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2018 National
Epidemiology Survey Reports Salary Data For Almost 600 University
Positions
Results from the 2018
national survey of salaries among academic epidemiologists indicates
that the median starting salaries or median first year salaries for
assistant professor are nearly identical for men and women at almost
$100,000 for non-physicians in all schools responding (See
accompanying tables in this issue). At the associate professor and
professor levels, first year median levels were $20-30,000 and $45,000
higher, respectively.
Increased
Participation
The 2018 survey
reporting on salaries earned in 2017 saw a sizable increase in
participation as it returned data for 594 individuals from 32
institutions—compared with 425 and 24, respectively, for salaries
earned in 2016, the first set of data we reported. This represents a
39% increase in individual records and a 33% increase in responding
institutions.
Unique
Collaboration
The survey is the
product of a unique collaboration between The Epidemiology Monitor and
two entities at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of
Medicine—the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB)
and the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics. Now
in its second year of partnership, this collaborative survey of
faculty salaries is designed to help leaders in departments of
epidemiology and preventive medicine identify and promote competitive
compensation for faculty members.
History of the
Survey
The CCEB and DBEI
began the survey more than 20 years ago, soliciting data each year
from about 80 institutions to fill a need among their peers: There was
no national survey of faculty salaries that could help leaders in
departments of epidemiology and preventive medicine identify and
promote competitive compensation for faculty members. Though
individual institutions had been publishing salary ranges for
epidemiology positions in their own departments, there was no national
yardstick available. However until last year, when the Epidemiology
Monitor partnered with the CCEB and the DBEI to share the 2016
information, the results had been released only to the leaders who
submitted data.
Evolving and
Improving
Along the way, the
survey has continually improved its approach—first by modeling it on
the popular, sophisticated tool that the American Statistical
Association has long provided for the closely related field of
biostatistics, then by distinguishing tenured from non-tenured
positions and pegging salaries to the number of years a faculty member
had spent at a particular rank. (Readers should note that when faculty
members change jobs, results may vary: They may report their status by
the total years spent at a particular rank, or they may appear in the
0-to-1 range at the new institution.) Starting with the 2016 data, the
newsletter played an essential role in helping render the data
anonymous before sharing it with the CCEB and DBEI for analysis.
Latest Survey
For the latest survey,
the survey partners reached out to epidemiology chairs across country
to inform the questions and employed a more user-friendly tool, namely
Qualtrics.
Limitations
There are currently
many different sources of salary information available on the
Internet, however, the large number of variables, including level of
education, years of experience, and different types of employers make
it difficult for employers and candidates to assess the utility of any
given salary information. While the current survey data are not
generalizable across all epidemiologist employment situations, the
data are specific to academic positions, rank, duration, and type of
education.
Though the report
should not serve as the sole basis for decision making, it can,
nonetheless, add a very useful perspective for assessing academic
faculty salary levels in epidemiology. The data provide key
bench-marking for faculty salaries which cannot be obtained by looking
more globally.
Given the more robust
response to the 2018 survey, we will upon request share finer
breakdowns of the data (schools of public health vs. medicine, public
vs. private, tenure vs. non-tenure) at a later date.
Future Surveys, Even
Bigger Aims
The DBEI, CCEB and the
Epidemiology Monitor aim to continue to expand the survey with the
ultimate goal of providing the field of epidemiology with an industry
standard that can directly inform salary levels and reflects national
trends. With continuing improvements, the survey team looks forward to
gaining even more respondents and gathering a more robust data set.
Work on the next survey will begin in fall 2019, when epidemiology
department chairs will receive a request for data. Department chairs
who would like to join the survey should contact The Epidemiology
Monitor at editor@epimonitor.net.
We anticipate publishing the new findings in The Epidemiology Monitor
in early 2020.
2018 Epidemiology Survey
All Schools
(N=32)
Non-Physician Salary
Levels
|
TITLE |
YEARS IN
RANK |
MALE/
FEMALE |
TOTAL
COUNT |
Top, 1ST
QUARTILE |
MEDIAN |
Top, 3RD
QUARTILE |
90TH
PERCENTILE |
|
|
|
Assistant
Professor |
0 to 1 |
32
Female
24 Male |
56 |
$93,000
$90,000 |
$98,000
$99,500 |
$118,000
$116,000 |
$130,000
$125,000 |
|
|
|
2 to 3 |
43
Female
16 Male |
59 |
$89,755
$85,490 |
$100,000
$99,665 |
$113,516
$113,516 |
$128,101
$114,046 |
|
|
|
4 to 5 |
37
Female
5 Male |
42 |
$105,570 |
$115,610
$124,000 |
$118,820 |
$125,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6+ |
22
Female
9 Male |
31 |
$89,925 |
$107.465
$111,888 |
$111,729 |
$129,706 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Associate
Professor |
0 to 1 |
17
Female
7 Male |
24 |
$118,081 |
$131,668
$118,125 |
$135,000 |
$167,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 to 3 |
36
Female
14 Male |
50 |
$114,500
$113,037 |
$127,539
$136,761 |
$140,454
$153,319 |
$155,000
$166,700 |
|
|
|
4 to 5 |
19
Female
14 Male |
33 |
$116,523
$120,520 |
$128,814
$139,316 |
$137,248
$144,524 |
$140,756
$160,000 |
|
|
|
6+ |
32
Female
26 Male |
58 |
$127,576
$118,195 |
$138,432
$144,800 |
$164,328
$157,900 |
$170,000
$165,192 |
|
|
|
Professor |
0 to 1 |
8
Female
5 Male |
13 |
$123,600 |
$145,028 |
$178,500 |
$179,830 |
|
|
|
2 to 3 |
17
Female
9 Male |
26 |
$158,026 |
$185,812
$188,800 |
$200,700 |
$280,925 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 to 5 |
13
Female
11 Male |
24 |
$172,684
$167,800 |
$197,395
$198,000 |
$203,528
$225,000 |
$204,000
$264,100 |
|
|
|
6+ |
43
Female
53 Male |
96 |
$177,108
$186,937 |
$195,000
$216,000 |
$214,669
$231,444 |
$233,770
$254,630 |
2018 Epidemiology Survey
All Schools
(N=32)
Physician Salary Levels
|
TITLE |
YEARS IN
RANK |
MALE /
FEMALE |
TOTAL
COUNT |
Top, 1ST
QUARTILE |
MEDIAN |
Top, 3RD
QUARTILE |
90TH
PERCENTILE |
|
|
|
Assistant
Professor |
0 to 3 |
3
Female
3 Male |
6 |
|
$95,743 |
|
|
|
|
|
4+ |
3
Female
4 Male |
7 |
|
$138,530 |
|
|
|
|
|
Associate
Professor |
0 to 3 |
9
Female
8 Male |
17 |
$120,357 |
$154,202 |
$166,910 |
$210,000 |
|
|
|
4+ |
4
Female
5 Male |
9 |
|
$143,675 |
|
|
|
|
|
Professor |
0 to 3 |
2
Female
4 Male |
6 |
|
$216,614 |
|
|
|
|
|
4+ |
9
Female
28 Male |
37 |
|
$172,202
$231,010 |
|
|
|
$205,600 |
$278,813 |
$313,585 |
|
|