to the fact that many organizations in the smaller budget and number of employees categories have only an Executive Director).
Here are the results from those sections:
Type of organization:
Museum........................................... 6.0%
Gallery.............................................6.8%
Artist Service Provider.......................11.3%
Arts Organization Service Provider.......17.3%
Performing Arts Group - MUSIC.............21.1%
Performing Arts Group - THEATER..........12.8%
Performing Arts Group - DANCE.............10.5%
Film / Media Arts.................................0.8%
Folk Arts...........................................3.0%
Literary Arts......................................1.5%
Mixed Media.......................................2.3%
Presenter..........................................12%
Facilities...........................................3.8%
City / Municipal.................................10.5%
Advocacy Group................................1.5%
Arts Education..................................19.5%
Approximate annual budget of the organization:
$250,00 or less.............................22%
$250,000 to $500,000.....................15.2%
$500,000 to One million dollars........12.1%
One million to Three million dollars..19.7%
Three to five million dollars.............9.8%
Five to ten million dollars................6.8%
Over ten million dollars..................14.4%
In the past year, has the budget:
Increased..........................................52.6%
Decreased.........................................18%
Stayed the same as the previous year.....29.3%
Number of employees:
One................8.4%
1 to 3............14.5%
3 to 5............13.7%
5 to 10...........16.8%
10 to 20.........15.3%
20 or more......31.3%
Length of time organization has been in existence:
Two years or less ....0.8%
2 to 5 years ............6.1%
5 to 10 years...........6.1%
10 years or more .....87.1%
Job position:
Executive Director.......39.7%
Development officer....15.1%
Marketing officer..........8.7%
Program officer...........27.8%
Finance officer ............7.1%
Creative area.............12.7%
When asked what their current annual salary was, over fifty percent indicated their salary was $50,000 or less, with 34% in the $30 to $50,000 classificatiion. Almost three quarters of the organizations provided health coverage, while slightly over half did not have any kind of retirement package.
Current annual salary?
$30,000 or less............23.1%
$30,000 to $50,000.......34.6%
$50,000 to $60,000.......14.6%
$60,000 to $75,000.......10.8%
$75,000 to $100,000......10%
$100,000 to $125,000......4.6%
Over $125,000..............2.3%
(skipped this question) 3
Does your organization provide heath coverage?
Yes .........74%
No............26%
(skipped this question) 2
Does your organization provide some kind of retirement plan?
Yes..........49.2%
No............50.8%
(skipped this question) 1
Interestingly (and perhaps indicative of systemic turnover), nearly half the respondents have been in their jobs less than three years.
Also interesting is the fact that nearly 41% of the pool indicated they got a raise in the past year (while almost 31% said they have never gotten a raise. Of course those people probably fall into the category of having been on the job, less than three years).
Length of time in current position:
One year or less.....21.8%
1 to 3 years............27.1%
3 to 5 years...........16.5%
5 to 10 years..........15.8%
Over 10 years........18.8%
When did you last get a 'raise'?
In the past year.....40.2%
1 to 2 years ago.....12.9%
2 to 4 years ago ....10.6%
Over 4 years ago ....5.3%
Never..................31.1%
(skipped this question) 1
When asked what the respondents thought would be a "fair" salary (admitedly a loaded question and of limited benefit), the largest percent response was "an additional $10,000 per year).
What do you think would be fair compensation for your position?
The same as I am currently being paid.....16.9%
An additional $10,000 per year.........35.4%
An additional $15,000 per year.........16.9%
An additional $20,000 per year.........16.2%
An additional $25,000 per year..........6.2%
An additional $30,000 per year..........5.4%
An additional $50,000 per year..........3.1%
(skipped this question) 3
Finally, some 45% indicated that if they don't get an increase in compensation soon, they will have to seek employment elsewhere. That seems a relatively high percentage.
If I don't get an increase in compensation within the next year, I may have to find other employment.
Yes........45.9%
No..........54.9%
Of course, this kind of survey raises more questions than it answers: What is the correlation between increased budgets and raises, if any? What is the correlation between length in one's position, and recent salary increases, and both to the expressed need for more money or the necessity of looking for other work? Which discipline based sector is the most satisfied? The least satisfied? Which discipline sector is the best paid? The least well paid? Is the provision of health care and / or retirement benefits related to the budget size of the organization? Doubtless there are numereous other questions for which it would be beneficial to have the answers.
Increased research, opinion sampling and other data collection (of a more precise and scientific rigidity) would be of value to the field, and perhaps we should begin to address how we might systemically provide that kind of tool across the field.
II. SF Earthquake Anniversary
"Whole lot a shakin' going on............."
April 18th marked the 100th Anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. What was life like 100 years ago? Here are some facts to ponder:
The average life expectancy in the US was 47 years.
Only 14 percent of the homes in the US had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
There were only 8,000 cars in the US, and only 144 miles of paved roads.
Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. (With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.)
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
The average wage in the US was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births in the US took place at home.
Ninety percent of all US doctors had no college education.
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
The American flag had 45 stars. (Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.)
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 US adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire US
One wonders what life might possibly be like in 2106.
Have a great week.
Don't forget to register for the Americans for the Arts Conference June 3-5 in Milwaukee. The HESSENIUS GROUP goes live on June 3rd as an opening plenary session. Click here for more info: http://www.artsusa.org/events/2006/convention/010.asp
Next month we will preview the convention group issues in this blog.
Don't Quit!
Barry
