Dear Rachel,
Entry-level salaries seem to be changing a lot. I would be interested in finding out the averages for incoming buyers and planners at large agencies in the Northeast. Has it gone up or down recently?--
Nancy in New York
Dear Nancy,
Starting salaries in media are not so great. And it doesn’t matter if you are in the Northeast, Los Angeles or Chicago.
The only thing you can say is that they're better now than they used to be. The old saying went: "Advertising is a great career if your parents can afford it."
We hear it less these days, but it still applies somewhat for people starting out.
They'll start at about what an administrative assistant makes but less than a beginning elementary school teacher.
What's different is that salaries can then climb rapidly, and over the course of a career media people as a rule do far better than in past years. One reason why is that media has become a much more competitive and demanding business.
Within three years you can expect to take home what a retail store manager might make, and as you gain yet more experience you could be making the salary of a family doctor or even a cardiologist.
The challenge is weathering those early years, and it helps if you are passionate about media.
In any case, early on you'll want to chart the course that will give you the right balance between money and career satisfaction. If money is more important, you may want to switch to sales after a few years. You'll make somewhat to a lot more, but you'll put up with lots more stress.
But back to your question: What is the entry-level salary in the Northeast?
I talked to several media friends, and they say that entry-level salaries in the Northeast have been stuck in the $30,000 to $32,000 range for quite some time. And given the economy, that is not likely to change.
But it can go up sharply.
“It's fairly common for a media planner and buyer to receive a 25 percent increase on their first anniversary and be earning between $40,000 and $45,000 after two years,” one media friend tells me. “The high end of the range for a media planner at a major New York agency is $55,000 with three years of experience."
After seven years you can expect to be earning $70,000 to $80,000.
Get promoted to assistant media director, and the salary climbs to between $85,000 to $130,000. Group directors make up to $200,000.
"Media directors running a portfolio of businesses can make in the mid to high $200s,” says my New York friend.
While New York tends to pay more, keep in mind that salaries can vary widely within the market, and other top markets are close behind. You can do very well in Boston and Chicago and Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Media salaries slide when you get to smaller markets, but here too they can vary widely, particularly if it's a skill in high demand.
