Culpepper Compensation & Benefits Surveys


Pay Rises Faster in Accounting and HR
than in Software Development
 January 2006

This month, we examine pay changes over the recent year for U.S. employees in four senior-level positions. Market pay rates within jobs may vary by factors such as location, experience level, company size, and company type. Pay rates will also vary across job types within a company, depending upon the internal value of the position to the organization.

Table 1 displays average salary data from companies providing two sequential years of data for incumbents in the following positions:

  • Senior Staff Accountant

  • Senior Human Resources Generalist

  • Senior Software Developer

  • Senior Product Manager

Limiting the comparison to data from the same companies over a two-year period emphasizes pay variance related to job type and reduces the impact of factors such as location. The relatively high increase for Senior Staff Accountants highlights the importance of this role over the past year.

Table 1: Pay Changes for Four Senior Positions

Culpepper Job Code & Title

 Average Base Salary
($USD)		 Percentage
Change
January 2005 January 2006

50106: Senior Staff Accountant

$58,286

$61,614

5.7%

54006: Senior HR Generalist

$63,304

$65,061

2.8%

66106: Senior Software Developer

$92,876

$95,575

2.9%

59106: Senior Product Manager

$99,697

$99,262

-0.4%

Culpepper Job Code & Title

 Average Targeted Total
Cash Compensation
($USD)		 Percentage
Change
January 2005 January 2006

50106: Senior Staff Accountant

$61,162

$64,134

4.9%

54006: Senior HR Generalist

$65,457

$68,698

5.0%

66106: Senior Software Developer

$98,769

$101,506

2.8%

59106: Senior Product Manager

$108,504

$107,754

-0.7%

In our February 2005 eBulletin, we reported that budgeted base salary increases for 2005 averaged 3.5 percent. Although staffing changes due to promotions, hiring, and turnover contribute to the changes in Table 1, companies did not apply budgeted increases evenly across jobs. Base salaries for Senior Staff Accountants increased much greater than budgeted increase levels.

Understanding trends in compensation for workers in the technology industry remains challenging. Variance in base salaries and total cash compensation driven by job type, employee location, experience level, company size, and company type contribute to the challenge.  As always, reliable survey-based data for a position is a necessary and important tool for setting appropriate compensation levels.

- Will Parsons

Source: The Culpepper Compensation Survey database as of January 1, 2006. Data presented is based upon incumbent-based averages from over 100 technology companies providing two sequential years of information on the specific senior-level positions.  All employees in senior-level positions typically have six or more years of experience and operate under minimal supervision.

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