2006 Art & Production Salary Survey
For the second year in a row, paychecks for production managers and art directors are not reflective of the escalating demands of print and online production. With 70 percent of respondents claiming they have taken on more responsibilities this year, 49 percent of those claim they have received little or no compensation for taking on new projects. When asked why they did not expect to see a raise in pay this year, one production executive said, "Most of our production department staff does not get raises/increases each year. It’s always said to be a matter of budgets," while another responded simply with, "My boss is a cheap bastard." To compare how your salary stacks up to the rest of the industry, click here.
Methodology
The survey mailing list of 1,403 was selected by Red 7 Media and included all Folio: subscribers qualified as Art/Production Management and Folio: prospects with job titles related to art or production management. Data was collected by Readex Research via mail survey from August 9 to September 22, 2006. The survey was closed for tabulation with 443 responses (a 32% response rate). To ensure representation of the audience of interest, results have been filtered to include only the 383 respondents who indicated they work full time and their job functions are best described as: Production director or top production executive, production manager or art director.
The margin of error for percentages based on all 383 respondents is 4.3% at the 95% confidence level.
The margin of error for percentages based on smaller sample sizes will be larger.
Conducted by Folio: and Readex Research
SALARY BY CATEGORY: PRODUCTION DIRECTOR OR TOP PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE
Average salaries for production directors and executives increased by about $4,000 over 2005 across the categories of b-to-b, consumer and association publishing.
Association production directors and executives make the least, with almost $1,000 less than their b-to-b and consumer counterparts averaging about $71,900 in pay this year. B-to-b production directors move up from their 2005 last place ranking with an average salary of $80,300, almost $14,000 more than what was reported last year. Consumer production directors come out on top again this year with a mean salary of $83,400, almost $10,000 higher than last year’s reported figures.
Production directors and execs working in the New York City area make over $23,000 more than those who don’t. Women are still trailing in average earnings, bringing home an average $76,800 per year, significantly behind male production executives who will earn an average $83,700 this year. One female respondent said the biggest challenge of her career is: "Being a woman and having people working for me making more than me."
An increased number claim to have taken on additional responsibilities this year, with 77 percent saying they’re doing more compared to 57 percent last year. Seventy-three percent of production execs expect an increase in pay this year, more than the production managers and art directors under them, while 23 percent expect to see no increase in pay.
AVERAGE SALARY BY:
GENDER
Male $83,700
Female $76,800
AGE
Under 40 $68,900
40 or older $82,500
EDUCATION
Graduated college $75,900
Postgrad degree N/A
IN NEW YORK CITY AREA
Yes $96,300
No $73,100
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
Northeast $87,800
Midwest $68,400
South $72,200
West $85,400
YEARS IN PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
10 years of fewer $60,600
10-19 years $80,800
20 years or more $83,200
YEARS IN PRESENT COMPANY
5 years or fewer $78,100
5-9 years $72,800
10 years or more $84,800
YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION
3 years or fewer $85,100
3-9 years $78,300
10 years or more $76,200
NUMBER OF PUBLICATIONS WORKED ON
1 magazine $76,000
2 magazines or more $79,800
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES SUPERVISED
None $71,300
1-4 employees $68,100
5 employees or more $90,500
COMPANY REVENUE
Less than $10 million $65,400
$10 million or more $92,000
REVENUE OF RESPONDENT’S PUBLICATIONS
Less than $3 million $63,300
$3 million or more $89,200
PAID/CONTROLLED PUBLICATIONS
Paid only $86,900
Controlled only $84,300
Mix of both $72,700M
SALARY BY CATEGORY: PRODUCTION MANAGER
Production managers across the board are reporting higher average salaries than they did in 2005, with consumer magazine managers taking the lead for the second year in a row.
Consumer, b-to-b and association magazine production managers are on an almost level playing field when it comes to average salary this year. Consumer leads the way with a mean salary of $54,200, followed by association production managers averaging $53,600 and b-to-b close behind at $52,000.
Production managers working in the Northeast dominated this category as well, leading the pack with an average salary of $57,800, followed by the West at $53,700 and the South at $50,000. The gap in pay between male and females closed compared to last year, showing males taking home $55,900 in compensation, only $4,900 more than female production managers.
Of all three polled positions, production managers appear to receive the least in compensation for additional responsibilities, with a combined 54 percent claiming little or no compensation for extra workload. Respondents claim that Web projects are the most common of a long list of additional responsibilities added to their day-to-day tasks including "design, management, posting live content, monitoring traffic and production" online.
AVERAGE SALARY BY:
GENDER
Male $55,7900
Female $51,000
AGE
Under 40 $49,300
40 or older $56,500
EDUCATION
Graduated college $51,800
Postgrad degree $56,600
IN NEW YORK CITY AREA
Yes $58,200
No $49,700
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
Northeast $57,800
Midwest $46,100
South $50,000
West $53,700
YEARS IN PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
10 years of fewer $45,900
10-19 years $53,100
20 years or more $62,000
YEARS IN PRESENT COMPANY
5 years or fewer $45,500
5-9 years $51,500
10 years or more $59,700
YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION
3 years or fewer $48,800
3-9 years $53,600
10 years or more $56,400
NUMBER OF PUBLICATIONS WORKED ON
1 magazine $47,800
2 magazines or more $54,100
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES SUPERVISED
None $50,900
1-4 employees $53,100
5 employees or more $58,700
COMPANY REVENUE
Less than $10 million $49,000
$10 million or more $57,400
REVENUE OF RESPONDENT’S PUBLICATIONS
Less than $3 million $49,600
$3 million or more $56,400
PAID/CONTROLLED PUBLICATIONS
Paid only $55,400
Controlled only $49,300
Mix of both $53,000
SALARY BY CATEGORY: ART DIRECTOR
B-to-b art directors moved from last place in 2005’s survey to first place in 2006 for highest average salary, taking the number-one spot from last year’s leaders, association art directors.
Consumer, b-to-b and association magazine art directors reported comparable salaries this year with b-to-b topping the list off at an average salary of $62,500 followed by association art directors who earn a mean salary of $60,600. Consumer magazine art directors close out the category with a mean salary of $58,300.
The largest gender gap this year was in the art director category, which showed on average males bring home $65,600, over $10,000 more than their female counterparts. This is surprising seeing the results in 2005 showed a mere $1,100 difference between the sexes.
Fifty-seven percent of art directors say they are satisfied or very satisfied with their current position. But 69 percent of respondents claim they have taken on additional responsibilities aside from those listed in their formal job description. Many respondents claimed "artistic and creative freedom" as the most rewarding aspects of their job as art director, alongside the feeling of accomplishment. Said one respondent when asked the most rewarding aspect of their job: "Getting out a quality publication each month. Especially when it seems impossible, we always get it out on time. Seeing my work in print and knowing that my good design is having a positive impact on our readers and our department."
AVERAGE SALARY BY:
GENDER
Male $65,600
Female $54,600
AGE
Under 40 $53,600
40 or older $64,900
EDUCATION
Graduated college $58,900
Postgrad degree N/A
IN NEW YORK CITY AREA
Yes $61,900
No $57,700
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
Northeast $63,100
Midwest $57,700
South $59,400
West $51,900
YEARS IN PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
10 years of fewer $50,300
10-19 years $59,000
20 years or more $67,200
YEARS IN PRESENT COMPANY
5 years or fewer $50,500
5-9 years $58,800
10 years or more $69,800
YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION
3 years or fewer $50,400
3-9 years $62,700
10 years or more $69,700
NUMBER OF PUBLICATIONS WORKED ON
1 magazine $54,700
2 magazines or more $60,600
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES SUPERVISED
None $49,200
1-4 employees $57,300
5 employees or more $76,800
COMPANY REVENUE
Less than $10 million $52,800
$10 million or more $64,400
REVENUE OF RESPONDENT’S PUBLICATIONS
Less than $3 million $54,500
$3 million or more $64,100
PAID/CONTROLLED PUBLICATIONS
Paid only $61,800
Controlled only $57,300
Mix of both $59,400
Meet the Author
