So you know.
One of those questions I’ve never been a fan of is “What is your expected salary?” It puts applicants in an awkward and unfair position. If you you need the job, you might lowball it, if you’re honest you’ll likely highball it. Factors like quality of work, quality of life, benefits and the like all play a part. Luckily there are some resources out there. I’ve collected some of the most common positions and their related salaries from two such resources that might be a good point of reference to anyone who may have that question asked of them. You could always ask how much the employer intends to bill out for your hours and see what the response is. Might level the playing field a little.
AIGA | Aquent Survey Of Design Salaries 2008
Responses closed Jan 7, 2008
Designer: $45,000
Average Compensation based on size of organization:
- 2-9 Employees: $40,000
- 10-99 Employees: $42,000
Entry-Level Designer: $35,000
Average Compensation based on size of organization:
- 2-9 Employees: $34,000
- 10-99 Employees: $34,000
Print Production Artist: $45,000
Average Compensation based on size of organization:
- 2-9 Employees: $38,000
- 10-99 Employees: $45,000
Web Designer: $52,000
Average Compensation based on size of organization:
- 2-9 Employees: $45,000
- 10-99 Employees: $50,000
Web Developer (front end/interface systems): $65,000
Average Compensation based on size of organization:
- 2-9 Employees: $55,000
- 10-99 Employees: $60,000
Web Programmer/Developer (back end systems): $62,400
Average Compensation based on size of organization:
- 2-9 Employees: $55,000
- 10-99 Employees: $60,000
GDC | Aquent Survey of Graphic Design Salaries
Responses from 2006
Intermediate Graphic Designer: $39,000
Average Compensation based on size of organization:
- 2-4 Employees: $34,161
- 5-9 Employees: $37,203
- 10-15 Employees: $36,196
Junior Graphic Designer: $32,000
Average Compensation based on size of organization:
- 2-4 Employees: $30,179
- 5-9 Employees: $30,761
- 10-15 Employees: $30,549
Web Developer (defined by the GDC as front end/interface): $50,000
Average Compensation based on size of organization:
- 2-4 Employees: n/a
- 5-9 Employees: $51,000
- 10-15 Employees: n/a