A bit of data extrapolation. Recent PR Week features say that the average PR agency director’s salary is £75,000 and senior agency folk work on average 59 hours a week. In which case, that means the average PR agency director earns around £26.50 per hour (this assumes they take 4 weeks holiday – which I suspect in some cases they don’t – so that would drop the rate slightly further). Of course, the £26.50 is before tax – a £75,000 salary of course attracts a tax rate of 40pc on everything above £34,000 (allowing for personal allowances, amount taxed at lower rate, etc) . So this could mean take home pay is actually below £20 per hour.
PR Week’s data would also suggest that if the average PR agency account exec is earning £19,800 and working 50.5 hours a week, then the average hourly rate is about £8 pre-tax). Post tax takes the figure closed to £6 per hour. Which may explain the lack of morale cited by PR Week – or why office cleaning offers a similar rate of pay for shorter hours.
Filed under: General PR , pr salaries
So true – working in PR sucks
Very interesting stats.
But surely, no-one’s forcing these people to work in PR – if they don’t like the supply and demand situation, they’re all bright enough to realise that they have other options. And isn’t there (again, I’d hope) an element of job satisfaction in the equation, rather than just money?
James – you are right. No one is forcing people to work in PR. And yes, it isn’t just about money – and long hours are hardly a new feature of PR agency life – but I hear from a lot people that it is “no fun” either – the phrase “dearth of talent and experience” seems to crop up in conversation with agency heads. But it is also surely to do with the kind and type of product/service agencies are offering. We need more agencies to be making good, sustainable profits in order to have a thriving industry – it just feels at the moment that it is creating some (not all) of its own problems.
Hello !!!!
I am Piter Kokoniz. Just want to tell, that I like your blog very much!
And want to ask you: what was the reasson for you to start this blog?
Sorry for my bad english:)
Thank you:)
Piter Kokoniz, from Latvia