Each year I analyze the results of self-reported salary information to get a current understanding of average compensation levels across the Biopharmaceutical and Medical Technology industry. I have the data broken out by four different levels of marketing positions and by company size. The intent is to provide select clients with real-time bench-marking information that can help their organization stay current as they attempt to attract and retain key employees. This is information provided by real marketing personnel working in the Drug and Med Tech industry in 2018, in contrast to syndicated data gathered from surveys of job-band salary ranges, which are not based on individual’s salaries and are typically published 6-12 months after they are reported.

The four levels of marketing positions I’ve analyzed are:
1. Product Managers, Associate Product Managers or other titles assigned to personnel with less than five years of upstream, pipeline planning or downstream marketing experience
2. Sr. Product Managers, Group Product Managers or other titles assigned to personnel with five or more years of marketing experience who are at the highest level of individual contributor and working in a role that is not intended to have direct reports.
3. First-line Marketing Managers, Associate Directors or Directors. These are people who have or will have direct reports assigned to them.
4. Senior Directors, Vice Presidents or other titles of personnel who lead the marketing function of an organization, and are most often managers of managers. These positions do not include Sales, Business Development, Managed Care or other functions that typically report into the C Suite or Sr. VP level.

Employers are defined as “Large” if they generate 1B or more in annual revenue and / or have more than 5000 employees. This base salary analysis does not consider bonuses or equity packages, which are generally more comprehensive in smaller and mid-sized organizations than in larger ones.

Note that in 2018 new rules were established in various states and cities in the U.S. that prevent employers from asking job candidates about their compensation history. As a result we now ask candidates for direction regarding the minimum base salary we can use to screen out opportunities for them based on their compensation needs. Most respondents proactively volunteer information about their current salary level and ask us to use that number as a minimum threshold. For many others the number they provide represents a lateral move from their current salary, although they don’t expressly state that is their current number. Some candidates respond with a number that represents a minimum increase they would need to see to consider a new opportunity. Although one could argue that the new rules make a compensation analysis less accurate than in the past, the old practice of asking for current salaries did not include a request for documentation of that number so employers and recruiters have always been somewhat skeptical about the accuracy of self-reported salaries. The data provided here represent average salaries that are expected by employees in order to accept a job for which they are qualified, based on years of experience in a similar role.

Results – Biopharmaceutical Industry

Marketing Level I
Associate Product Managers, Product Managers and other junior-level, individual contributors with fewer than five years of marketing experience: The average base salary for Level I marketers in 2018 was $116,368. Among large employers the average was $126,610, and among small and mid-size employers the average was $105,115.

Marketing Level II
Sr. Product Managers, Product Managers and personnel with five or more years of marketing experience who are senior-level, individual contributors and working in a role that is not intended to have direct reports. The average base salary for Level II marketers in 2018 was $159,089. Among large employers the average was $163,603, and among small and mid-size employers the average was $147,125.

Marketing Level III
First-line managers, including Group Marketing Managers, Associate Directors and Directors – these are marketing managers who have or will have direct reports assigned to them. The average base salary for Level III marketers in 2018 was $194,333. Among large employers the average was $202,012, and among small and mid-size employers the average was $188,203.

Marketing Level IV
Senior Directors, Vice Presidents or other personnel who lead the marketing function of an organization. They are not responsible for Sales, Business Development, Managed Care or other functions reporting into the Chief level. The average base salary for Level IV marketers in 2018 was $251,143. Among large employers the average was $275,404, and among small and mid-size employers the average was $238,667.

Results – Medical Technology Industry (Medical Device and Diagnostics)

Marketing Level I
Associate Product Managers, Product Managers and other junior-level, individual contributors with fewer than five years of marketing experience: The average base salary for Level I marketers in 2018 was $107,616. Among large employers the average was $117,951, and among small and mid-size employers the average was $95,220.

Marketing Level II
Sr. Product Managers, Product Managers and personnel with five or more years of marketing experience who are senior-level, individual contributors and working in a role that is not intended to have direct reports. The average base salary for Level II marketers in 2018 was $142,825. Among large employers the average was $149,187, and among small and mid-size employers the average was $134,163.

Marketing Level III
First-line managers, including Group Marketing Managers, Associate Directors and Directors – these are marketing managers who have or will have direct reports assigned to them. The average base salary for Level III marketers in 2018 was $183,466. Among large employers the average was $189,609, and among small and mid-size employers the average was $173,318.

Marketing Level IV
Senior Directors, Vice Presidents or other personnel who lead the marketing function of an organization. They are not responsible for Sales, Business Development, Managed Care or other functions reporting into the Chief or Sr. VP level. The average base salary for Level IV marketers in 2018 was $240,391. Among large employers the average was $263,715, and among small and mid-size employers the average was $230,188.

ANALYSIS

Across all levels salaries have risen by 3-4% above 2017 results, which is a slightly lower growth rate than the prior year. Whereas marketing professionals in the BioPharmaceutical industry had flat growth in salaries across all levels except for Sr. PM’s (+4.8%), the Medical Technology industry posted positive growth at all levels, ranging from +3.5% to +4.9%.

There continues to be a gap between base salaries paid by large-cap companies versus their smaller counterparts. The percentage gap between large and small organizations is greater at the Director and VP levels than at lower levels (on the other hand, equity packages at those levels are much richer in smaller companies than in larger ones). Smaller companies are closing the gap, however, and in 2018 we saw smaller differences in average salaries paid by large and small companies, in both BioPharma and Med Tech organizations. This trend in gap-closure was more significant at the junior Levels I & II. The trend would suggest that smaller organizations have been slightly faster to recognize and react to the tight labor market and “war for talent” than larger organizations.

Despite ongoing contraction and layoffs, marketers in the Biopharma industry continued to earn a slightly higher base salary than their counterparts in the Med Tech space, with a 5-12% difference across the various levels. The difference in salaries between the industries is more pronounced at lower levels (Manager and Sr. Manager) and less pronounced at higher levels (Director and VP).

Across both sectors, and as in prior years, there was a 35-50K gap in the average base salaries from one level to the next (the gap is wider at higher levels, as would be expected). Overall, base salaries continued to trend upward in the BioPharma and Medical Technology industries in 2018, although slightly less rapidly than in 2017, which is consistent with the employment and new job creation rates reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2018.