In the media industry, the corporate communication field has continued to expand in the past few decades but the lack of industry benchmarks and stark differences in salary packages highlight the other side of the reality.
According to a report by India Communicators Group (ICG)’s Salary Survey report, more than 45% of the salaries fell between Rs 22.5 lakh and Rs 62.5 lakh. The starting salaries for in-house communications roles for freshers are typically around Rs 5.3 lakh-5.8 lakh, though data shows that it can be as low as Rs 3.5 lakh.
The report added that that median in-house salaries increase with experience, with an average factor of roughly Rs 2.3 lakh for every year of experience.
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As per the report, there is a perception that agencies’ salaries lag significantly behind in-house salaries for the same job roles.
The percentage of women in communications has gone up from 69% among the freshers to peak at 71% at the 8-10 years experience and eventually declined to 42% for women with experience of 25 years or more.
“Despite the fact that corporate communications has been a rapidly expanding field in India for a number of decades, the lack of industry benchmarks and the stark differences in pay for these specialists have been painful and frustrating. It is our aim that the study’s findings will empower in-house PR and communications professionals to make more informed decisions about their career paths and to voice for the recognition and fair compensation they so well deserve,” said Tinu Cherian Abraham, ICG Admin, and Director and Head – Global PR & Media Relations, UST.