Posted Date: 7/31/2008
2008 Mobile Enterprise Salary Survey
By Susan Nunziata
Who is the mobile enterprise executive? How much does he earn? How many hours a week does he work, and how many of those hours does he spend telecommuting?
Click on Image to Enlarge |
To answer these and many other questions, Mobile Enterprise conducted its first annual salary survey in May and June 2008. The survey, which was fielded to Mobile Enterprise readers, was conducted by Litchfield Research.
For the purposes of this report, we're broadly defining the mobile executive as anyone who is actively involved in purchasing, deploying or using mobile devices, software and/or wireless networks for their enterprises.
The 297 responses we received provide a representative snapshot of the responsibilities and salaries of the executives leading today's mobile workforce.
The average survey respondent is a 48-year-old man who earned $107,600 in 2007. He received an increase of 5.99% over his 2006 salary, and, despite the grim economy so far this year, he's anticipating a 5.02% raise in 2008. He's been in the industry for 15.4 years and has held his current position for 8.1 years. He's one of 18,529 employees at his enterprise, which brought in revenues of $1.4 billion in 2007. He typically works 45 hours per week, 11 hours of which he spends telecommuting.
The Big Picture
Survey respondents span enterprises in a wide range of vertical markets. In addition, some respondents note that their enterprises span multiple vertical markets. The verticals with the greatest number of respondents include:
>Government (non-military/public safety)
>Education
>Healthcare (medical/pharmaceutical)
>Cable/Telecommunications
>Energy/Utilities/HVAC
>Manufacturing
>Retail/e-Business
>Insurance
Nearly a third of respondents (30%) have operational responsibility and make financial decisions related to their enterprise's mobile/wireless purchasing, while 21% are directly responsible for the management and/or administration of their company's mobile and wireless operations and deployments (Fig. 1 above).
Click on Image to Enlarge
The average salaries for decision makers - as well as for those who manage and deploy mobile solutions - increased across the board from 2006 to 2007. The only flat category? Those employees who are the "end users" of the devices, software or networks deployed by their enterprises (Fig. 2 above).
Click on Image to Enlarge
I.T. Management Earnings
Respondents span a wide range of job functions, although the majority (51%) hold middle management positions such as VP, Director, Manager, or Department Head (Fig. 3 above). Of these, respondents involved in non-I.T. management roles earned $128,605 in 2007, 23.30 % more than the $104,296 earned by their counterparts who have I.T. responsibility (Fig. 4).
Click on Image to Enlarge
In addition to salary, 51% of respondents say their compensation package includes a bonus or incentive plan, 74% have a 401k plan, 57% have a retirement plan, and 29% have stock options.
|
Click on Image to Enlarge
|
Eight in 10 (80%) receive medical insurance, 79% have dental benefits, and 62% have vision benefits. Surprisingly, despite their involvement in mobilizing their company's workforce, only 39% of respondents themselves have a telework or workfrom- home option as part of their compensation package (Fig. 5 right).
The majority of respondents (57%) work 41-50 hours per week, while more than a third put in 51 hours or more (Fig. 6 below).
Seven in 10 (71%) received a salary increase in 2007, and just as many (72%) expect to receive one this year. For 86% of respondents, the raise was the result of a "well deserved merit increase," rather than a promotion or change in title.
Male-Dominated
The vast majority of respondents are men (88%), so it's difficult to make salary comparisons based on gender. Most female respondents are in I.T. management, where they earned an average salary of $112,500 in 2007, 9.62% more than the average of $102,627 earned last year by their male counterparts in that job category (Fig. 7 below).
A Bachelor's degree is the highest level of education for a nearly third of respondents (30%), while nearly a quarter (24%) have a Master's degree, and 11% have completed some post-graduate work (Fig. 8 below).
Respondents in I.T. management roles (VP, Director, Manager, Dept. Head) who hold Bachelor's degrees earned an average of $120,000 in 2007. Those in the same roles who have completed some college but have not earned a Bachelor's degree took home an average of $90,500 last year.
ABOUT THE MOBILE ENTERPRISE 2008 SALARY SURVEY
This survey was conducted over a four-week period in May and June 2008 by Litchfield Research, an independent research firm based in Marietta, GA. The survey responses were obtained by sending an Email invitation to Mobile Enterprise subscribers that asked respondents to participate in the survey using a web-based form. A drawing to win one of two $50 American Express Gift cards was offered as an incentive to complete the survey. One reminder invitation was sent to those that did not respond to the initial survey. A total of 297 respondents entered the survey. Some respondents did not complete all aspects of every question. Litchfield Research performed the random drawing to select the winners of the incentive.
Click on Image to Enlarge
Click on Image to Enlarge
Click on Image to Enlarge