Are You Being Paid Enough?
In our 2016 Life Science Salary Survey, we have discovered that a staggering 48% of UK respondents believe that their salary does not reflect their current career level. Although the majority believed otherwise, it still shows significant discord and lack of confidence in salaries within the Life Science sector.
Many workers, not just those within the life science sector, will question their current salary at regular intervals, often wondering if they amount of responsibility they have is reflected in their current pay grade. Although the most common time of year people will ponder this notion is within the new year. With all the media channels touting “New Year, New Me” people often look to make a drastic change within their lifestyle out of fear of stagnating and becoming inactive either physically, mentally or in their career. Undoubtedly the most motivating factor for a job related change is of course money, but in many cases employees lack the knowledge and/or confidence to take the plunge.
Whatever the situation it is best to consider your motivations, such as career progression or gaining more experience. As previously stated, money is quite often a “make or break” factor within a job but is often overlooked when the salary allows the employee to live within their means. Which begs the question “Are you paid enough?”.
Recognising the need to compare salaries within the Life Sciences industry, Clinical professionals first began creating a salary survey guide back in 2011 as a way for candidates to assess current pay and benefits, by comparing several different factors to determine if the salary and benefits package is appropriate for experience levels, location and position within the sector.
For instance, 46% of UK Clinical Research and QA/QC respondents believed their salary accurately reflected their pay grade and just over 30% of Clinical Research respondents received a bonus within their benefits package.
Meanwhile 49% of UK Regulatory Affairs candidates believe their salary was appropriate for their level, whilst only 30% of those working in Europe thought their salary reflected their level.
Many of the other sectors featured in our salary survey tell a similar story, which reinforces the notion that there is a lot of doubt as to what salary is appropriate for particular levels within the different sectors.
The salary survey also looks at the SBSP for each individual sector and the life sciences industry as a whole. For those unaware the SBSP (salary banding switch point) is the ideal salary for career satisfaction.
This year the overall SBSP was £52k, a £3k rise compared to last year, although this is reflective of the rises in SBSP’s across all the sectors within our survey. This is likely to be an indication of a healthy industry paying more to roles on average, causing the amount to increase due to inflation as opposed to a decrease in the industry’s satisfaction levels.
The majority of Life Science across all sectors are expecting a pay rise next year, for instance 76% in Clinical Research believe they will receive a salary increase, whilst this was 91% in the Regulatory Affairs sector, despite less than 50% Regulatory candidates believing they do not receive enough money for their role.
Despite the lack of confidence in salaries it is clear that many in the Life Science sector believe they will get a pay rise in the next 12 months. Thereby leading to a need of negotiating, which is where our 2016 Life Science Salary Survey can provide assistance by acting as evidence for any claims relating to appropriate pay or benefits.
If you would like to assess your value within your company and how you compare to the industry as a whole, please click the link below to fill in your details for a complimentary copy of our latest salary guide:
www.pharmaceuticalsalarysurvey.com
Clinical Professionals is Europe’s leading life science recruitment company. We are industry specialists, recruiting for life science jobs, and providing specialist outsourcing solutions through our CP Functional Service Provision (FSP).
If you would like to know more about our services and would like to talk to someone about your recruitment needs, please email info@clinicalprofessionals.co.uk or call 0118 959 4990