Comments on: WritersUA Publishes 2007 Salary Survey; 73k Is Average

By: Tom Barr

Tom Barr — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 04:42:24 +0000

All salary surveys will have some error or exaggeration so a number should be consulted for sanity check. I find many employers use salary.com and others. It can be a very good guide when considering a relocation.

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 02:43:58 +0000

Although some respondents might have inflated their salaries to get more leverage for the tech writing industry average, if their sample was large enough, maybe it balanced out and honesty won. Like you, I filled out the survey accurately.

Since I’m in Florida (second from the bottom), and you’re in Utah (not even on the list), it’s hard to comprehend how the averages in Northern California and Massachusetts can be so high. But there’s a cost of living factor not included in the graphs. As a graduate student, I was in NYC living on a salary of 45K a year and residing in Harlem and the Bronx. Had I been in Florida, I could have had a condo near the beach.

Even with cost of living adjustments, some areas simply value IT more than others.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:35:54 +0000

Tom,

You know, I filled out that salary survey, but as I looked over the responses today, I began to wonder, “what motivation do people have to respond with accurate information?” I mean, truth be told, if we all inflated our numbers a bit, wouldn’t it help next time pay-discussions came around? We could point to the website that says “U-A Writers make 72k a year.”

Now I want to be clear, I responded honestly to the survey, but I have to wonder if the survey results are accurate when they only rely on self-reporting, especially in a case where inflated self-reporting could help benefit individual survey respondents.

I guess what I’m asking is do you think the numbers are inflated or do you think they are pretty accurate?