Salaries 2014 - where do you stand?

It’s about a year since we looked at salary surveys and what they trend for you. Overall the news looks good. But, it’s still problematic to decide what job title means ‘what’, and, where it fits. General salary surveys seem to have a bias on who they target to get the data based on job title. Now we’ve harked on for years on the plethora of job titles in iMedia let alone the spread of industries the interactive jobs fall into: IT, software development, project management, creative, design, marketing, and so on.

It is wise for people to take time to understand the salary trends in their area to compare how the company is doing in relation to their level of skills and experience. We try to look across several areas but really they may not fit your particular branch of expertise. It would be worth your while deciding on the industry sector your skills fall into irrespective of your actual job title. Often the sector might line up with the area of your qualifications, for example. Then you need to find salary survey information that lines up best for you. It’s not hard to get data through the search engines but restrict them to the UK and recent reports. You’ll be very impressive in your company’s annual review interview if you quote well-recognised reports and appear on top of your information. You’ll find it gives you more confidence in negotiating a raise, for example.

One of the key points to come through in many reports is that companies are concerned about retaining key experienced talent. Do you fall into that category? This gives you an edge in negotiating. It appears also that companies are becoming aware that it isn’t salary alone that aids retention. They need to have a pleasant, responsive and praising culture too. Does this fit with how you see your company? Do you feel valued? Location in the UK drives salaries as well. Do you understand how much your skills are worth around the country?

So, here are some pointers to salary surveys that may suit.

• Monster, the UK recruitment company, still offer salary indications as long as you can find a job title that they use that might fit yours.
• The Guardian Jobs section offers some stats that may help and they show the stats across the regions in the UK that might interest you.
• Payscale gives slightly different information but also check regional differences. We put in the job title, ‘web developer’ for these searches, so you might want to change this to suit.
• IT Jobswatch offer information too. Again we input ‘web developer’ as a target job title, but you may wish to change this and search.
• Computer World has this IT bias in its survey but they have a broader base.
• If you’re in Games development, Develop have a survey that might interest.
• And, if you’re in marketing then Marketing Weekly might suit better.
• If you’re in the mindset to compare your salary internationally – maybe you’re thinking about emigrating, then Robert Half does an annual technology survey of the US and Canada that is interesting.

Let’s hope you’re being valued in all senses of the word. Good luck with the hunt.

The thorny iMedia salary debate!

This topic is always controversial even with well defined industries but we suffer from split identities even now. A lot depends on how you, yourself, define the job area you are in – IT, marketing, creative, business – not by job title either! The job title problem is ongoing for our industry and growing.

2013 has thrown up a few surprises already. In the US, salaries generally seem to be on the rise with hybrid tech/business skills commanding the most. But in the UK the trend still seems to be stagnant or downward. However, the salary surveys do not compare like with like and that's why you need to look carefully at the area the survey says it covers and whether it lines up with your definition of yourself.

Take Computer World's IT survey 2013, for example. It covers some of the iMedia jobs like the back-end database development, the project management roles and the hot tip business intelligent analysts. If you go to the link use the drop down menu for job title – very interesting, just for this. Yes, it's US based but gives a useful comparison based on job title, years of experience and location.

Robert Half International also covers this type of area in the Salary Guide for Technology (for the US and Canada). This has a useful Glossary of job descriptions too covering: Administration, Applications Development, Consulting and Systems Integration, Data/Database Administration, Internet and E-Commerce, Networking/Telecommunications, Operations, Quality Assurance (QA) and Testing, Security, Software Development, Technical Services / Help Desk / Technical Support.

Aquent (UK) worked with the American Marketing Association to produce their salary survey. If you're in marketing-related iMedia jobs then this might make more sense for you. Their findings are mixed, by the way. For a stronger UK perspective try Marketing Weekly and its survey with Ball and Hoolahan (recruitment specialists). They look at about 25 sectors and show comparisons on salaries since 2007.

Are you in gaming? Develop's salary survey might suit you more. But, they find the trend is down – sorry.

Back to America if you consider yourself creative. Robert Half International's Salary Guide Creative, looks at the following categories – Design and Production Interactive, Content Production, Advertising and Marketing, and Public Relations. Over 50 job titles are listed within these areas so it’s really quite comprehensive.

It might be fun to play with Monster's UK salary interactive advisor. We just wonder if it'll really recognise your job title! Good luck.