Rachel, am I getting a fair salary?

Dear Rachel,
I’ve been in media five years now and really enjoy the work, but I wonder whether I will ever make any money. I am certainly not making any now. So I have two questions, and the first is, how do I know if I am underpaid in my job as a planner? I work in the Midwest. The second is whether there is any really chance of making really good money working in media agencies. I sense that I am at the point where I should decide whether I want to stay in media or find a new line of work that pays better. This will help me decide. Sign me Thinking of Dollars

Dear Thinking,
Smart decision and the right time to be making it.

Media training can be a real asset in other related fields, but as you suggest, at some point, with so many years in, it will be too late to switch to another field without taking a real hit on your salary.

Let me address your second question first: Can you ever make any really money on the buying side of media?

The answer depends on what you think real money is. A senior media person can make $200,000-plus. Some make a lot more.

But the direct answer to your question is no, probably not.

Media has never paid great and it probably never will. Most people who get in it and stay in it do so because they love the work. And when you think about it, that’s the best reason to be in any career. (Think of all the unhappy lawyers you know.)

So if money is real important to you, you ought to be looking elsewhere.

As to your first question, how your pay stacks up, there are a huge number of variables but you can get a good sense of where you stand by looking at two recent Media Life features on media salaries in Chicago and Boston.

Each gives general salary ranges, based on data provided by O’Hare & Associates, the New York media recruiting firm.

Consider that smaller agencies in smaller markets are going to be at the low end of the scale or below.

Another big factor to take into consideration is cost of living in your market.

Media people working in New York are typically better paid than people in other markets, but the cost of living in New York more than wipes out that advantage, as Media Life pointed out in the profile of the Chicago market.

Here’s how not to determine whether you are being paid fairly: Ask your co-workers.

They may be great and kind souls but when it comes to money great and kind souls have a way of growing horns and telling whoppers. They exaggerate their most recent pay raises while at the time telling you they too are underpaid.

By the same token, don’t expect management to open up. What they pay various people is a well-kept secret for more reasons than we have time to go into.

There are two trustworthy ways to determine whether you are being paid what you are worth.

First, talk to headhunters who know your market.  They are in the talent salary business.

Second, put yourself on the market. Shoot out resumes to places you think you’d like to work. Go for interviews.

Consider that the ultimate value of your skill set is not your current salary. Your current salary reflects what your value was when you got your last raise.

Your true value is what your talents will fetch in today’s market.

Go for it, and best of luck.

Tags: ask rachel, career advice, media buyers, media planners, rachel, rachel speaks