Burtch Works

Burtch Works
Study
Salaries for Big Data Professionals
July 2013 Burtch Works Executive Recruiting
Linda Burtch, Managing Director
The
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section 1: Introduction ......................................................................................... 3
Study Objective ................................................................................................................... 4 About Burtch Works ........................................................................................................... 4 Why the Burtch Works Study is Unprecedented ................................................................ 5
Section 2: Study Design ......................................................................................... 6

The Sample ......................................................................................................................... 7 Identifying Big Data Professionals ...................................................................................... 7 Completeness and Age of Data ........................................................................................... 8 Segmentations of Big Data Professionals ........................................................................... 9
Section 3: Big Data Professionals: Who They Are ................................................. 12

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 13 Age of Big Data Professionals ........................................................................................... 14 Gender of Big Data Professionals ..................................................................................... 15 Education of Big Data Professionals ................................................................................. 16 Residency Status of Big Data Professionals ...................................................................... 17
Section 4: Big Data Professionals: What They Earn .............................................. 19

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 20 Compensation by Job Level .............................................................................................. 21 Compensation by Education ............................................................................................. 23 Special Report: Compensation for Entry Level Jobs by Education .................................... 26 Compensation by Residency Status .................................................................................. 27 Compensation by Region .................................................................................................. 29 Compensation by Industry ................................................................................................ 32 Compensation by Gender ................................................................................................. 37
Section 5: Special Report: Salary Increases of Big Data Professionals ................... 38

Overview ........................................................................................................................... 39 Base Salary Change by Job Title ........................................................................................ 40 Base Salary Change by Education ..................................................................................... 41
Section 6: Where do we go from here?................................................................ 42

Recruiting & Retaining Big Data Professionals.................................................................. 43
Section 7: Appendix ............................................................................................ 44

Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................ 45
Burtch Works Executive Recruiting, 1560 Sherman Avenue, Suite 1005, Evanston, IL 60201 847-440-8555 | www.burtchworks.com | info@burtchworks.com Survey design consulting services provided by: Fred Crandall, Ph.D., Managing Director, Eastwood Group Partners, Ltd.
2013, Burtch Works LLC. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Opinions reflect judgment at time of publication and are subject to change.
2013, Burtch Works LLC, Reproduction Prohibited
THE BURTCH WORKS STUDY
Section 1
INTRODUCTION
Study Objective
The purpose of this report is to provide up-to-date information on the compensation of Big Data professionals. Big Data professionals are individuals who can apply sophisticated quantitative skills to data describing transactions, interactions or other behaviors of people to derive insights and prescribe actions. They are distinguished from the quants of the past by the sheer quantity of data on which they operate, an abundance made possible by new opportunities for measuring behaviors (most notably, the opportunity to measure what people do online, but there are many others, such as those presented by customer loyalty programs) and advances in technologies for the storage and retrieval of data (for example, Hadoop). Because the value of Big Data has been demonstrated many times, the demand for Big Data professionals is growing rapidly. Despite a keen need for current and reliable information about the compensation of Big Data professionals, no such information has been available. Burtch Works here takes advantage of data that it has for 2,845 Big Data professionals in the U.S. to report who they are, how much they earn, and how their pay varies with level of responsibility, years of experience, education, where they live, and the industry in which they work.
About Burtch Works

Burtch Works Executive Recruiting is a team of recruiters with decades of experience placing quantitative professionals in the most in-demand jobs on the market. They have long-established relationships with thousands of professionals who work in various industries to support the recent influx of information, as well as with hundreds of companies that rely on workers to harness the power of marketing analytics. Burtch Works is therefore able to provide unparalleled insight into the hiring and compensation of these professionals and with this report further shed light on a previously unexplored area of the job market. Linda Burtch, the Managing Director of Burtch Works, has 30 years of experience recruiting in analytics and knows the space and the talent thoroughly. She has maintained a blog for many years, writing on topics of importance to the analytics community. In addition, she maintains a strong social network presence serving as a conduit for conveying relevant information and follows influential leaders in the analytics community closely. She has also been a frequent speaker on Big Data career topics at luncheons, conferences, corporate gatherings and webinars. Linda has been part of the Executive Board of the Chicago Chapter of the American Statistical Association and is currently serving as the Boards President. Ms. Burtch and her colleagues have strong relationships with over 17,000 quantitative professionals, many of whom Burtch Works has kept in close touch with throughout their career starting with the completion of their Masters and Ph.D. programs. As these individuals progress in their careers, Burtch Works maintains regular correspondences through phone calls, emails, and networking events. Through these interactions, Burtch Works has meticulously collected invaluable information about professionals compensation and the factors that influence it such as their education, years of experience and industry of employment.
The Big Data professionals in this study have worked at more than 700 firms that include large multinational corporations, start-ups, management consulting firms, advertising agencies, niche quantitative firms, and research organizations. Burtch Works communicates with the hiring managers and human resources specialists of such companies who are staffing quantitative roles on a daily basis, staying abreast of job requirements and hiring practices. This latest report is a culmination of their findings which they are excited to present to both employers and employees in the far reaching world of Big Data.
Why the Burtch Works Study is Unprecedented

The Burtch Works Study is different from any other compensation survey because: This study focuses solely on the compensation of Big Data professionals, and the results are not confounded with trends in the compensation of other related professionals, such as web and business intelligence analysts. Burtch Works assiduously excluded data about the compensation of these other professionals from the data used to derive the results reported here. Although Burtch Works has relationships with far more quantitative professionals, compensation data for only 2,845 judged to be Big Data professionals with deep analytical skills were used for this study. Burtch Works staff collected the data by interviewing Big Data professionals about their current jobs. This approach differs from the traditional approach used for salary surveys, which is to obtain compensation data from human resources departments, who have difficulty identifying those employees of their firms who fall into this category. This is because a firms Big Data professionals are typically not in a department that is only for such professionals and, instead, are found in many departments throughout a firm. Moreover, job titles of Big Data professionals, which vary widely across and even within firms, often do not make clear that they are Big Data professionals. Another important advantage of the interview process is that Burtch Works staff was able to obtain information about the professionals not often provided by human resources departments but with which compensation often varies, such as education and residency status. Finally, because of their knowledge of the Big Data profession, when recruiters conducted interviews, they were able to obtain corrections or clarifications when information provided by the professionals did not seem credible. Burtch Works shows how compensation varies by region, industry, education and residency status. Burtch works developed a categorization of jobs by management responsibility (whether the job includes a responsibility for managing other employees) and level (level of management responsibility or depth of expertise) and then assigned each individual for which it has compensation data to one of these categories. This is typically done for compensation surveys. However, because Burtch Works has compensation data for 2,845 Big Data professionals, there were many individuals assigned to most of these categories. Consequently, in addition to showing how compensation varies across these categories, Burtch Works also shows how compensation varies within a category by region, industry, education and residency status.
Section 2
STUDY DESIGN
The Sample
The sample consists of 2,845 of the more than 17,000 quantitative professionals with whom Burtch Works has relationships. All of these 2,845 professionals have the education, skills and job responsibilities typical of Big Data professionals. Additionally, for each one, Burtch Works has the data necessary to show how Big Data professionals are compensated and what their compensation depends on. Finally, for each professional in the sample, the data available were collected in an interview done no more than 30 months ago.
Identifying Big Data Professionals

Burtch Works looked at the education, skills and job responsibilities of quantitative professionals to identify those who are Big Data Professionals. Firstly, Big Data professionals have a degree usually an advanced one, such as a Masters degree or Ph.D. in a quantitative discipline such as Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Operations Research or Economics. In addition, some professionals with an MBA were also judged to be Big Data professionals if they described their MBA program as one having a quantitative emphasis, which is often true of graduates of business schools such as those at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University. Secondly, Big Data professionals generally have skill using one or more tools for operating on Big Data, such as SAS, R, Hadoop, and SQL. Thirdly, Burtch Works looked for Big Data professionals with job responsibilities in one of these areas: Analytical Database Marketing: Studies existing customers with using methods such as customer segmentation, campaign targeting and effectiveness, propensity modeling, and customer lifetime value analysis. Analytics Management: Manages analytics projects, usually without being hands-on with data (might use Excel, but no advanced tools). Sometimes does not have a formal education in one of the quantitative disciplines in the list above. Business Intelligence: Specializes in establishing data warehouses and other infrastructure for accommodating Big Data, and might also have a responsibility for basic analytics and reporting. Credit Risk Analytics: Measures consumer, enterprise, and market risk levels. Results of analyses might impact the price of product, such as the interest rate for a credit card or its availability, as in the case of a loan. Data Science: Utilizes proficiency for data management and analytical skills, to make Big Data accessible and derive useful information from Big Data.
Marketing Science: Predicts consumer behavior using analytics such as marketing mix modeling. Analysis can use transaction-, store-, or market-level data. Operations Research: Finds optimal solutions to problems such as those that often occur in logistics, manufacturing, inventory management, and revenue yield management using methods such as linear, integer and network programming.
After consideration of the work done by individuals in Analytics Management, Business Intelligence, and Operations Research jobs, Burtch Works decided to exclude them from the sample. Data scientists, however, are certainly Big Data professionals, but because this subset of professionals is so new, and because their compensation is so unlike that of other Big Data Professionals, Burtch Works decided to exclude them from the sample and will, in the future, publish a separate study for data scientists.
Completeness and Age of Data

Burtch Works included a professional in the sample only if it has complete data for the professional. This includes compensation data base salary, bonus eligibility and last bonus received -- but also knowledge of whether a professional manages other people and the number managed, years of experience, region of the U.S. where the professional lives, industry of employment, education, residency status, and gender. Burtch Works required all of these data so that it can describe the current population of Big Data professionals and show how their compensation varies with their attributes. Additionally, Burtch Works included a professional in the sample only if the data available for the professional was obtained in the last 30 months, which is typical of compensation surveys. Each of the 2,845 professionals in the sample was interviewed by a Burtch Works recruiter at some point during the 30 months ending May, 2013, most within the last year. Recruiters did these interviews in the course of executing searches for clients.
Segmentations of Big Data Professionals

Burtch Works segmented Big Data professionals to investigate how their compensation varies with demographic attributes of the professionals and characteristics of their jobs. Some of these segmentations are straightforward, such as segmentations by education, region, industry of employment, and residency status. However, Burtch Works also divided the professionals into six categories based on whether a professional manages employees and, if so, the level of management responsibility, and if not, the depth of expertise:
Figure 1. Definition of Individual Contributor Job Levels Individual Contributors
Level Level 1 Level 2
Responsibility Learning the job, hands-on analytics and modeling Hands-on with data, working with more advanced problems and models, may help train Analysts Considered an analytics Subject Matter Expert, mentors and trains analysts
Typical Years of Experience 0-3 years 4-8 years
Level 3
9+ years
Figure 2. Definition of Manager Job Levels Managers
Level Level 1
Responsibility Tactical manager who leads a small group within a function, responsible for executing limited projects or tasks within a project Manager who leads a function and manages a moderately sized team, responsible for executing strategy Member of senior management who determines strategy and leads large teams, manages at the executive level
Typical Number of Reports 1-3 reports (direct or matrix)
Level 2
4-9 reports (direct or matrix) 10+ reports (direct or matrix)
Level 3
Burtch Works divided the U.S. into these five categories: Northeast Southeast Midwest Mountain West Coast
These regions are defined as Figure 3 shows below:
Figure 3. U.S. Geographic Regions
WEST COAST
NORTHEAST
MIDWEST
MOUNTAIN
SOUTHEAST
Note: The Northeast included areas of Virginia within 50 miles of Washington, DC, and the Midwest included areas of Pennsylvania within 75 miles of Pittsburgh.
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The firms for which professionals work were divided into these nine industries: Advertising/Marketing Services Consulting Consumer Packaged Goods Financial Services Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals Outsourcing Retail Tech/Telecom Other
Each professional was assigned to one of these five residency status categories: U.S. Citizen F-1/OPT H-1B Permanent Resident Other
Finally, each professional was in one of these five education categories: No college degree Bachelors degree Masters degree Ph.D. all-but-dissertation (ABD) Ph.D.
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Section 3
BIG DATA PROFESSIONALS: WHO THEY ARE
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Overview
Big Data professionals are young. Three quarters of them have no more than 15 years of experience. Big Data professionals are overwhelmingly male, particularly those at more senior levels. Big Data professionals are highly educated. 86% have at least a Masters degree. 39% of Big Data professionals are not U.S. citizens. Significantly fewer than half of individual contributors at levels 1 and 2 are U.S. citizens.
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Age of Big Data Professionals

The recruiters at Burtch Works do not ask the age of the professionals with whom they work. However, they do ask them for their years of work experience, which is highly correlated with age. Big Data professionals are likely to be young: the median years of experience is eleven. Three quarters of Big Data professionals have no more than 15 years of experience.
Figure 4. Big Data Professionals by Years of Experience

700 600 Number of Professionals
Median: 11 years
500 400 300 200 100 0 0-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 Years of Experience 31-35 36-40 40+
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Gender of Big Data Professionals

As is true of many professions that require an education in a STEM field, there are relatively few women among Big Data professionals: only 25% are women. The more years of experience a professional has, the less likely it is that the professional is a woman:
Figure 5. Gender of Big Data Professionals by Years of Experience

40+ 36-40 31-35 Years' Experience 26-30 21-25 16-20 11-15 6-10 0-5 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% Male 50% Female 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
These results are in line with other STEM findings: Math, Science, and Engineering: 3 men to every 1 woman in the field1 Computer Science: women comprise 27-29% of the computing workforce2 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math: women occupy less than a quarter of the STEM positions3
Women affected by male to female ratio in math, science and engineering settings. Association for Psychological Science. http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/women-affected-by-male-to-female-ratio-in-math-scienceand-engineering-settings.html 2 Women in computing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_computing 3 The STEM gender gap. Decisions Based on Evidence. http://www.decisionsonevidence.com/2013/04/the-stem-gender-gap/ 2013, Burtch Works LLC, Reproduction Prohibited
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Education of Big Data Professionals

Big Data professionals are also highly educated: 86% have an advanced degree.
Figure 6. Big Data Professionals by Education

No Degree 1% Bachelor's 13%
PhD 20%
PhD, ABD 2%
Master's 64%
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Residency Status of Big Data Professionals

A large proportion of the Big Data professionals, 39%, are not U.S. citizens:
Figure 7. Big Data Professionals by Residency Status F-1/OPT 1% H-1B 17% Other 1%
Perm. Resident 20%
Citizen 61%
Fewer than half of individual contributors at levels 1 and 2 are U.S. citizens, while majorities of individual contributors at level 3 and managers at all levels are U.S. citizens:
Figure 8. Residency Status of Big Data Professionals by Job Level
MG, Level 3 MG, Level 2 MG, Level 1 IC, Level 3 IC, Level 2 IC, Level 1 0% 10% 20% Citizen 30% 40% 50% H-1B 60% F-1/OPT 70% Other 80% 90% 100%
Perm. Resident
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Because so many of the individuals with the best training and experience to be Big Data professionals are from abroad, most companies employing these professionals are willing to sponsor applications to obtain or transfer visas:
Figure 9. Firms Employing Big Data Professionals by Willingness to Sponsor Visa Applications or Transfers Consulting/Advertising 8%
Will transfer exceptional talent 6%
All Industries
70%
Will not transfer 27%
22%
Retail 8% 42% 50%
Will transfer 67%
Corporate (non-retail) 23%
77%
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Section 4
BIG DATA PROFESSIONALS: WHAT THEY EARN
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Overview
Salaries and bonuses are greater for managers than for individual contributors, and they increase significantly with level. Among individual contributors and the most junior managers, salaries vary with education completed. Education particularly influences salaries of Big Data professionals hired for entry level jobs. Surprisingly, among individual contributors at levels 1 and 2, non-U.S. citizens are paid higher salaries than U.S. citizens. Firms on the West Coast pay the highest salaries to individual contributors, while firms in the Northeast pay the highest salaries to managers. Firms in the consulting industry pay high salaries to both individual contributors and managers, while firms in the tech/telecom industry also pay high salaries to individual contributors. Healthcare and pharmaceutical companies are also among those paying the highest salaries to Big Data professionals. Salaries of Big Data professionals also vary with gender, but not nearly as much as the salaries of practitioners of other professions. Across job levels, women in Big Data never earn less than 90% of their male counterparts.
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Compensation by Job Level

Figure 10 shows the distribution of individual contributors and managers, overall median base salary and the proportion eligible for a bonus. Figures 11 and 12 show median and mean base salary of Big Data professionals by job level. For each job level, they also show the proportion eligible for a bonus. For those who received a bonus, they show the median and mean values of the last bonus received. Figures 13 and 14 show how much median base salary increases with level for individual contributors and managers. Not surprisingly, Big Data professionals who are managers make considerably more than those who are individual contributors, and compensation also depends on job level. 58% of the professionals in the sample are individual contributors, and their median base salary is $90,000. The median base salary of the 42% of the professionals who are managers is $145,000. 66% of individual contributors are eligible for bonuses, and the median value of the last bonus received is approximately $10,000. 83% of managers are eligible for bonuses, and the median value of last bonus received is $29,250. For both individual contributors and managers, median base salary increases significantly with level. In both cases, the median salary of professionals at level 3 is almost 80% higher of those at level 1. For both individual contributors and managers, the proportion eligible for a bonus increases in level, and the bonuses paid to those at level 3 are much greater than bonuses paid to those at levels 1 or 2.
Figure 10. Distribution of Individual Contributors & Management
Median Base Salary $90,000 Bonus Eligible 66%
Individual Contributors 58%
Managers 42%
Median Base Salary $145,000 Bonus Eligible 83%
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Figure 11. Compensation of Individual Contributors by Job Level Individual Base Salary Contributor Job Level N 25% Median Mean 75% Level 1 386 $60,000 $65,000 $69,313 $80,000 Level 2 537 $70,500 $85,000 $84,908 $95,000 Level 3 715 $95,000 $115,000 $117,647 $135,000
Actual Bonus Bonus Eligible 54.9% 69.3% 70.2% Median $6,300 $8,840 $15,425 Mean $7,783 $10,393 $23,079
Figure 12. Compensation of Managers by Job Level Base Salary Manager

Job Level Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 N 440 592 173 25% $104,000 $135,000 $190,000 Median $120,000 $151,500 $215,000 Mean $119,466 $156,573 $230,318 75% $135,000 $175,000 $250,000
Actual Bonus Bonus Eligible 80.5% 83.8% 94.2% Median $18,000 $32,000 $62,750 Mean $21,088 $38,012 $83,913
Figure 13. Median and Mean Base Salaries of Individual Contributors by Job Level
$250,000 $230,000 $210,000 $190,000 $170,000 $150,000 $130,000 $110,000 $90,000 $70,000 $50,000 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Median Mean
Figure 14. Median and Mean Base Salaries of Managers by Job Level
$250,000 $230,000 $210,000 $190,000 $170,000 $150,000 $130,000 $110,000 $90,000 $70,000 $50,000 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
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Compensation by Education
Figures 15 through 18 show the distribution of the base salaries of Big Data professionals by education, controlling for job level. Among individual contributors of all job levels, base salary varies significantly with education. An individual contributor with a Ph.D. is typically paid at least $15,000 more than one with only a Bachelors degree and at least $13,000 more than one with a Masters degree. Among managers at job level 1, those with a Ph.D. also make significantly more than those with a Bachelors degree and somewhat more than those with a Masters degree. A Ph.D. or Masters degree does not appear to bring a higher salary among more senior managers, perhaps because good performance in their jobs depends at least as much on management skills as on technical skills.
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Figure 15. Base Salary of Individual Contributors by Job Level and Education Base Salary Job Level Education N 25% Median Mean Bachelor's 48 $53,500 $59,500 $59,565 Individual Master's 255 $60,000 $65,000 $68,401 Contributor, PhD, ABD 2 Level 1 PhD 46 $70,000 $81,000 $81,359 Bachelor's 70 $70,000 $76,000 $80,260 Individual Master's 340 $70,000 $82,000 $82,945 Contributor, PhD, ABD 10 $65,000 $84,500 $84,850 Level 2 PhD 78 $85,000 $95,000 $97,631 Bachelor's 93 $86,000 $108,000 $112,097 Individual Master's 426 $90,000 $110,000 $114,763 Contributor, PhD, ABD 17 $110,000 $130,000 $128,941 Level 3 PhD 120 $105,000 $122,950 $126,799
Note: Individuals with no degrees were excluded because of the small sample size.
75% $65,000 $75,000 $90,000 $93,000 $93,000 $100,000 $110,000 $130,000 $130,000 $141,000 $140,000
Figure 16. Median Base Salary of Individual Contributors by Job Level and Education
$130,000 $120,000 $110,000 $100,000 $90,000 $80,000 $70,000 $60,000 $50,000 $40,000 Level 1 Bachelor's Level 2 Master's PhD, ABD PhD Level 3
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Figure 17. Base Salary of Managers by Job Level and Education Job Level Education Bachelor's Master's PhD, ABD PhD Bachelor's Master's PhD, ABD PhD Bachelor's Master's PhD, ABD PhD N 48 275 9 72 62 322 12 137 18 87 5 46 25% $87,500 $105,000 $120,000 $112,000 $140,000 $130,000 $145,500 $145,000 $200,000 $190,000 $210,000 $190,000 Base Salary Median Mean $105,000 $108,635 $120,000 $119,463 $135,000 $135,444 $125,000 $127,211 $160,000 $159,065 $150,000 $153,350 $165,000 $166,250 $160,000 $163,515 $238,000 $268,667 $210,000 $229,893 $220,000 $221,800 $215,000 $224,761 75% $125,000 $135,000 $141,000 $142,500 $175,000 $172,000 $188,000 $180,000 $275,000 $250,000 $224,000 $240,000
Manager, Level 1
Manager, Level 2
Manager, Level 3
Note: Individuals with no degrees were excluded because of the small sample size.
Figure 18. Median Base Salary of Managers by Job Level and Education
$250,000 $230,000 $210,000 $190,000 $170,000 $150,000 $130,000 $110,000 $90,000 Level 1 Bachelor's Level 2 Master's PhD, ABD PhD Level 3
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Special Report: Compensation for Entry Level Jobs by Education

In a separate analysis, Burtch Works analyzed compensation data for 93 Big Data professionals who recently completed school and are in their first job earning their starting salary. Not surprisingly, these entry level salaries depend on what degree was earned. The mean entry level salary of the entire sample is $63,000. The mean entry level salary of the subset who have just completed a Bachelors degree is $52,000. The mean entry level salary of those who have completed a Masters degree is $63,000. The mean entry level salary of professionals who have earned a Ph.D. is a much greater $73,000. 61% of all Big Data professionals in their first jobs are eligible for a bonus. Only 17% of Big Data professionals in their first jobs receive a sign-on bonus. For those who did, the average bonus is $5,000. Entry level data scientists were excluded from this sample.
Figure 19. Mean Entry Level Salary by Education

$70,000 $60,000 $50,000 $40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000 $0 Bachelor's Master's PhD
Figure 20. Bonuses for Entry Level Jobs Bonus Eligible No 39% Yes 61%
Bonus Percentage: 3% to 20%
Sign-On Bonus Yes 17%

Average Sign-On Bonus: $5,000 No 83%
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Compensation by Residency Status

Figures 21 and 22 shows how the median base salaries of Big Data professionals who are not U.S. citizens vary from the salaries of those who are, controlling for job level. Unexpectedly, individual contributors at job levels 1 and 2 who are not U.S. citizens have higher salaries than those who are. There are several possible explanations for this. Non-U.S. citizens perform well in school because they would not be at schools in the U.S. unless they were among the best and the brightest of the youths in their home countries. Moreover, once here, they focus almost solely on the studies that brought them to the United States. Once they have completed their studies, non-U.S. citizens conduct more thorough job searches, because they require a job with a company that will sponsor their application for an H-1B visa and support them as they seek permanent residency. Non-U.S. citizens are more willing to work anywhere in the U.S., which affords them a larger choice of jobs.
Among more senior managers, salaries of non-U.S. citizens are more similar to those of U.S. citizens. Among the most senior individual contributors, salaries of non-U.S. citizens are considerably less. The explanations include: By the time individuals born abroad become senior Big Data professionals, they have also become U.S. citizens. Consequently, the salary data for senior Big Data professionals who are U.S. citizens includes salaries for many individuals who were once non-U.S. citizens. If a Big Data professional is at senior job level but has not yet obtained U.S. citizenship, it is often a sign that he has made strategic errors in the advancement of his career, and his salary might reflect this.
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Figure 21. Median Base Salary of Individual Contributors by Job Level and Residency Status Residency Median Difference from Job Level Status N Base Salary Citizen Base Salary Citizen 151 $62,000 0% Perm Res 33 $71,200 +15% Individual Contributor, H-1B 142 $70,000 +13% Level 1 F-1/OPT 24 $65,000 +5% Other 3 Citizen 206 $81,500 0% Perm Res 124 $87,250 +7% Individual Contributor, H-1B 159 $82,500 +1% Level 2 F-1/OPT 2 Other 10 $80,000 -2% Citizen 473 $115,000 0% Perm Res 144 $110,050 -4% Individual Contributor, H-1B 33 $103,000 -10% Level 3 F-1/OPT 2 Other 8 $96,000 -17%
Figure 22. Median Base Salary of Managers by Job Level and Residency Status Residency Median Difference from Job Level Status N Base Salary Citizen Base Salary Citizen 250 $120,000 0% Perm Res 90 $122,500 +2% Manager, H-1B 58 $110,000 -8% Level 1 F-1/OPT 2 Other 7 $85,000 -29% Citizen 397 $154,000 0% Perm Res 118 $150,000 -3% Manager, H-1B 19 $165,000 +7% Level 2 F-1/OPT 1 Other 3 Citizen 135 $215,000 0% Manager, Perm Res 22 $222,500 +3% Level 3 H-1B 1 -
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Compensation by Region
Figures 23 through 26 show the distributions of the base salaries of Big Data professionals by region, controlling for job level. Regardless of job level, individual contributors employed by firms on the West Coast are paid the highest salaries. Among those at job level 1, the difference is $15,000. The difference declines at more senior job levels. On the other hand, managers are paid the highest salaries by firms in the Northeast. The regional differences in salaries are not as great as the regional differences in many costs of living, such as housing and taxes.
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Figure 23. Distribution of Base Salaries of Individual Contributors by Job Level and Region Base Salary Job Level Region N 25% Median Mean Northeast 118 $60,000 $65,000 $69,235 Southeast 45 $60,000 $65,000 $67,753 Individual Contributor, Midwest 128 $55,000 $65,000 $65,196 Level 1 Mountain 20 $57,500 $65,500 $69,393 West Coast 38 $63,000 $80,000 $79,225 Northeast 147 $74,000 $86,000 $87,697 Southeast 58 $70,000 $78,000 $78,966 Individual Contributor, Midwest 182 $70,000 $85,000 $82,543 Level 2 Mountain 32 $70,500 $83,500 $84,516 West Coast 79 $72,000 $90,000 $90,690 Northeast 204 $100,000 $120,000 $122,352 Southeast 81 $90,000 $110,000 $113,049 Individual Contributor, Midwest 217 $88,000 $105,000 $110,084 Level 3 Mountain 53 $90,000 $110,000 $113,232 West Coast 100 $102,500 $120,000 $126,795
75% $78,000 $70,000 $75,000 $79,000 $90,000 $100,000 $86,000 $92,000 $96,000 $105,000 $135,000 $130,000 $126,000 $133,000 $140,000
Figure 24. Median Base Salary of Individual Contributors by Job Level and Region
$130,000 $120,000 $110,000 $100,000 $90,000 $80,000 $70,000 $60,000 $50,000 $40,000 Level 1 West Coast Mountain Level 2 Midwest Southeast Level 3 Northeast
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Figure 25. Distribution of Base Salaries of Managers by Job Level and Region Base Salary Job Level Region N 25% Median Mean Northeast 122 $110,000 $130,000 $126,763 Southeast 45 $95,000 $115,000 $119,178 Manager, Midwest 151 $100,000 $117,000 $116,957 Level 1 Mountain 33 $105,000 $115,000 $111,833 West Coast 50 $100,000 $115,500 $118,140 Northeast 184 $145,000 $160,000 $165,687 Southeast 67 $121,000 $145,000 $143,725 Manager, Midwest 169 $134,000 $150,000 $151,790 Level 2 Mountain 41 $130,000 $148,000 $147,549 West Coast 70 $140,000 $154,000 $163,100 Northeast 63 $203,000 $230,000 $242,254 Southeast 16 $192,500 $222,500 $219,063 Manager, Midwest 46 $189,000 $206,000 $220,146 Level 3 Mountain 5 $210,000 $220,000 $341,000 West Coast 28 $185,500 $200,000 $222,000
75% $140,000 $135,000 $135,000 $125,000 $133,000 $185,000 $165,000 $169,000 $165,000 $185,000 $265,000 $247,500 $241,000 $250,000 $228,000
Figure 26. Median Base Salary of Managers by Job Level and Region
$250,000 $230,000 $210,000 $190,000 $170,000 $150,000 $130,000 $110,000 $90,000 $70,000 $50,000 Level 1 West Coast Mountain Level 2 Midwest Southeast Level 3 Northeast
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Compensation by Industry
Figures 27 through 30 show distributions of base salaries of Big Data professionals by industry, controlling for job level Firms in the tech/telecom industry pay individual contributors high salaries, particularly the most junior individual contributors. This is partly because so many of these firms are located on the West Coast, where the competition for young talent is particularly fierce. Consulting firms pay high salaries to both individual contributors and managers. This is to attract and retain professionals to jobs that can require long work days and frequent travel. Healthcare and pharmaceutical companies are also among those paying the highest base salaries to Big Data professionals. This too is at least partly because such a large proportion of these firms are located in the Northeast and on the West Coast, where the cost of living is high.
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Figure 27. Distribution of Base Salaries of Individual Contributors by Job Level and Industry Base Salary Job Level Industry N 25% Median Mean Advertising/Mktg Services 81 $56,000 $62,000 $63,702 Consulting 20 $64,000 $70,000 $75,170 CPG 2 Financial Services 97 $60,000 $70,000 $72,781 Individual Contributor, Healthcare/Pharma 7 $60,000 $67,500 $69,071 Level 1 Outsourcing 6 $60,000 $66,500 $65,833 Retail 20 $56,500 $65,000 $65,400 Tech/Telecom 12 $74,000 $91,000 $91,125 Other 30 $55,000 $61,433 $65,807 Advertising/Mktg Services 107 $70,000 $80,000 $82,918 Consulting 30 $85,000 $95,000 $103,600 CPG 1 Financial Services 150 $76,000 $85,000 $86,149 Individual Contributor, Healthcare/Pharma 10 $80,000 $93,000 $92,550 Level 2 Outsourcing 14 $70,000 $79,000 $79,429 Retail 27 $62,500 $76,000 $76,852 Tech/Telecom 23 $85,000 $90,000 $93,500 Other 36 $75,000 $86,250 $85,528 Advertising/Mktg Services 98 $92,000 $107,500 $111,983 Consulting 40 $120,000 $130,000 $136,313 CPG 12 $105,000 $116,500 $120,625 Financial Services 198 $95,000 $110,000 $121,018 Individual Contributor, Healthcare/Pharma 30 $97,000 $113,000 $119,600 Level 3 Outsourcing 4 Retail 33 $90,000 $100,000 $104,842 Tech/Telecom 43 $99,000 $125,000 $123,209 Other 43 $82,000 $105,000 $102,826
75% $68,000 $87,500 $82,500 $80,000 $72,000 $75,000 $105,000 $75,000 $95,000 $120,000 $96,000 $105,000 $89,500 $85,000 $100,000 $95,000 $133,000 $154,000 $134,750 $135,000 $135,000 $115,000 $140,000 $120,000
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Figure 28. Median Base Salary of Individual Contributors by Job Level and Industry
$130,000 $120,000 $110,000 $100,000 $90,000 $80,000 $70,000 $60,000 $50,000 $40,000 Level 1
Advertising/Marketing Svcs. Financials Svcs. Retail
Level 2
Consulting Healthcare/Pharma Tech/Telecom
Level 3
Consumer Packaged Goods Outsourcing Other
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Figure 29. Distribution of Base Salaries of Managers by Job Level and Industry Base Salary Job Level Industry N 25% Median Mean Advertising/Mktg Services 96 $106,500 $120,000 $120,254 Consulting 27 $115,000 $130,000 $129,330 CPG 6 $120,000 $127,500 $125,667 Financial Services 122 $105,000 $120,000 $121,804 Manager, Healthcare/Pharma 16 $118,000 $135,000 $133,040 Level 1 Outsourcing 5 $85,000 $96,000 $101,900 Retail 26 $105,000 $111,000 $115,519 Tech/Telecom 22 $115,000 $122,500 $123,477 Other 28 $96,500 $116,500 $115,732 Advertising/Mktg Services 137 $140,000 $153,000 $158,779 Consulting 35 $150,000 $175,000 $168,957 CPG 20 $147,500 $161,250 $166,837 Financial Services 129 $126,000 $147,000 $150,881 Manager, Healthcare/Pharma 25 $140,000 $155,000 $154,340 Level 2 Outsourcing 6 $135,000 $150,000 $150,833 Retail 40 $130,000 $151,000 $154,450 Tech/Telecom 24 $137,000 $150,000 $162,333 Other 34 $139,000 $149,500 $152,971 Advertising/Mktg Services 54 $199,000 $225,000 $227,504 Consulting 12 $215,000 $247,500 $289,750 CPG 5 $220,000 $225,000 $233,000 Financial Services 15 $201,000 $225,000 $278,400 Manager, Healthcare/Pharma 14 $195,000 $200,000 $215,000 Level 3 Outsourcing 2 Retail 9 $180,000 $190,000 $204,222 Tech/Telecom 7 $186,000 $195,000 $204,714 Other 7 $125,000 $195,000 $177,857
75% $135,000 $150,000 $134,000 $135,000 $144,500 $100,000 $130,000 $130,000 $128,000 $178,000 $190,000 $177,000 $165,000 $165,000 $170,000 $173,500 $195,000 $170,000 $250,000 $298,500 $260,000 $250,000 $250,000 $237,000 $210,000 $220,000
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Figure 30. Median Base Salary of Managers by Job Level and Industry
$250,000 $230,000 $210,000 $190,000 $170,000 $150,000 $130,000 $110,000 $90,000 Level 1
Advertising/Marketing Svcs. Financials Svcs. Retail
Level 2
Consulting Healthcare/Pharma Tech/Telecom
Level 3
Consumer Packaged Goods Outsourcing Other
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Compensation by Gender
The Burtch Works Study has shown that base salaries of Big Data professionals vary with job level, education, residency status, region and industry. The salaries of Big Data professionals also vary with gender, but not nearly as much as the salaries of practitioners of other professions. Across the entire U.S. labor market, the average compensation of a woman is 77% of the average compensation of a man. However, among Big Data professionals at the same job level, the ratio of the median salary of women to the median salary of men is no smaller than 90%. For the more junior job levels, at which most Big Data professionals are employed, the ratio is never less than 94%.
Figure 31. Median Base Salary by Job Level and Gender

$220,000
90%
$200,000 $180,000 $160,000 $140,000 $120,000 $100,000

94% 96% 91% 97%
$80,000 $60,000
98%
IC, Level 1
IC, Level 2
IC, Level 3
Men
MG, Level 1
MG, Level 2
MG, Level 3
Women
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Section 5
SPECIAL REPORT: SALARY INCREASES OF BIG DATA PROFESSIONALS WHO CHANGE JOBS
38
Overview
In a separate analysis, Burtch Works was able to assess salary change data for 172 Big Data professionals who changed jobs over the past 18 months, ending with February, 2013. Burtch Works recorded the salaries earned by these professionals both before and after the job change, so it could measure how much the salary of a Big Data professional typically changes when he changes jobs. Figure 32 shows the distribution of salary changes. The average salary increase was 14%. Salary increases varied from 0% to 50%, but almost two-thirds (65%) were between 6% and 15%.
Figure 32. Number of Big Data Job Changes by Percentage Change in Base Salary
40 35 30 Number of Candidates 25 20 15 10 5 0 0% 1-5% 6-10% 11-15% 16-20% 21-25% 26-30% 31-35% 36-40% 41-45% 46-50% Base Salary Increase
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Base Salary Change by Job Title

Figure 33 shows the average increase in base salary by new title of the Big Data professionals who changed jobs. Salary increases were far larger for professionals taking senior jobs. The average increase for a professional taking a job as a Vice President was almost $25,000, about twice the increase of a professional taking a job as a Manager. However, percentage salary increases were larger for professionals moving to junior jobs than for those moving to senior jobs. The average percentage increase for a professional taking a job with an Analyst title was 14.1%, while the average percentage increase for a professional taking a Vice President job was 12.6%.
Figure 33. Average Salary Increase by New Job Title

$25,000
$20,000
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
$0
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Base Salary Change by Education

Figure 34 shows the average increase in base salary by education for the Big Data professionals who changed jobs. Salary increases were larger for a professional changing jobs if they had an advanced degree. The average increase for professionals with a Ph.D. was over $18,000, while it was approximately $12,000 for those with a Bachelors degree. Percentage salary increases were also larger for professionals with a Ph.D. The average increase for a professional with a Ph.D. changing jobs was 16%, while it was 14% for those with a Bachelors degree.
Figure 34. Average Percentage Salary Increase by Education $25,000
$20,000
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
$0 Bachelor's Master's PhD
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Section 6
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Recruiting & Retaining Big Data Professionals
42
Recruiting & Retaining Big Data Professionals

Since the Great Recession began, most professions have experienced weak demand for their practitioners. The Big Data profession has been an exception. Now, as economic growth in the U.S. accelerates, it will become even more difficult to hire and retain Big Data professionals. What advice does Burtch Works have? Firms must increase pay for Big Data professionals. Salary bands for Big Data professionals have not changed much in the past several years. Firms will need to shift these bands to successfully retain Big Data professionals. As the Burtch Works Study has shown, these professionals currently realize large increases in compensation when they change jobs. Firms must be willing to sponsor applications for visas or transfers of visas of Big Data professionals who are foreign nationals. To be more effective, online sourcing of candidates must be more targeted. Corporate sourcing specialists are intensively using LinkedIn to identify candidates for Big Data jobs at their firms. However, because they then contact so many prospects, Big Data professionals have begun to complain of recruiter fatigue and often decline to discuss job opportunities when contacted. Those hiring Big Data professionals must prioritize the skills and experience required, because it will become increasingly difficult to attract individuals with all of the desired qualifications. Firms should consider the alternative of training: equipping current staff with the methodological and software skills needed to exploit Big Data.
And, of course, those seeking Big Data professionals shouldnt be reluctant to contact Burtch Works for advice and support: Burtch Works LLC 1560 Sherman Ave Suite 1005 Evanston, IL 60201 Call: 847-440-8555 Email: info@burtchworks.com
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Section 7
APPENDIX
44
Glossary of Terms
This section provides definitions of terms used in this report.
ABD (All-but-dissertation). ABD is a level of education. A person whose level of education level is ABD has completed all coursework for a Ph.D. except for a dissertation. Base Salary. An individuals gross annual wages, excluding variable or one-time compensation such as relocation assistance, sign-on bonuses, bonuses, and long-term incentive plan compensation. Big Data Professionals. Individuals who can apply sophisticated quantitative skills to data describing transactions, interactions, or other behaviors of people to derive insights and prescribe actions. They are distinguished from the quants of the past by the sheer quantity of data on which they operate, an abundance made possible by new opportunities for measuring behaviors and advances in technologies for the storage and retrieval of data. Bonus. Short-term variable compensation usually awarded annually, such as individual or company performance-based bonuses. This does not include long-term incentive plan compensation or awards of stock or stock options. Data Scientist. A Big Data professional who has both the proficiency for data management required to make Big Data accessible and also the analytical skills for deriving useful information from Big Data. Entry-level job. A job available to individuals who have no prior work experience, but usually have just earned an undergraduate or graduate degree. F-1/OPT. A residency status that allows a foreign undergraduate or graduate student who has a nonimmigrant F-1 student visa to work in the U.S. without obtaining an H-1B visa. The student is required to have either completed his degree or pursued it for at least nine months. Geographic Region. One of five groups of states that together comprise the entire United States. These five groups of states Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Mountain and West Coast are shown in Figure 3 on page 10. H-1B. A non-immigrant visa that allows a U.S. firm to temporarily employ a foreign worker in a specialty occupation for a period of three years, which is extendable to six and beyond. If a foreign worker with an H-1B visa quits or loses his job with the sponsoring firm, the worker must either find a new employer to sponsor an H-1B visa, be granted a new non-immigrant status, or leave the United States. Individual Contributor. An employee who does not manage other employees. Individual contributors among the Big Data professionals in the Burtch Works sample have all been assigned to one of three levels: Level 1: Responsible for learning the job; hands-on with analytics and modeling; 0-3 years experience Level 2: Hands-on with data, working with more advanced problems and models; may help train Analysts; 4-8 years of experience Level 3: Considered an analytics Subject Matter Expert; mentors and trains analysts; 9+ years experience Industry. One of nine groups of firms employing most data professionals. These nine industries are Advertising/Marketing Services, Consulting, Consumer Packaged Goods, Financial Services, Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals, Outsourcing, Retail, Tech/Telecom and Other. Advertising/Marketing Services: An industry consisting of firms that provide services to other firms that include advertising, market research, media planning and buying, and marketing analysis.
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Consulting: Industry that includes both large corporations and small boutique firms that provide professional advice to the managers of other firms. Consumer Packaged Goods: Companies whose products are sold quickly and at relatively low cost, including non-durable goods (e.g. groceries, toiletries) and lower-quality consumer electronics. Financial Services: Firms that provide services related to the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of organizations that manage money including banks, insurance companies, and credit card organizations. Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals: Sector that includes companies that provide patients with healthcare services, and firms that manufacture medicinal drugs. Outsourcing: Companies whose primary workforce is contracted by their clients, in order to move labor out of the internal business process to a third party organization. Many outsourcing companies utilize off-shore resources to complete work for clients. Retail: Organizations that purchase goods from a manufacturer to be sold for profit to the endconsumer. Tech/Telecom: Industry that includes companies that provide telecommunications services in addition to organizations that focus on creating or distributing technology products or services. Other: Companies whose industry falls outside of the eight categories delineated above, such as airline companies, distribution firms, media, and entertainment. Manager. An employee who manages the work of other employees. Managers among the Big Data professionals in the Burtch Works sample have all been assigned to one of three levels: Level 1: Tactical manager who leads a small group within a function, responsible for executing limited-scale projects or tasks within a project; typically responsible for 1-3 direct reports or matrix individuals. Level 2: Manager who leads a function and manages a moderately sized team; responsible for executing strategy; typically responsible for 4-9 direct reports or matrix individuals. Level 3: Member of senior management who determines strategy and leads large teams; manages at the executive level; typically responsible for 10+ direct reports or matrix individuals. Mean. Also known as the average, it is the sum of a set of values divided by the number of values. For example, the mean of N salaries is the sum of the salaries divided by N. Median. The value obtained by ordering a set of numbers from smallest to largest and then taking the value in middle, or, if there are an even number of values, by taking the mean of the two values in the middle. For example, the median of N salaries is the salary for which there are as many salaries that are smaller as there are salaries that are larger. N. The number of observations in a sample, sub-sample or table cell. OPT. See F-1/OPT. Permanent Resident. A residency status that allows a foreign national to permanently live and work in the United States. Those with this status have a United States Permanent Residence Card, which is known informally as a green card. Salary Study. A study conducted to measure the distributions by salary of those in specific occupations. Traditionally, these studies have been executed by obtaining salary data from the human resources departments of firms employing professionals in those occupations rather than by interviewing those employees themselves. STEM. Acronym for the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
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ABOUT BURTCH WORKS

Burtch Works is a specialized executive recruiting firm dedicated to placing highly qualified quantitative professionals in analytics roles nationwide. By maintaining constant contact with hundreds of staffers, hiring managers and human resources professionals every month, we are able to follow developing trends in the high growth field of marketing analytics. In addition, we are continuously tracking talent movement and industry changes that are creating new jobs every day. Leveraging our massive and unique network of quantitative professionals, we can ensure that we find the best possible fit for both our candidates and our clients. We pride ourselves on our reputation as the premier source of the best jobs in the quantitative marketing field, and we welcome complete and thorough feedback on our work as we go through the recruiting process. If you are looking to build a first class analytics staff or if you are considering a job change yourself, we encourage you to contact us.
CONTACT US
If your organization needs assistance in quantitative or market research staffing, please email clients@burtchworks.com. If you are a job seeker, please email candidates@burtchworks.com. For general information, please call 847-440-8555, or email info@burtchworks.com.
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Section 2: Study Design ......................................................................................... 6

Section 3: Big Data Professionals: Who They Are ................................................. 12

Section 4: Big Data Professionals: What They Earn .............................................. 19

Section 5: Special Report: Salary Increases of Big Data Professionals ................... 38

Section 6: Where do we go from here?................................................................ 42

Section 7: Appendix ............................................................................................ 44

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THE BURTCH WORKS STUDY

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About Burtch Works

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Why the Burtch Works Study is Unprecedented

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THE BURTCH WORKS STUDY

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Identifying Big Data Professionals

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Completeness and Age of Data

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Segmentations of Big Data Professionals

Figure 1. Definition of Individual Contributor Job Levels Individual Contributors

Level Level 1 Level 2

Typical Years of Experience 0-3 years 4-8 years

Figure 2. Definition of Manager Job Levels Managers

Typical Number of Reports 1-3 reports (direct or matrix)

4-9 reports (direct or matrix) 10+ reports (direct or matrix)

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THE BURTCH WORKS STUDY

These regions are defined as Figure 3 shows below:

Figure 3. U.S. Geographic Regions

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BIG DATA PROFESSIONALS: WHO THEY ARE

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Age of Big Data Professionals

Figure 4. Big Data Professionals by Years of Experience

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Gender of Big Data Professionals

Figure 5. Gender of Big Data Professionals by Years of Experience

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Education of Big Data Professionals

Figure 6. Big Data Professionals by Education

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Residency Status of Big Data Professionals

Perm. Resident 20%

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Retail 8% 42% 50%

Will transfer 67%

Corporate (non-retail) 23%

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