NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – While people working in the omics and related fields report bringing home larger salaries this year than they did five years ago, they appear to be making slightly less now than they were last year, according to GenomeWeb's annual salary survey.
This year's median overall salary of $83,000 is down from what respondents to last year's survey said they made, a median $92,000.
For example, respondents to last year's survey who identified themselves as vice presidents, directors, or senior managers said they made a median $150,000, while this year the same group reported a current median $140,000 in salary.
Similarly, staff scientists, researchers, and bioinformaticians last year said they earned a median $77,500, while they said they currently make a median $68,000.
Interestingly, only a small number of respondents — 6.8 percent — indicated that they'd had a pay cut within the last year, and an even smaller number — 3.4 percent say they'd been laid off in the past year. More than a third of respondents, though, reported that their organization had had layoffs, with nearly half of respondents from instrument manufacturers and vendors reporting that their organization had cut jobs.
To gather all this data, GenomeWeb emailed a link to an online survey to registered users of our website in late May and a second email to another group of users some 10 days later. The questionnaire asked respondents about their jobs, scientific backgrounds, salary, and more. In all, 1,065 people took part in the survey, representing a swath of academia, industry, and diagnostic labs, among other entities.
Women, the survey indicated, make less than their male counterparts. Globally, women reported currently making a median $75,000, while men said they make a median $96,000. The degree of difference in salary varies by job position, with male and female professors and principal investigators earning approximately the same salary, while there is a greater gap between what male and female senior scientists or program managers earn.
While about a third of respondents don't anticipate receiving a raise this year — that number reaches 55 percent among government workers — slightly more than a quarter of respondents expect to be promoted within the year.
Still, a good portion of respondents is keeping any eye out for other opportunities. Some 41 percent said they anticipate leaving their current position within the next two years, though less than 10 percent plan to make their move within the next sixth months.
Number of respondents: 1,065
(Click on any image to enlarge.)
Datapoints
43.5% of all respondents have a PhD, DPhil, or PharmD
18.7% of academic respondents are tenured
38.3% of untenured academic respondents on the tenure track said they expect to get tenure within the next five years
9.4% of all respondents said that their last employer is no longer in business
0.78% of all respondents are unemployed
41.8% of all respondents said that they have been at their current job for between one year and four years
6.8% of all respondents said that they get ownership of patents for anything they invent
Most common benefits
Vacation time/holidays
Sick days/sick leave
Medical/dental insurance
Retirement plan, including 401(k)s, 403(b)s, pensions
Most common scientific tasks
Administrative work/management
Bioinformatics/biostatistics/data analysis
Sales/marketing
Product development/technology transfer
