Biotechnology Salary Tools

How to establish appropriate salaries in the biotechnology industry
By Kim Hunt-Lowrance, Content Project Editor, Cengage Gale, a part of Cengage Learning The biotechnology industry incorporates hundreds of different job titles; biotechnology pay rates have to cover positions from IT and facility management services to research assistants and clinical scientists. To avoid confusion and maximize your ability to create appropriate biotechnology salaries for different skills and experience levels, there are a number of different resources you can access.

To determine biotech salaries:

1. Use salary sites on the web to review general salary information

2. Review biotech salary surveys

3. Review established laws for biotechnology pay and overtime

4. Keep abreast of recent trends in biotechnology pay scales by belonging to a professional biotechnology association or organization, as well as a compensation professionals organization.

Use online sites to establish average biotech compensation rates

Salary sites, readily available online, offer a wealth of information for researching salaries in biotechnology, particularly for different job titles.
Try:  Use the Compensation Market Study tool on Salary.com (there is a fee) or search specific job titles using their Salary Wizard, which will give you free salary statistics. Check the Occupational Outlook Handbook at the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics for biotechnology pay rates by job title; this is updated annually.

Review biotechnology salary surveys

Salary surveys can be useful in determining a range of biotech salaries by job title, as well as cost-of-living factors for different regions.
Try:  Use SalaryExpert.com to find general salary ranges and links to salary surveys and reports (note that most reports require a fee). PayScale offers free ranges for biotechnology salaries. The Economic Research Institute (ERI) offers an array of software and reports for salary surveys and cost-of-living data (most for a fee).  You can download free demos of ERI's salary survey software to evaluate the effectiveness of the survey databases before subscribing. JobStar offers good links to biotechnology salary information, including links to related organizations and magazines.

Know governmental and state laws concerning the biotechnology industry

Biotechnology is highly regulated by the U.S. government, so knowing these laws will inform you of any factors that may influence your biotech pay scale.
Try:  The U.S. Department of Labor contains documentation on salaried vs. hourly wage determination. Also see the United States Regulatory Agencies Unified Biotechnology website for detailed laws.

Join professional organizations to gain the edge in biotech compensation

Membership in a professional organization will provide numerous other tools such as conferences, members-only information, and networking opportunities that will allow you to successfully compensate your employees.
Try:  The Biotechnology Institute is an excellent source of information and links to various professional industry organizations. WorldatWork is a useful association for compensation professionals.

• The biotechnology industry is growing and changing rapidly; stay current by regularly reviewing new biotechnology salary information from industry organizations and web sites.
• Benefits such as flexible schedules, ongoing employee education and telecommuting arrangements can be useful when negotiating salaries in biotechnology.