Technology: Salary analysis
| Level | Average range | Median | Average bonus | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managing director | £108,000 | - | £130,000 | £120,000 | 9% |
| Director | £70,000 | - | £92,500 | £79,000 | 9% |
| Associate director | £54,000 | - | £68,500 | £60,000 | 9% |
| Account director | £41,000 | - | £52,000 | £49,000 | 9% |
| Account manager | £30,000 | - | £39,000 | £35,000 | 9% |
| Account executive | £20,000 | - | £28,500 | £24,500 | 9% |
The view from here
Some high profile product launches such as the iPhone and Halo 3 made 2007 an extremely exciting year to be involved with the technology PR industry and the perceived dynamism and glamour of the sector attracted candidates from other areas of consumer PR to consider roles in technology.
This did not however translate into an easier year for technology PR consultancies, who found positions difficult to fill at almost every level. The inevitable result was fierce competition for good candidates, rising salaries, bonuses and benefits and a large number of counter-offers being made to departing staff - as much as £8000 p.a. in one case - and we even saw the emergence of headhunting at account executive level. One consequence of this was the growing standardisation of salaries in the technology PR market, as smaller agencies were forced to match the bigger consultancies in order to retain their key staff and we received requests for advice from agencies on how to make themselves attractive to candidates.
As well as holding out for more money, candidates could also afford to be more fussy about their working conditions, sector and location. Many expressed a preference for more mainstream technology PR and shied away from roles that they considered to be too niche, especially those in financial or enterprise technology, storage solutions and the deeper tech end of the market, such as semi-conductors. Moreover, many also expressed a desire not to be spread too thinly over different accounts and it proved difficult to persuade some candidates to consider roles outside central London.
The roles that proved most attractive to candidates were those with a consumer focus or a strong new media or creative element, while agencies that successfully presented themselves as being both fresh, different and possessing great team spirit met with more success than others. There was a fairly even flow between boutique and larger full-service agencies, the latter being considered by candidates as offering better clients and stability and the former greater challenge and team spirit.