March 3, 2004 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Q. I work as a database administrator for a charity. In our employee handbook, it states that the group will pay salaries similar to other charities in our area, as determined by published salary surveys. I suspect I’m making less than my peers, but I can’t seem to find any salary surveys in my area that specifically list my job. How can I get the information I seek?
A. Many Web sites offer salary information, and it can be vexing if your job title doesn’t match up exactly with what you find online. Large, national salary-survey Web sites are the most likely to offer you the most detailed information. Try Salary.com, as well as The Wall Street Journal’s Career Journal, Wageweb, Salary Expert, and College Recruiter.com. For more options, you could check out TechSoup’s Career Corner page, which offers many links to salary surveys. (TechSoup is an organization that provides information on technology to nonprofit groups.)
Once on a salary comparison site, your best bet is to try a keyword search. Be sure to carefully read the job descriptions to make sure that you have a match. For example, on Salary.com’s site, “database administrator” is not a standard category on its drop-down menu, but if you do a keyword search, the job title “database administrator” does pop up. You can adjust salaries by geographic region, and learn what all database administrators in your area earn, on average. If you’re willing to spend $49.95, the Web site will adjust the salary by nonprofit status, the number of employees at your charity, the number of people who report to you, and so on.
In addition, check out Guidestar’s annual survey for detailed information on nonprofit positions. You might also find that a salary survey is being conducted in your region. Check in with your state or regional nonprofit association to find out. You’ll find a list of such umbrella groups here.
Got a question about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world? Send it to us at hotline@philanthropy.com.
