September's Expert: Susan Hoffman
Susan Hoffman has a decade of experience in Marketing Communications, with experience that ranges from internal and external communications to vendor and partner management, trade show and event management, content and collateral development and even on- and off-line design and development.
Question: I would like to know what the average salary is for the following: Account Executive, Senior Account Executive, and Account Director. What are some reliable websites where I can research this type of Marketing career information?
Answer: Although salary ranges vary greatly by geographical location and industry, there are some great tools out there to help calculate general salary indicators for certain positions. Aquent (a global staffing agency focused on placing marketing and creative professionals) and the AMA have developed an online salary that can be found online here: http://www5.marketingsalaries.com/aquent/Home.form. Some other salary web sites include: http://www.salary.com/ (although this site also includes ads and registration information), http://www.payscale.com, and http://www.simplyhired.com. For example, an Account Executive in the Washington DC area might fall in the $60K - $70K range, a Senior Account Executive in the $75K - $85K range, and an Account Director in the $120K -$130K range.
Please keep in mind that salary may also depend on years of experience, tenure at past positions, and could also be influenced by whether you currently have a job or not and whether or not you are switching careers.