Wages of Localization Worldwide Survey of Salary and Employment Practices for Language Professionals By Renato S. Beninatto and Donald A. DePalma April 2007
Wages of Localization By Renato S. Beninatto and Donald A. DePalma April 2007 ISBN: 978-1-933555-37-9 Copyright 2007 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc., Lowell, Massachusetts, United States of America. Published by: Common Sense Advisory, Inc. 100 Merrimack Street Suite 301 Lowell, MA 01852-1708 U.S.A +1.978.275.0500 info@commonsenseadvisory.com www.commonsenseadvisory.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Permission requests should be addressed to the Permissions Department, Common Sense Advisory, Inc., Suite 301, 100 Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA 01852-1708, +1.978.275.0500, E-Mail: info@commonsenseadvisory.com. See www.commonsenseadvisory.com/en/citationpolicy.html for usage guidelines. Trademarks: Common Sense Advisory, Global Watchtower, Global DataSet, DataPoint, Globa Vista, Quick Take, and Technical Take are trademarks of Common Sense Advisory, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Information is based on the best available resources at the time of analysis. Opinions reflect the best judgment of Common Sense Advisory s analysts at the time, and are subject to change.
Wages of Localization i Table of Contents Topic... 1 Who Should Read This Report... 1 Vox Populi... 2 Consolidation Methodology... 3 What Do Language Professionals Earn?... 4 Income Averages by Job Title and Region... 4 Mean and Median Income... 6 Buyers of Language Services Often Pay Higher Salaries... 7 More Industry Experience Translates into Bigger Salaries... 8 Americans Work Fewer Years at a Company than Europeans Do... 9 Bigger Companies Pay More than Smaller Ones... 10 Want a Job with More Pay? Go to a Big Company in the U.S. or Canada... 11 Who Receives the Most Benefits?... 12 Asians Get One or Two Weeks of Vacation, While Americans Average Two or Three... 13 Gender Matters Just Like It Does Everywhere Else... 14 Industry Gender Concentrations... 14 Male Translators Earn More than Women, But Women Make More in Other Jobs... 15 Gender Concentrations in the U.S. and Canada... 16 Gender Concentrations Exist in Europe... 17 Asian Gender Concentrations... 18 Higher Education Is a Hallmark of the Language Business... 19 Most U.S. and Canadian Respondents Have College Degrees... 19 European Language Professionals Value Education... 20 Education of Asian Professionals... 21 Graduate Degrees Are Becoming Essential for Language Professionals... 22 To Some Extent, Education Pays... 23 Age and Aquarius Affect Language Professionals... 24 Few Language Professionals Receive Senior Citizen Discounts... 24 Thirty-Something s Work in All Areas... 25 Copyright 2007 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc. April 2007
ii Wages of Localization Promotions Occur in the Forties... 26 If You Want a Higher Salary, Lie about Your Birthday... 27 How Do Country Wages Compare?... 28 Industry Average China Isn t the Lowest... 28 Operations Executives... 29 Project Management... 30 Sales... 31 Software Engineering... 32 Translator/Editor... 33 About Common Sense Advisory... 34 Future Research... 34 Figures Figure 1: Geographic Distribution of Survey Respondents... 3 Figure 2: Regional Average Gross Income Comparisons by Job Title... 5 Figure 3: Average Income by Years Worked in Industry... 8 Figure 4: Number of Years with Current Employer... 9 Figure 5: Average Salary by Title and Company Size... 10 Figure 6: Percentage of Respondents by Company Size in the U.S., Canada, and Europe... 11 Figure 7: Number of Weeks of Vacation per Region... 13 Figure 8: More Women Translate... 14 Figure 9: Average Salary Varies by Gender and Job... 15 Figure 10: Distribution by Gender and Role in the U.S. and Canada... 16 Figure 11: Distribution by Gender and Role in Europe... 17 Figure 12: Distribution by Gender and Role in Asia... 18 Figure 13: Education Levels of Language Professionals in the U.S. and Canada... 19 Figure 14: Education Levels of Language Professionals in Europe... 20 Figure 15: Educational Level of Language Professionals in Asia... 21 Figure 16: Educational Achievement by Title... 22 Figure 17: How Education Translates into Income... 23 April 2007 Copyright 2007 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Wages of Localization iii Figure 18: Ages of Language Services Professionals... 24 Figure 19: Work Fields of Employees in the Thirties... 25 Figure 20: Work Fields of Employees in the Forties... 26 Figure 21: The Zodiac Affects Your Salary, If Not Your Love Life... 27 Figure 22: Average Salary in Industry by Country... 28 Figure 23: Average Salaries of Operations Executives by Country... 29 Figure 24: Average Salaries of Project Managers by Country... 30 Figure 25: Average Base Salaries of Salespeople by Country... 31 Figure 26: Average Salaries of Software Engineers by Country... 32 Figure 27: Average Salaries of Translators/Editors by Country... 33 Tables Table 1: Mean and Median Salaries by Title and Region in U.S. dollars... 6 Table 2: Buyer vs. Vendor Industry Average Salary... 7 Table 3: Percentage of Professionals Receiving Various Benefits by Region... 12 Copyright 2007 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc. April 2007
Wages of Localization 1 Topic Localization professionals are like people in any job. They frequently wonder do I make enough money? Would I earn more if I worked for someone else? Meanwhile, the companies that employ them worry about paying too much or that a valued employee will leave for a competitor that offers a few shekels more. Whether you re on the giving or receiving end of a paycheck, money matters. Ever anxious to transfer such conversations from the hypothetical to the real world, we launched a global multilingual survey in July and August 2006 to learn the answers. We asked about the companies they worked for, how much money they made, what education prepared them for the job, and other aspects of their professional and personal lives. Anyone hiring localization professionals. Hiring managers who want to recruit the most qualified staff and reduce turnover need to know what the competition is offering and what job-seekers expect. Wage earners at salary review time. Employees want to compare their income and profile with industry averages. Similarly, anyone looking for a job will be interested in what the market will bear, what skills rival job-seekers will bring to the table, and what a change in geography might yield. Entrepreneurs thinking of getting into the business. Every year new firms focused on translation and localization enter the competition. Each new company needs to know what potential employees expect for compensation. Who Should Read This Report Anyone involved in the localization industry as a buyer, provider, freelancer, recruiter or practitioner should find the data in this report valuable: Copyright 2007 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc. April 2007