DC Velocity - May 2010

High school diploma Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Ph.D.

Median salary

$69,000

$90,000

$102,000

$99,000

a rare respondent who doesn’t have direct or indirect control or influence over more than one of the following functions and activities: supply chain management, logistics management, transportation management, warehouse and/or distribution center management, fleet operations, import/export operations, and procurement/purchasing. In fact, 57 percent of all respondents said they had direct or indirect control or influence over three or more functions.

Yet Jacobson says companies have been slow to adjust salaries to reflect this increase in responsibility. “The only way to find that combination [of skills] is to look at people

Corporate officer Vice president Director Manager Supervisor All

Median salary - male

$122,000

$145,000

$106,500

$78,000

$55,000

$87,100

Median salary - female

$66,370

$138,500

$92,000

$68,000

$54,000

$66,500

*None of the female respondents held the title of president, while 29 of the male respondents served in that capacity. Also, only four female respondents said they were corporate officers, compared with 29 male respondents.

with more experience, which means higher dollars. But they’re not raising the salary. Companies aren’t adjusting their compensation to attract the candidates that have the combined skills,” he says.

What’s in a paycheck?

Besides industry and job responsibility, there are a number of other factors that influence logistics professionals’ salaries. Few of them will come as much surprise.

For example, as experience increases, so does pay. Our survey results show a strong correlation between salary and years of logistics experience (see Exhibit 3). Similarly, older employees tend to be paid more than their younger counterparts (see Exhibit 4).

Likewise, those working for larger companies typically earn more than those at smaller ones. In fact, there is a significant gap in median salary between those companies with more than 500 employees and those with a smaller workforce. (See Exhibit 5.)

Few will be surprised to hear that a graduate degree typically translates to higher pay. Logistics professionals with a master’s degree or doctorate generally earn more than their colleagues with a bachelor’s degree or high school diploma. Interestingly, however, the median salary for respondents with a Ph.D. was lower than the median salary for those with a master’s degree (see Exhibit 6).

As in the past, our 2010 survey indicated that gender has a bearing on pay. There is still a significant salary gap between men and women. While the median salary for males is $87,100, the median salary for females is $66,500. This gap persists no matter what the position (see Exhibit 7). The difference is less noticeable at the supervisor level, however, which suggests that salaries might equalize as more women rise through the ranks.