Quality Progress

2012 Salary Survey

About Max Christian Hansen• President, Bright Hat Communications, Inc.• Specialties:

– Oral and Written Communications– Ghost-writing: technology and business strategy– Data Quality– Entrepreneurship, tech startups

• Educated: – Northwestern University– MIT Sloan School of Management

• Clients include:– Hewlett Packard, Cambridge Incubator, Harbor Research, Media

General, Domtar Fine Papers, Weyerhaeuser Forest Products, Sun Microsystems

• Publication venues:– Harvard Business Review– Conference on Information Quality, MIT

Summary:

1: Overview of the survey

2: Determinants of salary

3: Value of education

Overview of the Survey Reports

• Report 1– Overview article - focus on education

• Report 2– Introductory essay– Part 1: Employees of organizations - 20 sections– Part 2: Independent consultants - four sections

• Within each section:– One or more probable determinants of salary– Separate treatments of U.S., Canada– Other countries in a few sections

NOTE: Only four sections are in QP; the rest are in online document.

Salaries are Stalled

Yearly changes in salary for full-time workers in the U.S.

2009 2010 2011 2012

Mean salary $83,442 $85,383 $87,086 $86,743

Percent increase in mean 2.41% 2.33% 1.99% -0.28%

Median salary 80,000 81,816 83,986 83,000

Percent increase in median 3.14% 2.27% 2.65% -1.17%

Note: Change in mean salary not statistically significant (p > 0.6).

Continued Economic Recovery

• What we asked:– What steps has your

organization taken?• Pay cuts• Salary freeze• No bonuses• Furloughs• Layoffs• Hiring freezes• Reduced or cut 401K (or

similar) employer contributions

Reports of Cost-cutting Measures

2009 2010 2011 20120%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Percentage of respondents reporting any cost-cutting measures by their companies

Employees Not Expecting a Raise (U.S. and Canada)

Determinants of Salary

• Supervisory responsibility• Experience in quality• Education level• Education combined with

experience in quality

Salary by Number of Employees Overseen (U.S.)

Experience in Quality (U.S.)

Level of Education and Experience (U.S.)

Salary # of ASQ Certifications (U.S.)

Control LeversVariable Controllability Effectiveness

Education level Highly controllableHigh, especially in combination with experience in quality. See sections 16-17.

Certifications / Six Sigma training

Highly controllable

Variable, but very high when certification matched to position. See section 4. Also see “Land the Big One” on page 20 of the December, 2011 Quality Progress.

Supervisory responsibility Dependent on "soft skills"High effect. Supervising others brings clear rewards. See section 10.

Eligibility for overtime Somewhat controllableUsually a byproduct of other factors: overall responsibility, supervisory duties, etc. See section 7.

Years in quality Stick with it!High, especially in combination with education. See sections 3, 9, & 17.

Control Levers (continued)

Variable Controllability Effectiveness

CompanyDependent on circumstances. Geography may constrain choice of company.

Bigger companies often pay better. See section 11.

Industry Dependent on circumstances"Hot" industries tend to come and go, but long-range disparities do exist.

Geographic location Dependent on circumstancesUsually a matter of finding a fit with a company.

Age Stick with it!Salaries tend to increase with age until the highest age brackets. See section 19.

Gender NoneDecreasing with time—gender disparities are smaller in recent years and among recent hires. See section 19.

Years in current position Stick with it!Low. Seniority in a position is not nearly as well-rewarded as experience in the quality profession.

Independent consulting (as it affects salary in regular employment)

Dependent on circumstances Usually low. See text for explanation.

To learn more…About Max Hansen:• Bright Hat Communication, Inc• Toll-free: (866) 496-4135• http://bright-hat.com • Email: mchristianhansen@bright-hat.com

About ASQ and the Salary Survey: • Go to www.QualityProgress.com • Search ASQ’s Knowledge Center @

• www.asq.org/knowledge-center/search/• Contact pbaez@asq.org

To learn more about our Sponsor, go to:• www.meirxrs.com