How Pay Shakes Out | Placements & Salaries 2019

by Suzie Allard
Oct 10, 2019 | Filed in Leadership

LJ's 2019 Placements & Salaries survey learned that full-time grads earned on average 6.2 percent more than they did last year. Top earners tend to have private sector and special collections jobs.

LJ's 2019 Placements & Salaries survey learned that full-time grads earned on average 6.2 percent more than they did last year. Top earners tend to have private sector and special collections jobs.

 

SALARIES INCREASE; GENDER GAP NARROWS

Full-time working 2018 graduates earn on average $55,357, a healthy increase of 6.2 percent over last year, and an impressive 24 percent increase from 2011 levels. The average hourly rate of $19.76 for 2018 is up almost 4 percent over the prior two years. This hourly wage translates into an annual full-time salary of more than $41,000.

 

TABLE 4: PLACEMENTS BY FULL-TIME SALARY OF REPORTING 2018 GRADUATES
  AVERAGE SALARY MEDIAN SALARY LOW SALARY HIGH SALARY PLACEMENTS Total
Placements
Schools Women Men Non
binary**		 All Women Men Non
binary**		 Women Men Non
binary**		 Women Men Non
binary**		 Women Men Non
binary**
Alabama 45,053 41,560 - 44,354 43,000 43,680 - 25,000 30,000 - 75,000 51,000 - 12 3 - 15
Albany 40,000 65,000 - 52,500 40,000 65,000 - 40,000 65,000 - 40,000 65,000 - 1 1 - 2
Arizona - 45,750 - 45,750 - 45,750 - - 42,500 - - 49,000 - - 2 - 2
Buffalo 51,796 48,797 - 51,251 50,000 48,797 - 38,162 39,594 - 75,000 58,000 - 9 2 - 11
Catholic* 45,667 80,000 - 54,250 47,000 80,000 - 43,000 80,000 - 47,000 80,000 - 3 1 - 4
Clarion 47,965 45,300 30,000 46,173 46,173 45,300 30,000 36,000 41,800 30,000 59,000 48,800 30,000 10 2 1 13
Emporia State 49,207 64,667 52,150 52,473 49,900 53,000 52,150 35,400 46,000 47,300 70,000 95,000 57,000 11 3 2 16
Florida State 41,050 61,499 25,550 48,279 45,000 57,000 25,550 25,000 50,000 25,550 51,400 92,000 25,550 6 5 1 12
Hawaii Manoa 52,519 49,000 - 51,932 55,000 49,000 - 33,000 49,000 - 69,094 49,000 - 5 1 - 6
Illinois Urbana-Champaign 51,973 51,583 43,930 51,291 52,000 50,000 43,930 25,000 31,000 35,360 86,000 80,000 52,500 19 6 2 27
Indiana Bloomington 46,290 48,200 - 46,768 43,000 41,600 - 33,800 40,000 - 62,000 63,000 - 9 3 - 12
Indiana Purdue 43,409 36,667 - 41,853 42,250 40,000 - 21,840 30,000 - 75,000 40,000 - 10 3 - 13
Iowa 45,103 36,328 - 41,593 47,500 40,000 - 30,075 25,000 - 63,000 47,500 - 9 6 - 15
Kent State* 44,679 37,000 - 43,719 40,750 37,000 - 32,000 28,000 - 72,000 46,000 - 14 2 - 16
Kentucky 42,319 47,500 - 42,966 40,250 47,500 - 31,400 43,000 - 69,000 52,000 - 14 2 - 16
Long Island 62,850 63,855 - 63,453 62,850 58,500 - 55,700 56,000 - 70,000 77,064 - 2 3 - 5
Louisiana State 41,122 37,431 - 40,480 40,000 37,861 - 22,000 27,000 - 65,000 47,000 - 19 4 - 23
Maryland 60,769 83,000 45,725 61,615 54,000 83,000 45,725 39,500 50,000 38,950 160,000 116,000 52,500 13 2 2 17
Michigan* 89,229 87,056 - 88,505 87,500 85,000 - 35,000 38,000 - 140,000 147,500 - 72 36 - 108
Missouri 57,300 40,000 48,000 51,029 55,900 40,000 48,000 50,000 38,000 48,000 67,400 42,000 48,000 4 2 1 7
NC Greensboro 41,762 35,529 52,000 41,120 41,281 34,000 52,000 24,103 31,000 52,000 60,000 43,500 52,000 44 7 1 52
North Texas 50,622 49,270 - 50,321 50,000 51,500 - 29,000 30,618 - 67,000 60,000 - 21 6 - 27
Oklahoma 45,432 45,060 - 45,339 40,835 45,060 - 32,000 42,000 - 72,800 48,119 - 6 2 - 8
Pratt 62,308 71,500 61,000 63,375 55,000 71,500 61,000 45,000 53,000 61,000 110,000 90,000 61,000 13 2 1 16
Queens 56,171 61,306 - 56,764 52,473 65,817 - 36,000 47,000 - 125,000 71,100 - 23 3 - 26
Rutgers 52,356 54,333 - 52,895 53,424 58,000 - 47,000 30,000 - 57,000 75,000 - 8 3 - 11
San Jose* 57,720 54,300 56,333 57,172 54,000 52,500 63,000 23,000 40,000 26,000 106,000 73,000 80,000 57 10 3 70
Simmons 53,237 60,125 52,536 54,234 52,000 53,500 53,000 38,856 42,000 49,608 87,000 100,000 55,000 31 8 3 43
South Carolina 51,446 51,000 - 51,423 55,000 51,000 - 16,000 51,000 - 72,000 51,000 - 19 1 - 20
Southern Mississippi 41,820 43,500 - 42,030 45,015 43,500 - 20,000 42,000 - 56,000 45,000 - 14 2 - 16
St. Catherine 44,460 44,000 - 44,403 40,000 44,000 - 30,720 44,000 - 55,000 44,000 - 7 1 - 8
St. John's 54,963 58,500 - 55,356 54,351 58,500 - 45,500 58,500 - 72,000 58,500 - 8 1 - 9
Syracuse 38,167 64,250 - 53,071 45,000 53,000 - 22,000 51,000 - 47,500 100,000 - 3 4 - 7
Tennessee 49,045 45,417 - 47,956 50,002 43,738 - 29,972 26,000 - 68,000 73,000 - 14 6 - 20
Texas Women's 57,880 40,000 - 57,029 53,500 40,000 - 41,000 40,000 - 105,000 40,000 - 20 1 - 21
Valdosta State 42,349 43,000 - 42,390 42,250 43,000 - 25,000 30,000 - 60,000 56,000 - 30 2 - 32
Washington 51,588 75,500 61,000 59,174 51,264 55,000 61,000 32,000 45,500 61,000 70,000 165,000 61,000 11 5 1 17
Wayne State 49,895 46,906 54,500 49,671 47,840 46,217 54,500 23,000 36,500 46,000 86,000 59,000 63,000 31 6 2 39
Wisconsin Madison* 49,194 66,872 - 54,497 48,238 54,250 - 38,900 45,000 - 64,000 144,000 - 14 6 - 20
Wisconsin Milwaukee 50,616 55,600 - 52,881 49,167 57,000 - 45,000 35,000 - 60,000 75,000 - 6 5 - 11
Total 54,358 59,734 49,838 55,357 50,000 52,000 52,250 16,000 25,000 25,550 160,000 165,000 80,000 622 170 20 813
This table represents placements and salaries reported as full-time. Some individuals or schools omitted information, rendering information unusable.
*Some schools conducted their own survey and provided raw data.
**Includes nonbinary, unsure, and declined to answer gender.

 

Building on the narrowing gender disparities seen in last year’s data, 2018 salaries have closed the gap further. The average salary for a male graduate employed full time is $59,734, versus $54,358 for female hires; the differential is 9.9 percent. Although the goal continues to be equal pay for equal work, the overall gender differential is smaller than in 2017 (12.6 percent) and 2016 (about 18 percent).

Public libraries hired the largest proportion of 2018 graduates (33 percent), but on average they offered the lowest pay of any library type. The average beginning salary in public libraries for 2018 was $44,743, down $318 from last year. Public library salaries had been inching up slightly recently, but 2018 reversed that trend.

College/University libraries attracted 22 percent of the 2018 LIS graduates, down slightly from the prior two years. The overall salary for academic libraries was $50,754 in 2018, up 3.7 percent from 2017. Following the same pattern as observed last year, the academic library salary range for 2018 varied broadly, from $25,000 to $165,000. The gender pay differential in academic libraries was quite small this year, with the average salary for men ($51,752) only 2.4 percent more than women ($50,553). For the second year in a row, the top overall salary for the year was earned by a male graduate employed by an academic library.

School library full time salaries averaged $53,196, up 3 percent from the prior survey. Eleven percent of the 2018 graduating class accepted positions in K–12 schools, a slight uptick from 2017. In this setting, female 2018 graduates earn 10.7 percent more on average than their male counterparts, and the highest single salary in this category was earned by a woman.

Private industry drew 11 percent of the 2018 graduates, who enjoy an average salary of $86,451, the highest compensation level of all settings. This is 10.4 percent higher than the 2017 average for this category. The salary range for jobs in private industry is broad, and reflects the variety of positions that LIS graduates can succeed in outside of the traditional settings for the profession. Gender-based salary bias is also reversed for this work context; average salaries for women ($87,782) are 5.3 percent above the average for men ($83,327).

Government libraries hired 3 percent of the 2018 graduates, at an average salary of $52,682. Although that is the same hiring level as in the prior study, the current average salary is 4.7 percent lower than in 2017 for this category. Despite the small decline in average salary, the salary range for government positions actually shifted upwards in 2018. Male grads who went to work in government settings are paid 11.8 percent more on average than their female counterparts, although the lowest salary in this setting category belongs to a male.

Special libraries were the professional destination for 4 percent of the 2018 graduates, who earned an average of $53,072. This represents an increase of 7.1 percent over 2017. This work setting stands out in that gender-related wage disparity tilts strongly in favor of female graduates. Women working in special libraries earn an average salary of $56,141—16 percent more than men.

Archives/Special Collections were chosen by 4 percent of the 2018 graduates. Salaries in this setting have increased this year by 9.8 percent to an average of $47,665. The range of salaries for beginning archivists in 2018 started at $35,000 and topped out at $61,000. Archives and special collections are another work setting in which women 2018 graduates are earning a higher average salary ($47,889) than the men ($46,700), with a small differential of 2.5 percent.

Nonprofit settings were selected by 4 percent of 2018 graduates. The average salary for this type of employer was $55,425, an improvement of 7.4 percent over the 2017 level. Nonprofit organizations vary widely in their level of resources and funding, so it follows that their salaries would also cover a wide span. This sector continues to have a serious issue with gender pay disparity. Male grads working for nonprofits earn an average of 23.5 percent more than their female LIS colleagues ($66,200 versus $53,577).

 

TABLE 8: FULL-TIME SALARIES BY TYPE OF ORGANIZATION AND GENDER
  TOTAL PLACEMENTS LOW SALARY HIGH SALARY AVERAGE SALARY MEDIAN SALARY
  Women Men Non
binary*		 All Women Men Non
binary*		 Women Men Non
binary*		 Women Men Non
binary*		 All Women Men Non
binary*		 All
PUBLIC LIBRARIES 183 31 4 218 16,000 25,000 30,000 75,000 80,000 63,000 44,327 47,060 45,340 44,734 45,000 47,000 44,180 45,000
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 141 61 7 210 25,000 27,000 25,550 125,000 165,000 61,000 50,553 51,752 48,764 50,806 50,000 50,000 52,000 50,000
SCHOOL LIBRARIES 98 12 3 113 22,000 32,000 26,000 105,000 77,064 80,000 53,803 48,597 48,317 53,105 52,000 42,750 38,950 51,000
GOVERNMENT LIBRARIES 22 6 1 29 35,000 33,722 46,000 72,500 87,500 46,000 51,766 57,873 46,000 52,831 53,500 55,617 46,000 54,000
PRIVATE INDUSTRY 67 37 0 104 32,000 38,000 - 140,000 147,500 - 87,782 83,327 - 86,197 82,500 82,500 - 82,500
SPECIAL LIBRARIES 26 5 1 32 33,800 26,000 52,500 117,500 65,000 52,500 56,141 48,400 52,500 54,818 50,000 53,000 52,500 50,500
ARCHIVES/SPECIAL COLLECTIONS 23 5 1 29 35,000 39,500 57,000 61,000 57,000 57,000 47,889 46,700 57,000 47,998 48,333 42,000 57,000 48,333
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 26 5 1 32 30,000 40,000 49,608 92,500 144,000 49,608 53,577 66,200 49,608 55,425 50,000 50,000 49,608 50,000
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 37 8 2 47 27,300 50,000 61,000 160,000 122,500 63,000 63,560 89,874 62,000 67,972 60,000 96,000 62,000 62,500
This table represents only full-time salaries and all placements reported by type. Some individuals omitted placement information, rendering some information unusable.
*Includes nonbinary, other, and declined to answer gender.

 

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