guildresearch_salary2014

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Patti Shank, PhD, CPT

2014 GLOBAL ELEARNING

SALARY & COMPENSATION

REPORT

2014 Global eLearning Salary & Compensation Report

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Written by: Patti Shank, PhD, CPT

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary ...........................................................................................................................................................1

Average (Mean) Salaries ............................................................................................................................................... 2

Methodology and Demographics ...........................................................................................................................4

Five-year Global Compensation Trends ............................................................................................................. 7

Additional Compensation .............................................................................................................................................. 9

Last Merit Increase, Full-time Hours Worked, and Vacation Days .................................................. 11

Last Merit Increase ............................................................................................................................................................11

Hours Worked ....................................................................................................................................................................12

Vacation Days ....................................................................................................................................................................13

Variables Associated with Salary .......................................................................................................................... 14

Gender ..................................................................................................................................................................................14

Hourly Rate Differences .................................................................................................................................................15

Global Salary Comparison Data ..................................................................................................................................16

Region ........................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Industry ......................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Company Size ........................................................................................................................................................... 20

Number of People Managed .................................................................................................................................21

Years of Experience in eLearning .......................................................................................................................22

Education Variables ................................................................................................................................................22

Job Focus Variables ................................................................................................................................................24

Examples ................................................................................................................................................................................26

Scenario One: Employee in Austria Preparing to Negotiate a Salary Increase.........................................27

Scenario Two: Executive in the US Staffing a New eLearning Department ...............................................28

Scenario Three: Candidate in Canada Interviewing for New Job ..................................................................29

Scenario Four: Instructional Designer in the US Determining the Value of a Master’s Degree ......... 30

Appendix A: Regional Groupings .........................................................................................................................33

Appendix B: United States Salary Comparison Data ..............................................................................35

Appendix C: Canadian Province and Territory Average Salary Data ...........................................39

Resources .............................................................................................................................................................................. 41

The eLearning Guild .........................................................................................................................................................41

Other Resources ...............................................................................................................................................................41

About the Author .............................................................................................................................................................42


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Executive Summary

The eLearning Guild’s 2014 Salary & Compensation Survey found that this was a year of flat

salary growth for the United States and Canada and of decreases in salaries for the United

Kingdom and Australia. While it might appear at first glance that the United States being 3.1%

higher and Canada being 3.4% higher than the 2014 average (mean) global eLearning salary

respectively are good news, a deeper look shows that both countries’ salaries have actually

been flat for the past five years.

Figure 6 (on page 8) shows that Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States

experienced a decrease in average salaries in 2014, which is the opposite of what we saw last

year. The United Kingdom saw the largest drop of 7.1%. Australia’s salaries had been growing

in the past few years, but dipped 4.7% this past year. Australia leads all countries and regions

with the highest average salary among the four respondents. India was the only one of the five

highlighted countries to see a rise from the previous year, having risen 9.4% from 2013.

The 2014 average global salary is $76,530 and the 2014 average US salary is $78,932. (In order

to use a common currency throughout, the report shows all salaries in US dollars [USD], which

allows us to make comparisons.) The 2014 average global salary is down 1.5% from 2013, when

it was $77,682. The average US salary is essentially the same as 2013, a 0.1% change, when it

was $78,984.

There were 2,476 (41.8%) male and 3,447 (58.2%) female respondents. Of all respondents, 13%

were contractors, 86.4% were employees, and 0.6% were unemployed. Of people responding

to the survey, 89.3% were full-time and 10.7% were part-time.

Average global salaries vary dramatically, ranging from $94,665 in Australia to $33,743 in

India. Globally, pay for men is consistently more than for women in most geographic regions

of the world. Women’s average eLearning salaries are 9.7% lower, on average, than men’s.

The average hourly pay rate in eLearning is $37 per hour, one dollar more than last year, and

hourly rates are higher in the United States than outside the United States. The average full-

time workweek is 44.5 hours in 2014, down from 44.9 hours in 2013.

In this report, we explore trends in pay and look at how full- and part-time employment

status, country, regional areas, gender, industry, company size, number of people managed,

years of eLearning experience, years of education, and job focus influence salary calculations.

It’s critical to note that there are more variables than these that impact salaries, and the

connection between salary variables and salary is likely far more complex than is obvious.




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Average (Mean) Salaries

We begin our 2014 Global eLearning Salary & Compensation Report with average (mean)

salaries, which come from the 5,923 eLearning Guild members worldwide who provided their

salary and compensation information as part of eLearning Guild general membership data. It

is interesting to note that this number represents a 25.9% increase in respondents over last

year. This is good news for our members, as increased response, especially internationally,

improves the validity of the salaries from other countries and regions and allows for improved

benchmarking. (See the Methodology and Demographics section.)

Figure 1 (on page 3) shows the 2014 average global salary by continent and region, which

includes the average US salary. It also shows the number of respondents reporting for each

continent and region. In some cases, we grouped together data with smaller numbers of

respondents into “Other” (for example, Other Asia, Other Europe). See Appendix A for the

detailed list of countries and the groupings by region.

In some continents, regional areas, and countries, the number of respondents are small. When

the numbers are quite small (for example, the Netherlands), it is difficult to say that the average

salaries shown are representative. They become more representative as the response increases.




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Figure 1: Average global salary by continent and region




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Methodology and Demographics

For all data except trend data, the data represents the period from January 1 to December

31, 2013. In order to show a common currency throughout to allow comparisons, we show

amounts in US dollars (USD). When members entered salary data, we provided a currency

converter to assist worldwide respondents. We assumed that conversions to US dollars

were accurate.

The response from several countries grew substantially this past year. For example, last year

we had 313 respondents from Canada and this year we have 411, a 31.3% increase. Last year

we had 33 respondents from Africa and this year we have 76. Even our largest audience,

the United States, increased from 3,528 to 4,452 respondents, an increase of 26.2%. We

thank those of you who worked to help us increase the response in your countries. The more

respondents we have, the more valid our regional and country salary averages become, and

the better international data we can provide to you.

There were 2,476 (41.80%) male and 3,447 (58.20%) female respondents. Of all respondents,

13% were contractors, 86.4% were employees, and 0.6% were unemployed. And 89.3% were

full-time and 10.7% were part-time.

Figure 2 shows their length of time in position. More than half of respondents are impacting

fewer than 5,000 employees and close to 28% are impacting fewer than 999 employees (Figure

3 on page 5). Slightly more than 40% consider themselves practitioners (Figure 4 on page 5).

Figure 2: Length of time in position




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Figure 3: Number of learners impacted

Figure 4: Job level

Adjustments may have been made to the data for incomplete responses and for the ongoing

use of archived data, and charts in the report may include weighted data or other data

that isn’t apparent. If we found errors in past data, we fixed it in this report. As a result, the

historical trend data in the 2014 report may show some variations from data in past reports.




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When totaling the number of respondents in the tables shown in the report, they may not

equal the number of respondents to the survey, as respondents may not have answered every

question. There may also be an extremely slight variation between some respondent counts in

the charts and the totals listed in the appendix due to the reinsertion of some areas with only

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Five-year Global Compensation Trends

In this section, we discuss trends in global compensation, including additional compensation

items, over the past five years. We specifically highlight Australia, Canada, the United

Kingdom, the United States, and India.

In Figure 5 you see slight fluctuations in average global compensation every year since 2010.

As of January 2014, average total compensation for 2014 is $80,586, dropping 1.5% from 2013.

See the Additional Compensation subsection for more information on specific changes in

additional compensation such as bonuses.

Figure 5: Five-year trend of average global compensation




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Over the past five years, while each year alternates up and down slightly, over time eLearning

compensation has been relatively flat, with salaries worldwide growing by 1.6% over the past

five years and total compensation growing by 0.3% over the past five years.

Figures 6 and 7 (on page 9) show the five-year trend of average respondent salaries in

Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and India. As noted previously, all

amounts reported are in US dollars (USD).

Figure 6: Five-year trend of average global salaries in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the

United States




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Figure 7: Five-year trend of average global salaries in India

Most salaries were quite flat from the previous year. All except India experienced a decrease in

average salaries in 2014, which is the opposite of what we saw last year. The United Kingdom

saw the largest drop, 7.1%. Australia’s salaries had been growing in the past few years but

dipped 4.7% this past year. Australia leads all countries and regions with the highest average

salary among respondents. India was the only one of the five countries to see a rise from the

previous year. It rose 9.4% from 2013.

Additional Compensation

Total additional respondent compensation decreased by 19.7% or $994 (see Figure 8 on page

10) from 2010 to 2014 and 1.6% from 2013 to 2014. In 2014, the average bonus decreased by

5.1%, or $126, from 2013; tuition amount increased by 12.8%, or $123, from 2013; and continuing

education decreased by 9.4%, or $63, from 2013.

It is important to note that many people do not receive these forms of additional compensation.




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Figure 8: Five-year trend of average global additional compensation

The eLearning Guild does not track other forms of additional compensation such as stock

options, employee stock purchase plans, retirement plans, holidays, meal allowances,

employer matching, and other benefits. Additional compensation and incentive pay strategies

may vary by country and region depending on the organization.




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Last Merit Increase, Full-time Hours Worked, and Vacation Days

In this section, we look at some variables related to compensation, including last merit

increase, the number of hours worked in full-time jobs, and number of vacation days.

Last Merit Increase

Figure 9 shows 51.9% of respondents have had a merit increase in the last year and 4%

received their last merit increase more than 3 years ago. Almost 25% responded that they

have not received any merit increases in the recent past.

Figure 9: Last merit increase




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Hours Worked

Figure 10 shows that India leads the world with the most full-time hours worked at 46.3 per

week (down from 46.8 last year), while workers in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom

have the lowest full-time hours worked (except for Other, a grouping of countries with 1

respondent each, see Appendix A) per week at 41.8 and 42.6 (down from 44.4 and 43.2

respectively last year). The overall global average is a 44.5-hour workweek, which is down

slightly from last year’s 44.9.

Figure 10: Average hours per work week for full-time employees




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Vacation Days

The average respondent receives 20.3 vacation days per year (Figure 11), down slightly from

last year’s 20.8. Africa provides the most vacation days with 28.3 and Other Europe comes

next with an average of 28.1 vacation days per year. (See Appendix A for a listing of which

countries comprise these areas.) The US and India have the lowest amount of vacation days,

with 19.4 and 19.3 vacation days per year respectively.

Figure 11: Average annual vacation days




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Variables Associated with Salary

In the following sections, we show charts and discuss findings related to salary across a

number of variables. In this first section, we discuss gender alone and by region. Next, we

explore hourly rate differences between contractors and employees and part-time vs. full-time

workers. Then we look at how a number of employer and employee variables influence salary.

Gender

Figure 12 shows that for most regions, women’s salaries are less than men’s salaries. India was

an exception this year.

Figure 12: Average salary by gender, by region, and country




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Table 1 shows the percentage of survey respondents, the count, and the average global salary

by gender. Women’s salaries are 9.7% lower, on average, than men’s and 4.3% lower than the

average global salary.

% of Total

Respondents

Count Avg. Global

Salary (USD)

Men 41.8% 2,476 $81,104

Women 58.2% 3,447 $73,245

Table 1: Percentage of respondents, count, and average global salary by gender

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) research shows that full-time, year-

round women workers are paid 77 percent of what men are paid, and this has been the case

since 2002. Contrary to some assumptions about the gender pay gap having to do with

women taking time off with children, AAUW’s research found that among full-time workers

just a year after college graduation, women at this point were paid just 82% of what their male

counterparts were paid. It also shows that women face a pay gap that grows with age.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research provides data showing women’s median weekly

earnings are lower in nearly all occupations, whether they work in female-dominated

occupations, male-dominated occupations, or occupations dominated by a mix of females and

males. According to our data, eLearning appears to be no exception.

The World Economic Forum calculates complex global gender gaps by country and region.

Its report, The Global Gender Gap 2012, underscores the impact of gender-based income

disparities.

Hourly Rate Differences

In Figure 13 (on page 16) we see eLearning hourly rates based upon whether the person doing

the work is an employee or a contractor and whether they are full-time or part-time.

The overall average global hourly rate is $37/hour, which rose $1 from last year. Outside

the US, part-timers are earning, on average, $46/hour (up from $43/hour last year). Full-

timers outside the US, on average, earn $31/hour (down from $34/hour last year). Part-

time contractors, on average, earn quite a bit more than part-time employees, but full-time

contractors, on average, earn only a few more dollars per hour than full-time employees do.




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In the US, all of the averages are higher than the non-US averages. In the US, part-time

employees earn 42.9% more than full-time employees and full-time contractors, on average,

earn 14.3% more than full-time employees. Part-time contractors, on average, earn 82.5% more

than full-time contractors.

Figure 13: Average hourly rates for part-time and full-time contractors and employees

The Methodology and Demographics section provides information on the split of employees,

contractors, full-time, and part-time respondents in the survey.

Global Salary Comparison Data

For the rest of the report, we will be examining salary comparison data about employer

and employee variables that appear to influence or at least vary along with salary. For

corresponding US salary comparison data, please refer to the charts in Appendix B.

For each of the following charts, you will see percentages associated with the average global

salary of $76,530 (from Figure 1 on page 3). The “average salary delta” refers to a comparison to

the average global salary (or average US salary in the US-specific charts). A positive percentage

means that it is higher than the average global salary of $76,530 by that percentage and a negative

percentage means it is lower than the average global salary of $76,530 by that percentage.

For example, in Figure 14 (on page 17), the average respondent in the US is paid 3.1% more

than the average global salary, while the average worker in the UK is paid 7.4% less than

average global salary.




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Region

Figure 14 shows a comparison of pay by region and country, with Australia 23.7% above the

global average salary and India 55.9% below it. Please note that we grouped countries and

regions with small numbers of respondents together. See Appendix A for the number of

respondents in each region. For those regions with a small number of respondents, the salary

differences may not be representative because the numbers may be by chance (because the

survey acquired too few respondents in that area).

Figure 14: Salary difference vs. average global salary of $76,530 by country or region

As compared to 2013, we see most of the countries below the average global salary are further

below the average global salary than in 2013. For example, United Kingdom was -1.8% in 2013

and is -7.4% in 2014. Other Asia was -20.9% is 2013 and is -31.2% in 2014. Both Canada and the

United States gained slightly from 2013 to 2014, from 2.7% to 3.4% and 1.7 to 3.1% respectively.

Industry

Figure 15 (on page 18) shows salary differences across industries. For example, the

Pharmaceutical/Biotech and Energy/Utilities industries pay the most at 26.9% and 22.3%

respectively above the average global salary, and University/College and K-12 Education pay

the least at 18.7% and 23.5% below the average global salary respectively. Telecommunications




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and Retail/Wholesale/Distribution pay the closest to the average global salary. Table 2 (on

page 19) shows how many respondents are in each grouping. For those industries with a small

number of respondents, the salary differences may not be representative since the numbers

may be by chance (because the survey acquired too few respondents in that area).

Figure 15: Salary difference vs. average global salary of $76,530 by industry




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Industry Average Salary

Difference

Number of

Respondents

Pharmaceuticals/Biotech 26.9% 147

Energy/Utilities 22.3% 130

Computer Manufacturing 18.8% 318

Consulting (Non-computer) 16.3% 446

Government (Federal Including Military) 11.5% 198

Consulting (Computer) 10.1% 228

Aerospace/Defense 7.9% 87

Healthcare 4.4% 471

Financial/Banking/Accounting 3.1% 335

Insurance/Real Estate 2.7% 229

Automotive/Agriculture/Mining 2.2% 92

Manufacturing (Non-computer) 1.9% 182

eLearning Tool/Service Provider 1.7% 667

Telecommunications -0.1% 116

Retail/Wholesale/Distribution -0.5% 185

Construction/Architecture/Engineering -1.7% 57

Travel/Hospitality -3.4% 92

Legal -4.1% 30

Non-Profit/Trade Association -7.8% 234

Marketing/Advertising/Entertainment -8.6% 110

Government (State and Local) -13.7% 186

Education (University/College) -18.7% 1,008

Education (K-12) -23.5% 269

Table 2: Average salary difference and number of respondents by industry




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Company Size

Figure 16 shows comparisons of salary by company size. Larger companies tend to have

larger salaries, with companies having 50,000+ employees paying 9.8% more than the global

average salary, and companies with 10,001 – 49,999 paying 3.3% more than the global average

salary. Companies with 1 – 20 employees pay 3.5% above it. The rest are close to the average

global salary, except those between 101 – 1,000 paying 7.1% below it. Table 3 shows how many

respondents are in each grouping.

Figure 16: Salary difference vs. average global salary of $76,530 by company size

Company Size Average Salary

Difference

Number of

Respondents

50,000+ 9.8% 523

1 – 20 3.5% 992

10,001 – 49,999 3.3% 743

21 – 100 1.0% 668

1,001 – 10,000 -1.1% 1,568

101 – 1,000 -7.1% 1,360

Table 3: Average salary difference and number of respondents by company size




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Number of People Managed

Figure 17 shows that individuals tend to get paid more if they manage more people. Managers

responsible for more than 10 employees are paid 27.4% above the average global salary, while

individual contributors are paid 3.8% below it. A large percentage of the respondents (46%)

are individual contributors. Only 11% of the respondents, however, manage more than 10

people. Table 4 shows how many respondents are in each grouping.

Figure 17: Salary difference vs. average global salary of $76,530 by number of people managed

Number Managed Average Salary

Difference

Number of

Respondents

Manage 10+ 27.4% 430

Manage 5 – 10 18.7% 631

Manage < 5 6.9% 960

Individual Contributor -3.8% 1,747

Table 4: Average salary difference and number of respondents by number managed




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Years of Experience in eLearning

Figure 18 shows you that generally, with more experience in eLearning, salaries climb. With

10 – 14 years of experience, for instance, salaries were 11.3% higher, relative to the global

average salary. Table 5 shows you the number of respondents in each grouping.

Figure 18: Salary difference vs. average global salary of $76,530 by number of years in eLearning

Years of eLearning Experience Average Salary

Difference

Number of

Respondents

20+ 26.4% 527

15 – 19 21.7% 679

10 – 14 11.3% 1,184

5 – 9 -4.8% 1,647

0 – 4 -18.1% 1,886

Table 5: Average salary difference and number of respondents by years of eLearning

Education Variables

Graduate degrees tend to be more highly compensated in our field, and there is a significant

difference in pay between a master’s degree and a doctorate degree (Figure 19 on page 23).

Individuals holding a doctorate degree are paid 8.3% above average, while those holding

an associate’s degree are paid 3.2% below average, and those with less than two years of

higher education are paid 0.3% above average. Interestingly, most (89%) of the respondents

reported having a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education, and more than 47% of the

respondents reported having a master’s degree. Table 6 (on page 23) provides the number of

respondents who reported having each level of education.




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Figure 19: Salary difference vs. average global salary of $76,530 by level of education

Education Level Average Salary

Difference

Number of

Respondents

Doctorate 8.3% 396

Master's Degree 2.2% 2,793

Less Than 2 Years Higher Education 0.3% 291

Associate's Degree -3.2% 356

Bachelor's Degree -4.0% 2,087

Table 6: Average salary difference and number of respondents in each education grouping

The Guild published a Guild Research Report entitled Degrees for eLearning Professionals:

What’s Needed? in March 2012 about the types of jobs Guild members say they want in this

field and whether degrees help to get them. It can help you determine whether degrees are

worthwhile in this field.




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Job Focus Variables

Figure 20 shows that the individual’s job focus can have an impact on salary. For example,

Executive Management receives significantly higher pay than all other types of jobs at 52.3%

above the average global salary. The other job roles range from 32.7% above it for Business

Unit Management to 23.5% below it for Other Writing/Technical/Support. Developers (Web

and Programmers) receive a salary that is closest to the average global salary at 0.7% below

average. Table 7 (on page 25) provides the number of respondents who reported having each

job focus. For those jobs with a small number of respondents, the salary differences may not

be representative since the numbers may be by chance (because the survey acquired too few

respondents in that area).

Figure 20: Salary difference vs. average global salary of $76,530 by job focus




SURVEY

Job Focus Average Salary

Difference

Number of

Respondents

Executive Management 52.3% 188

Business Unit Management 32.7% 90

Strategy and Planning 30.6% 112

Sales/Marketing/Business Development 20.3% 143

Independent Consultant 17.4% 171

Creative Direction 14.9% 65

People/Resource Management 12.2% 102

Curriculum Direction 11.1% 144

Product/Project Management 5.6% 188

Training/Education/Certification/SME 4.9% 779

Development (Web and Programmer) -0.7% 53

Do a Lot/Little of Everything -0.7% 933

Research and Development -6.5% 71

Instructional Design -7.3% 1,514

Information Technology -7.7% 87

Media Production -9.5% 121

LMS/LCMS -10.2% 228

Content Authoring -13.6% 205

Instruction/Training/Coaching -14.6% 623

Other Writing/Technical/Support -23.5% 106

Table 7: Average salary difference and number of respondents by job focus




SURVEY

Examples

In this section we’ll show some examples of how you can use this report to calculate

benchmark salaries. In addition to the scenarios provided here, you can use an online version

of the Guild Research 2014 Salary Calculator to explore your own scenario at

http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1352/.

In order to calculate a benchmark salary for yourself or others, you can use the comparison

charts earlier in this report or the charts in Appendix B for US salary calculations. Start with

the average global salary or the average US salary, and then multiply by the adjustments in

each category. Depending on your location, you may also need to convert from US dollars

(USD) to the appropriate currency.

Below we show four scenarios that show how to calculate a benchmark salary from the data

provided in this report. Each scenario involves employees. Contractors who work for many

clients typically charge a multiplier of two or more times the hourly rate reported in Figure 13

(on page 16) to adjust for expenses, administrative time, and benefits. See the 2010 Salary and

Compensation Report—United States for a detailed explanation for calculating contractor pay.

Calculating Percentage Change

In order to calculate percentage change, if X1 represents the old value (such as

salary in 2013) and X2 represents the new value (such as the salary in 2014), the

percentage change is calculated as follows:

% Change = (X2-X1) / X1 x 100%

Example:

• Theoldvalueis$20,000andthenewvalueis$25,000.

• Thepercentagechangeformulalookslikethis:

(25,000 – 20,000)/20,000 x 100% = 5,000/20,000 x 100% = 25%


http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1352/



SURVEY

SCENARIO ONE:

Employee in Austria Preparing to Negotiate a Salary Increase

Rachel, an instructional designer who lives in Austria, is preparing for her annual review. She

wants to negotiate a salary increase. She currently earns 36,750 Euros (EUR) per year. She

works in the banking industry, has seven years of eLearning experience, and holds a bachelor’s

degree. She is an individual contributor, and her organization has 3,800 employees. For this

scenario we used the numbers in Figure 14 through Figure 20 (on pages 17 – 24).

SCENARIO ONE

Region/country/state Austria -11.5%

Industry Financial/banking/accounting 3.1%

Company size 1,000 – 10,000 employees -1.1%

People managed Individual contributor -3.8%

Years of eLearning experience 5 – 9 -4.8%

Education Bachelor’s degree -4.0%

Job focus Instructional design -7.3%

Total adjustments -29.4%

Now we apply these adjustments to the global average salary of $76,530 to calculate a

benchmark salary for Rachel.

Global average salary $76,530

Adjustment of -29.4% -22,499

Benchmark salary in USD $54,031

USD to EUR exchange rate

(at the time of writing this report)

x 0.737

EUR Benchmark Salary €39,821

Rachel should adjust this benchmark salary up or down depending on other variables such as

company, personal, and location-specific ones. Based on this calculation, Rachel may be in a

good position to negotiate a raise, although she may or may not be able to, depending on her

employer’s specific situation and budget for increases and her skills and performance.




SURVEY

SCENARIO TWO:

Executive in the US Staffing a New eLearning Department

Marco is a learning director in California. He is budgeting to start a new eLearning department

for his organization. He works for a real estate company that employs 2,640 individuals.

He wants to hire an instructional designer, a developer, an LMS administrator, and a media

specialist. He wants the instructional designer to have approximately 10 years of experience

and the others to have approximately five years of experience. The instructional designer

position requires a master’s degree and all other jobs require a bachelor’s degree. For this

scenario, we will use the US-specific charts in Appendix B (on page 35 – 38).

SCENARIO TWO

Variables Instructional

Designer

Developer LMS Admin Media

Specialist

Grand Total

Region/country/state: California

12.7% 12.7% 12.7% 12.7%

Industry: Insurance/real estate

1.7% 1.7% 1.7% 1.7%

Company size:

1,001 – 10,000

-0.3% -0.3% -0.3% -0.3%

People managed -6.6% -6.6% -6.6% -6.6%

Years of eLearning experience

11.5% -5.1% -5.1% -5.1%

Education 1.5% -2.5% -2.5% -2.5%

Job focus -7.7% 2.2% -7.7% -6.8%

Total adjustments 12.8% 2.1% -7.8% -6.9%

Average US salary $78,932 $78,932 $78,932 $78,932

Adjustment $10,103 $1,658 -$6,156 -$5,446

Benchmark salary $89,035 $80,590 $72,776 $73,486 $315,887

After applying the adjustments to the average US salary, Marco is looking at a benchmark

cost of $315,887 USD per year to staff his new eLearning department, plus additional costs

for benefits. He will need to adjust his benchmark salaries up or down based on other specific

company, location, and individual candidate-specific variables.

It’s interesting to note that if Marco were hiring in Arizona instead of California, his total

budget would be 6.7% below the national average instead of 12.7% above it.




SURVEY

SCENARIO THREE:

Candidate in Canada Interviewing for New Job

Bob is interviewing for a position as an eLearning manager. The job is with a computer

consulting firm. If he gets the job, he will manage four employees. Bob holds a master’s degree

and has 15 years of experience. The company he is interviewing with has 92 employees. He

currently earns $127,300 CAD, and he expects a pay increase if they offer him the job. For this

scenario we used the numbers in Figure 14 through Figure 20 (on pages 17 – 24).

SCENARIO THREE

Region/country/state Canada 3.4%

Industry Consulting (computer) 10.1%

Company size 21 – 100 employees 1.0%

People managed < 5 people 6.9%

Years of eLearning experience 15 – 19 21.7%

Education Master’s degree 2.2%

Job focus Business unit management 32.7%

Total adjustments 78.0%

Now we apply these adjustments to the global average salary of $77,682 to calculate a

benchmark salary for Bob.

Global average salary $76,530

Adjustment of +78.0% +59,693

Benchmark Salary in USD $136,223

USD to CAD exchange rate

(at the time of writing this report)

x 1.096

CAD Benchmark Salary $149,300

Bob is probably hiring at a specific pay grade and there are likely other variables outside of

this calculation to consider in his exact salary. But the salary calculator shows that he may well

be able to negotiate more money than he earns in his current position if they offer him this job.




SURVEY

SCENARIO FOUR:

Instructional Designer in the US Determining the Value of a

Master’s Degree

Marcia is an instructional designer who worked her way up from a content editor. She is

working for a defense contractor in Maryland that has approximately 25,000 employees. She

has six years of experience and really likes working at her company. Her company tends to

promote people with good skills and master’s degrees. Therefore, Marcia is completing her

bachelor’s degree (with only one class left) and has considered starting a master’s degree

program that should only take two years, but wonders if the salary difference is really worth

all the extra time and effort. Her current salary is $69,990. Her supervisor has encouraged her

and the company has a tuition reimbursement plan that will cover a large part of her tuition and

books. For this scenario, we will use the US-specific charts in Appendix B (on pages 35 – 38).

SCENARIO FOUR

NOW AFTER

State Maryland 7.7% Maryland 7.7%

Industry Aerospace/defense 8.6% Aerospace/defense 8.6%

Company size 10,001 – 49,999 2.5% 10,001 – 49,999 2.5%

People managed Individual contributor -6.6% Individual contributor -6.6%

Years of eLearning experience

5 – 9 -5.1% 5 – 9 -5.1%

Education Associate’s degree -6.3% Master’s degree 1.5%

Job focus Instructional design -7.7% Instructional design -7.7%

Total Adjustments -6.9% Total Adjustments 0.9%

Now we apply these adjustments to the US average salary of $78,932 to calculate a

benchmark salary for now and after the master’s degree.

Now After master’s

US average salary $78,932 US average salary $78,932

Adjustment of -6.9% -5,446 Adjustment of 0.9% +710

Benchmark Salary in USD $73,486 Benchmark Salary in USD $79,642




SURVEY

One thing to be aware of is that we are calculating everything using today’s figures and these

figures are likely to change in three years. The now part of these figures shows that Marcia

could potentially ask for a higher salary even now, but could ask for more with her bachelor’s

degree and more yet with her master’s degree.

Table 6 (on page 23) shows that most instructional designers in this survey had bachelor’s

or master’s degrees, so a master’s degree may be valuable, especially if her supervisor

believes she is promotion worthy (if she can add on the salary dividend for management

responsibilities). Since salaries are determined by more factors than are shown here, it would

be a good idea for Marcia to have a discussion with her supervisor about the benefits of

graduate degrees and its potential to increase her likelihood of promotion.

In today’s dollars, the benchmark salary figures show that the combination of additional years

and education can be worth a lot in today’s dollars. (To determine the ROI, you should subtract

the costs of gaining the education. For a simple cost/benefit analysis, see Degrees for eLearning

Professionals: What’s Needed?)

Table 8 (on page 32) includes some additional variables that may modify the baseline salary.

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SURVEY

Other Salary Variable Categories Subcategories

Location • Cityversussuburbanversusrural

• Companylocationversusemployeelocation

Economic factors • Economicsituation

• Costofliving

Company compensation program • Locationinpaygrade

• Frequencyofreviews

• Frequencyofpayincreases

• Budgetforpayincreases

• Meritincreasesversuscost-of-livingadjustments

• Internalequityamongemployees/departments

• Otherbenefitsandtotalcompensationcomponents

Company performance • Financialperformanceofcompany

• Privateversuspubliccompany

Competition • Benchmarkingacrossregionandindustrypay

Employee experience and skills • eLearning/training/jobfunctionexperience

• Industryexperience

• Specializedoruniqueskills,credentials,orvalue

• Competitiveoffers/leverage

Employee performance • Currentperformanceandconsistencyofperformance

• Performanceimpactonbusinessdrivers

• Supportofdecisionmakersandcustomers

• Promotionpath

Time • Sincelastincrease

Table 8: Additional variables that may adjust baseline salary up or down

These adjustments help evaluate eLearning salaries but readers should not use it exclusively

to determine salary levels. It is merely a starting point that creates a benchmark salary, which

the reader should then adjust up or down based on the circumstances, including location,

company, or individual characteristics. For example, within the UK, rates of pay are likely

higher in London than they are elsewhere, and a star performer with great references and

highly specialized skills is likely to draw a larger salary than her co-workers do.




SURVEY

Appendix A: Regional Groupings

Continent Region/Country Country # of Respondents

Africa Africa Algeria 1Burkina Faso 1Egypt 4Ghana 2Kenya 3Madagascar 1Mauritius 1Morocco 3Nigeria 8South Africa 51Uganda 1Zimbabwe 2

Asia India India 113Other Asia China 10

Cyprus 2Guam 1Hong Kong 6Indonesia 6Iran 1Israel 5Japan 1Jordan 2Kazakhstan 1Korea 5Lebanon 3Macao 1Mongolia 1Malaysia 12Oman 1Pakistan 6Papua New Guinea 1Philippines 8Qatar 3Russian Federation 6Saudi Arabia 10Singapore 7Taiwan 3Thailand 4Turkey 9United Arab Emirates 14Vietnam 2

Australia Australia Australia 203New Zealand New Zealand 51Cook Islands Cook Islands 1Fiji Fiji 2

Table continued on next page.




SURVEY

Continent Region/Country Country # of Respondents

Europe Netherlands Netherlands 34Other Europe Austria 3

Belgium 14Bulgaria 1Czech Republic 1Croatia 1Denmark 12Finland 3France 12Germany 17Greece 8Hungary 1Iceland 1Ireland 21Italy 11Latvia 1Lithuania 1Norway 10Poland 5Portugal 6Romania 2Slovakia 1Spain 28Sweden 6Switzerland 13Ukraine 1

United Kingdom United Kingdom 172

North and South America

Canada Canada 411United States United States 4,452Other North and South America

Argentina 7Bermuda 1Brazil 18Bolivia 1Cayman Islands 1Chile 6Colombia 9Costa Rica 1Ecuador 1Guatemala 5Guyana 1Jamaica 2Mexico 25Panama 1Paraguay 1Peru 3Puerto Rico 5Saint Lucia 1Trinidad and Tobago 1Uruguay 1Venezuela 4

Table 9: Region and country groupings and number of respondents, regions are as defined by Wikipedia




SURVEY

Appendix B: United States Salary Comparison Data

In this section, you will see data for the United States separately as there were 4,452

respondents from the US. Table 10 and Figures 21 through 26 (on pages 36 – 38) highlight the

differences versus the average US salary of $78,932. If you are from the United States, you

should use this data rather than global data as it will be more precise.

US State Average Salary Difference # of Respondents

District of Columbia 19.5% 50

California 12.7% 488

Connecticut 12.0% 52

Massachusetts 11.9% 152

New Jersey 11.1% 87

Illinois 10.7% 191

New York 9.6% 144

Maryland 7.7% 175

Virginia 6.0% 202

Washington 3.4% 128

Texas 3.0% 276

Pennsylvania 2.3% 187

Colorado -1.7% 147

Florida -4.0% 290

Minnesota -4.5% 144

Georgia -4.7% 156

Indiana -4.7% 101

Ohio -5.1% 165

Tennessee -6.5% 80

Arizona -6.7% 122

Oregon -8.3% 73

North Carolina -8.5% 137

Michigan -10.3% 112

Other States -11.5% 467

Kentucky -11.8% 47

Missouri -12.3% 105

Wisconsin -13.5% 94

Utah -17.1% 79

Table 10: Salary difference vs. average US salary of $78,932 by US state




SURVEY

Figure 21: Salary difference vs. average US salary of $78,932 by industry

Figure 22: Salary difference vs. average US salary of $78,932 by company size




SURVEY

Figure 23: Salary difference vs. average US salary of $78,932 by number of people managed

Figure 24: Salary difference vs. average US salary of $78,932 by years of eLearning experience

Figure 25: Salary difference vs. average US salary of $78,932 by education




SURVEY

Figure 26: Salary difference vs. average US salary of $78,932 by job focus




SURVEY

Appendix C: Canadian Province and Territory Average Salary Data

This section shows average salary data for Canadian provinces and territories. Most of the

response numbers (i.e., number of respondents from each of the provinces and territories)

are far too small for us to suggest using (with the exception, perhaps, of Ontario). But since

we are aware of how hard some of our Canadian Guild members tried to get respondents to

submit data for this survey and because there were a larger number of responses this year, we

are responding to their efforts by sharing the data we received. We hope to get more data in

future surveys so this salary data is more valid for using in developing benchmarks. Note that

we express the average salaries in US dollars (USD). At the time that the report was written,

the USD to CAD exchange rate was 1.096.

Canadian Province or Territory Average Salary Number of

Respondents

Northwest Territory $110,000 1

Alberta $87,889 65

Quebec $86,085 58

British Columbia $78,649 51

Newfoundland/Labrador $78,616 2

Ontario $77,129 198

Manitoba $72,666 8

Saskatchewan $71,241 8

Yukon Territory $65,000 1

Nova Scotia $61,875 8

New Brunswick $52,287 9

Prince Edward Island $47,182 2

Average Salary $79,153 411

Table 11: Canadian province and territory average salary data


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SURVEY

Resources

The eLearning Guild

Salary Calculator: http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1352/

Research Reports

Shank, Patti. Degrees for eLearning Professionals: What’s Needed? The eLearning Guild, 2012. http://www.

elearningguild.com/research/archives/index.cfm?id=155&action=viewonly&from=content&mode=filter&source=archives

Shank, Patti. 2013 Global eLearning Salary & Compensation Report. The eLearning Guild, 2013. http://www.

elearningguild.com/research/archives/index.cfm?id=165&action=viewonly

Shank, Patti. What’s Changing in Your Work World? The eLearning Guild, 2012. http://www.elearningguild.com/

research/archives/index.cfm?id=163&action=viewonly

Smolen, Temple. 2010 Global eLearning Salary and Compensation Report—United States. The eLearning Guild, 2010.

http://www.elearningguild.com/research/archives/index.cfm?id=141&action=viewonly

Smolen, Temple. 2012 Global eLearning Salary and Compensation Report. The eLearning Guild, 2012. http://www.

elearningguild.com/research/archives/index.cfm?id=154&action=viewonly

Other Resources

Reports

American Association of University Women. The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap, 2013 edition. AAUW,

2013. http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/

Hausmann, Ricardo, Laura D. Tyson, and Saadia Zahidi. The World Economic Forum: The Global Gender Pay Gap

Report 2012. World Economic Forum, 2012. http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2012

Hegewisch, Ariane, Claudia Williams, and Vanessa Harbin. The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation. Institute for

Women’s Policy Research, 2012. http://www.iwpr.org/publications/pubs/the-gender-wage-gap-by-occupation-1

Websites

Currency Exchange Rate. http://www.xe.com/

Wikipedia—Regional Groupings

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Asia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Europe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceania

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_America


http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1352/

http://www.elearningguild.com/research/archives/index.cfm?id=155&action=viewonly&from=content&mode=filter&source=archives

http://www.elearningguild.com/research/archives/index.cfm?id=155&action=viewonly&from=content&mode=filter&source=archives








http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/

http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2012

http://www.iwpr.org/publications/pubs/the-gender-wage-gap-by-occupation-1

http://www.xe.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Asia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Europe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceania

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_America



SURVEY

About the Author

Patti Shank, PhD, CPT is the research director of The eLearning

Guild and president of Learning Peaks. She is listed in Who’s Who in

Instructional Technology and is an often-requested speaker at training

and instructional technology conferences. Patti is quoted frequently

in training publications and is the co-author of Making Sense of Online

Learning (Pfeiffer, 2004), editor of The Online Learning Idea Book

(Pfeiffer, 2007, 2011), co-editor of The E-Learning Handbook (Pfeiffer,

2008), and co-author of Essential Articulate Studio ’09 (Jones and

Bartlett, 2009).


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