The idea behind Glassdoor is simple: You tell me your salary, and I’ll tell you mine. The stealth startup, which raised $3 million from Benchmark Capital last March, just went live. The site collects company reviews and real salaries from employees of large companies and displays them anonymously for all members to see. (The startup plans to make money from ads targeted at job seekers, premium services, and aggregated compensation data it wants to sell to HR professionals). The idea is to collect as much detailed salary information and feedback for every job title at a company so that job seekers can know how to evaluate an offer, and current employees can see how they are doing relative to their peers. “When the annual compensation review comes,” says CEO Robert Hohman, “you need to know what your market value is.” Or you can just live vicariously through others. So how much does a Google software engineer really make? The average, based on ten submissions, is $97,840.
And the range is between $80,000 and $150,000, with annual cash bonuses coming in anywhere from $20,000 to $45,000. Adding salary and bonus together, the Google engineers that have entered information on Glassdoor average $112,573 in take-home pay. (And then there are stock options on top of that). Yahoo and Microsoft engineers get about the same salaries, but smaller bonuses, leaving their take-home pay at an average of $105,642 and $105,375, respectively. Apple software engineers make only about $89,000, on average, but they get to create some of the most loved products on Earth. As a teaser, anyone can see the full details for four companies (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Cisco), but beyond that it is a give-to-get model. You need to post your own review to see the other reviews. (Using a variety of techniques it won’t discuss, the company does its best to sniff out false posts). And each company and CEO gets a rating. Here’s a chart comparing Jerry Yang’s and Steve Ballmer’s approval ratings from their own employees over time (Yang’s is currently 59 percent, Ballmer’s is 69 percent):
Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s approval rating, incidentally, is 89 percent. While the overall satisfaction rating for Google as a company to work at is 4.2 out of 5. Microsoft’s satisfaction rating is exactly the same, whereas Yahoo’s is not surprisingly lower at 3.8. These ratings are by no means scientific. They are based on 124 responses for Microsoft, 50 for Yahoo, and 37 for Google, all collected during the company’s private beta. The more honest responses the site collects from any given company, the more accurate the results will be. Beyond the ratings and salary information, what is really revealing are some of the in-depth reviews. Even at Google, it’s not all happy faces. “The free food is starting to wear off,” says Hohman. One review is titled: “Awesome culture, bad management.” Another one: “Fun at first, frustrating in the long run.” And the most devastating: “Google:An Elitist’s Playground.” If you enjoy your individuality and time alone, Google is not the place for you (keep in mind I’m not an engineer).
Google pushes a highly “googley” atmosphere, which is something akin to what the Brady Bunch would be like if they lived in communist Russia. . . . People are encouraged to have googley attitudes, wear plastic smiles, and not to question the infallible nature of the executive management group. . . . If you like feeling awkward during forced group activity, Google is your haven. It isn’t exactly “forced” (no guns), but if you don’t participate you become labeled as “ungoogley.” Once deemed “ungoogley”, you’re practically viewed as a rotten apple that threatens to spoil the bunch. Advice to Senior Management: “Stop acting as those you’re King Midas…just because you struck it rich with AdWords does not mean whatever you create will be tech gold. For a company that prides itself on innovation, I can’t think of any product Google has released since AdWords that has been truly innovative…unless you are calling Google’s mergers and acquisitions innovative (just because Google owns YouTube does not mean you can take credit for the innovation).
Someone is obviously bitter, but it doesn’t make what this person says any less true. (Assuming it truly is a Google employee—there is no way to know for sure). Most of the reviews for Google are positive. Reading through all of them gives a nice cross section of attitudes at the company. Who knew that the heated toilet seats at Google were such a big draw? Or that Netflix has a don’t ask, don’t tell vacation policy? (You take one whenever you can). If Glassdoor can get people to fess up about their salaries and the inner workings of their companies, the Internet’s culture of transparency will claim another stronghold.It is not easy to break into or be successful... Success stories all revolve around extreme passion.The most important person on a sales team is arguably the VP Sales. As a business manager, customer manager and people manager, they are responsible for all of the key drivers of profitable revenue growth. As ZS Associates correctly states, a great VP Sales is “the force behind the sales force.”
But with this volume of responsibility comes a top-tier pay grade that corresponds to the amount of work, their existing level of experience, and the results they actually produce.According to PayScale, the nationwide average for this role is about $124,193 per year – and, according to Indeed, salaries for this role are at an all time high. Our own wage data tells a similar story, with CSOs earning 16% more than they did two years ago.But we wanted to go deeper and examine 5 sectors to uncover some of the average salaries for this role, as well as how variables like location, experience, qualifications, expectations, and company size impact earning potential. It should be noted, however, that base salary and on-target earning potential varies significantly between companies, and that bonus ‘splits’ are impacted by company size, growth potential, and sector, and are typically offset by company equities.Sales professionals within the software industry have some of the highest commission payouts of any industry (upwards of $1M), and therefore have some of the highest annual earning potentials.
show that software & networking salaries for top sales executives are more than 10% higher on average than in every other industry. Our data confirms these findings, with software sales leaders earning ~12.5% more than their peers in the industrial, manufacturing and professional service verticals.Business Insider examined salaries for sales professionals in this industry in 2013, and found that a VP of Sales who delivered on-target results earned approximately $400K per year.But on our end of the spectrum, we’ve seen top reps go far beyond this earning level.Our CEO, Eliot Burdett, told Business Insider, “In a really good year, a top salesperson at these companies can earn $1M.”For top-tier software companies like Oracle and Microsoft, great sales reps can earn a salary of more than $250K each year (including commissions and bonuses). However, for start-up software or software as a service companies (SaaS), pay incentives often come in the form of stock/equity for player/coach roles.
Starting base salaries for a VP of Sales at these companies begins in the $160K-$175K range plus equity.There is variance between different locations and varied experience levels, so here’s a glimpse at what a VP of Sales could earn in areas throughout the U.S. according to Business Insider data and our own:Earning potential can greatly vary depending on the company, however. Looking at salary reports from Glassdoor, a VP of Sales working for Matrixx in Mountain View, California earns an average income of about $105,104, while one working for AvePoint in Jersey City earns $127,788.Here is a quick breakdown of average base and on target earnings across 10 major U.S. markets according to our own data, irrespective of company size:Based on national averages, the salary for a VP of Sales for mid-sized manufacturing companies can range from slightly below the national average to well above for this job title. , the average VP of Sales earns a base salary of approximately $200K, with a variable OTE depending on the specific market.
Overall, a VP of Sales in this industry could expect to earn an average base salary ranging between $190-250K.Fluctuations in salary may be due in part to the fact that the manufacturing industry is still recovering from the recession, as one report notes that manufacturing (on the industrial production side) still has to increase by 3.4% to reach pre-recession production levels.Over the past five years, manufacturing growth was slower than expected, averaging only about 1% growth each year, as noted by the MAPI Foundation. Total growth since 2010 was 4.5% slower than last reported, with the largest downward revisions occurring in 2012 and 2013. Future growth is also expected to maintain a slow and modest upward trajectory, as shown in the table below:The foundation’s data that indicates both iron/steel products and mining/gas field machinery manufacturing industries have taken particularly hard hits recently. to find that a VP of Sales in the manufacturing sector typically earns a base salary between $170-210K per year in different locales across the U.S.When we think of telecommunications and Information Technology (IT), we think of companies like IBM
, Hewlett-Packard, Verizon, and AT&T. Rapid growth over the past 10 years on the mobile side of telecommunications has created an aggressive sales market, as seen in the data from IBM below:So what can a VP of Sales expect to earn at large and mid-sized telecom and information technology companies? We examined some of the averages on Glassdoor and found variances based on company size and location. indicates that the average base salary is about $80K, but that OTE can include an additional $100-200K annually (as telecomm is an industry with intense competition for market share).Studies from PayScale show that in the telecomm industry, a proven VP Sales, with 5 to 10 years of experience, earned an average of 7% more than his or her peers, one with 10 to 20 years of experience earned 14% higher, and that late-career executives earn about 16% higher than the national average.It’s important to note that stock options almost always tie-in to the VP’s total income within this industry, since many telecommunications and IT companies are publicly traded.
But across the board, a total annual salary of $250K+ is standard – even for mid-sized companies.Looking at the 2015 Pharma Salary Report that reviewed data from more than 3,000 medical and pharmaceutical sales professionals, hiring managers can get a comprehensive view of what a VP of Sales in this industry can expect to earn.It’s interesting to note the difference between salaries within this industry for pharmaceutical versus specialty pharmaceutical, however, it shouldn’t be surprising to see higher incomes in the specialty pharma category (as specialty drugs for less common diseases typically come with a higher price tag.)In this industry, age and experience are key variables that affect the industry’s average salary. The survey found that, regardless of position title, those under 30 years of age typically struggled to break the $100K salary range, and that the largest salaries went to those who fell into the 51+ age range.So how much does experience impact the average salary in the pharmaceutical market – as well as commissions and bonuses?
Those with 20+ years of experience, on average, earned a base salary of $100K or more, with additional annual compensation of $40K+ on top of that. In comparison, those with less than two years of experience earned a base salary of around $66,172, with additional bonuses of about $19,453. Frequency of travel is also a factor – and the numbers show that the more travel that is undertaken, the higher the average income can be earned.With a title of VP of Sales for this industry, the study reports an average salary of $158,750 per year plus as much as $58,929 in bonuses–for a total of $217,679 per year.The good news for VP Sales candidates is that the average incomes within the pharmaceutical sales industry is on the rise, with a 5% increase over 2014. According to the report, 2015’s average total incomes were the highest they’ve been since 2011.Sales compensation has an enormous impact on attracting the right VP of Sales. In order to attract the most suitable and qualified candidates, it is essential that organizations design compensation packages that are tied to the right goals;