Frequent promotions and salary increases contribute to thriving martech careers

Marketers are finding ample opportunities to advance their careers and up their pay, the 2023 MarTech Salary and Career Survey found.

These opportunities contribute to high satisfaction among those who work in the thriving field. 74% of those surveyed reported being at least somewhat satisfied with their jobs. 

“Given that one-third of our respondents were promoted or got a new job in the past year, relatively high happiness levels seem justified,” said Scott Brinker, VP platform ecosystem at HubSpot and editor at chiefmartec.com. “Overall, great to see martech pros are feeling good about their jobs.”

Increased salaries. Survey respondents had a wide range of experience in marketing. Nearly half had more than 10 years of experience and 60% had more than seven years in the profession.

When looking at the average compensation for various levels of experience, the survey found that compensation increased, on average, consistently at each stage after the third year. 

After seven years, the bump in pay was most dramatic, climbing from $118K, on average, for marketers in their sixth and seventh years, up to $154K for those in their eighth and ninth years.

Dig deeper: Marketing technologists earn more on average than marketers

Promotions. More than three-quarters of respondents were promoted in the last two years, either within their organization or as a result of changing jobs. This was true for marketers at all management levels.

At the managers/staff level, more promotions came in the first year. For directors and above, more promotions were awarded after the first year than for lower-level marketers.

Why we care. The vast majority of marketers report that they are at least somewhat satisfied with their jobs, and the data about pay increases and promotions support these sentiments.

The opportunity for advancement in a competitive job market also explains the high churn rate. In this context, switching jobs isn’t a result of job dissatisfaction so much as on way by which employees gain promotions.

Churn accelerated in 2022. More than 70% of respondents said they noticed an increase in churn at their organization in the last year.

Nearly a third said that the increase of churn was significant, as opposed to a moderate increase.

The survey. The survey, conducted jointly by MarTech and chiefmartec.com, was taken by 419 marketers in December 2022 and January 2023; 401 of those provided salary information. Nearly 70% (286) respondents live in North America; 15% (63) live in Western Europe. The report’s conclusions are limited to responses from those individuals only. Others were excluded due to the limited number.

Respondents answered more than 20 questions related to career roles, salary, technology and job satisfaction and challenges/frustrations. They were from all job levels — C-suite to managers and staff.

Download the survey here (no registration required).