Here’s the good part!
Medical Communications can be a very lucrative field! And there is a great need for people who are good communicators – both verbally and in writing – and have scientific/medical knowledge.
There are several resources to compare potential salaries for medical writers and other careers in medical communications. Some of the better ones provide a bit of context around the results, including the annual salary survey published in The Scientist.
Others, like the career website Indeed.com, aggregate data that you can dissect by job title and location. This link shows the results for the average medical writer salary nationwide.
Every year the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) surveys its members and publishes the results. The following are the mean results – rounded to the nearest thousand – from the 2007 survey and are meant only as a guide.
There are significant differences by sex and education level
BA: $74,000 (women); $91,000 (men)
MA or MS: $77,000 (women); $86,000 (men)
PhD, PharmD, or MD: $92,000 (women); $102,000 (men)
This really sucks because I know many very talented women who probably write better than I do and may not be compensated fairly.
The type of employer will affect what you can earn
Biotech: $102,000
Pharmaceutical: $98,000
Medical Device: $85,000
Communication: $83,000
MedEdCom: $77,000
CRO: $77,000
Internet: $74,000
Government: $71,000
Association/Society: $69,000
University or Medical School: $64,000
If you are your own employer – freelance – you can set whatever salary you want. But set realistic goals, there are others out there who are competing for work too.
The job description affects earnings
Supervisor/Administrator: $121,000
Writing/Editing Director: $99,000
Writer: $80,000
Writer/Editor: $74,000
Researcher: $69,000
Editor: $65,000
Your geographic location affects earning potential
West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, and Western Canada: $92,000
Northeast (NY, PA, NJ, DE) and Eastern Canada: $91,000
New England (MA, CT, RI, VT, NH, ME): $84,000
Upper Midwest (WI, MI, OH, IN, IL): $78,000
Upper Midwest (ND, SD, NE, MN, IA): $76,000
Central Atlantic (KY,TN, NC, VA, WV, MD, DC): $73,000
South (AL, MS, GA, FL, SC): $72,000
The Heartland (KA, OK, TX, MO, AR, LA): $67,000
West (ID, MT, WY, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM): $61,000
This has a lot to do with cost of living in these areas. For example Hawaii and California have among the highest costs of living. However, it also involves competition. The Northeast Corridor (DC to Boston) is a hot bed of pharmaceutical companies and medical communication agencies, and there is a lot of good talent from great academic institutions.
Again, these numbers are meant only as a guide as you break into medical communications as a medical writer. Please feel free to drop me note if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Carl