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Survey: Salary Satisfaction Rising for Buyers, Planners

Media buyers and planners feel more satisfied with their pay and benefits than they did last year, with 41.4 percent of respondents in a Media Life salary survey saying they were satisfied with their salary and benefits, compared to just 34 percent who said they were satisfied last year. Only 42.5 percent described themselves as less than satisfied, compared to 48 percent last year.

The biggest gains in salary satisfaction were at big and small agencies, while planners and buyers at mid-size agencies do not report being any happier.

While happiness with compensation has grown, compensation itself doesn’t seem to be growing at a tremendous rate. Respondents didn’t report any major jumps in salary. Forty percent responded that people are getting raises, but those raises are about what they received the year before, while 39 percent responded that salaries are rising modestly, with top people getting decent raises but no trickle-down effect.

Just over 16 percent of respondents felt they had more bargaining power, agreeing with the statement, “I have more leverage this year than last. My agency is willing to pay more and I received a nice bump.” Last year that figure was 15.9 percent.