This question is asked often – What is the average salary? Last September I tackled it & posted some numbers. But it’s like trying to nail down measurement of social media – it’s quite elusive.
On the other hand is it time for Community Managers to start talking about salaries? As this position becomes more prevalent I think it would be helpful for job seekers and company’s alike to have an idea of a salary range.
At present the salaries that I’ve heard of are $50 k and up. Mack Collier was shocked at that reality. He thinks that it should be $100 k. I think he has a good idea of the specturm of tasks that a Community Manager is responsible for: Customer Service, Tech Support, PR, Marketing, web 2.0 trainer, projects, building community, etc.
It also seems prevalent that companies are asking the prospective employee what they’d like for a salary. This leaves the person wondering what is fair. Granted there are many factors that affect a person’s salary: previous experience, location (but does it really? does working remotely affect the salary?), size of company, responsibilities.
So what should the salary be? Is this position a highly skilled position? When companies search for their Community Manager what value do they place on finding someone with proven skills in community building, customer service & knowledge on use of social media tools?
I think it’s a situation where the market hasn’t yet realized the need for this position. I also wonder how many of these newly created Community Manager positions are being filled by bloggers?
Connie – I feel I’m lucky to be in a position now where blogging, reading blogs, Twittering, and the like aren’t seen as frivolous… They’re part of the job. Could that be part of the problem? Is social media seen as a time waster by corporate employers? (Or something that should be done in the employee’s free time?)