If you’re sorting out your career trajectory and looking for high-paying gigs, it’s good to know what’s out there in terms of salary.
Robert Half has released its 2018 Salary Guides, which feature salary ranges for hundreds of professional occupations in the accounting, finance, technology, creative, legal and administrative support fields.
Here we’re looking at the most lucrative starting salaries for creatives in Canada because it’s a fascinating area full of fun possibilities. So, you might as well aim high.
Most of the highest paying roles are obviously Senior Management positions, which might require a mix of both creative and management experience. From there, there’s a range across the board, from quite high to quite low compensation, in areas including Digital Design and Production, Content Development and Management, Agency and Corporate marketing and communications, and Public Relations.
The salaries are all based on Canadian data and are broken into percentiles based on job complexity, as well as candidate skill level and experience. So, for example, the 25th percentile has the lowest experience level, skill level, and job complexity, while the top 5th percentile has the highest experience level, skill level, and job complexity.
We are presenting the top 10 starting salaries, not including other forms of compensation such as bonuses and incentives (which can be significant), for the mid (50th) percentile.
The highest paying job on this list is Chief Marketing Officer, with a starting salary of $150,000, and the lowest is Production Assistant, with a starting salary of $34,000.
Read on for the highest and lowest-paying creative jobs in Canada. We’ve provided job descriptions for the top 10.
The top 10 highest-paying creative jobs in Canada and their mid-level salaries:
Chief Marketing Officer, $150,000
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is in charge of an organization’s marketing and advertising initiatives. Reporting to the CEO, the CMO develops the organization’s overall marketing strategy and is responsible for the generation of revenue through marketing. The CMO manages the marketing team, oversees the development of products, conducts market research, meets with the board, stakeholders, and CEO, and more.
Creative Director, $140,000
The Creative Director is the creative lead at advertising and marketing companies, and in those departments of larger companies. Responsibilities include but aren’t limited to the development and execution of projects, managing a team of creatives, including designers, art directors, copywriters, photographers and web developers; liaising with clients and stakeholders; troubleshooting; and managing budgets.
Vice President of Marketing, $130,000
The VP of Marketing and the CMO might be the same thing at some smaller companies. At larger ones, the VP of Marketing reports to the CMO and may be in charge of a specific area of marketing for that company such as a specific product or region. The VP of Marketing oversees either all aspects of marketing initiatives, or all aspects of marketing initiatives for their specific section.
Vice President of Public Relations, $124,000
The Vice President (VP) of public relations (PR) oversees the “official messaging” of an organization and ensures that the company and brand are positively represented. Depending on the industry, duties might include communicating brand voice to managers and teams; overseeing media relations, media releases, and media strategy; acting as spokesperson; and damage control.
User Experience Director, $108,000
The User Experience (UX) Director, is in charge of ensuring that users of an organization’s software or systems have a positive customer experience with the brand. This involves managing teams of developers and designers, testing and collecting customer feedback, communicating with stakeholders, tracking market trends, designing and developing products and applications, and more.
Public Relations Director, $105,000
The Public Relations Director would usually report to the VP of Public Relations, and be either in charge of PR for a specific branch of a company, or the next in command in charge of the official messaging of an organization and maintaining the company’s image.
Marketing Director (Corporate), $105,000
As noted for other director positions, the Marketing Director is either the next in command to the VP of Marketing or in charge of marketing for a specific area of an organization.
Account Director (Agency), $104,000
The Account Director at an advertising or marketing agency is the main point of contact for a client or several clients, and oversees communication for that “account.” The role might entail the implementation, development, and execution of campaigns for that client, including managing creatives and budgets, as well as being the go-between for the agency as a whole with that client.
Public Relations Manager, $97,500
The PR Manager handles PR, answering to the VP or Director of PR. Duties generally include the same Public Relations things like media relations and brand messaging. The manager will likely also be more hands-on with day to day management of employees and team members, leaving the VP or director free for higher-level duties.
Creative Services Manager, $95,000
A Creative Services Manager is in charge of the creative output of an organization, which might include written copy, visuals, video, and web design for print and web advertising, promotions, and other forms of marketing. Duties involve idea generation, strategy, execution, communicating with stakeholders, and overseeing the work of the creative team, including writers, videographers, developers, designers, editors, photographers, etc.
The next 10 top paying creative jobs and their mid-level salaries:
Art Director, $93,500
Information Architect, $90,250
Media Director, $89,000
User Experience Designer, $88,500
Marketing Analytics Manager, $87,500
Brand/Product Manager, $87,250
Account Supervisor, $85,000
Interactive Art Director, $83,500
Interaction Designer, $81,000
Mobile/Responsive Designer, $80,000
The 10 lowest-paying creative jobs in Canada and their mid-level salaries
Production Assistant, $34,000
Desktop Publisher/Layout Artist, $40,000
Account Coordinator, $40,000
Web Content Coordinator, $45,000
Media Buyer, $45,000
Digital Asset Manager, $45,000
Event/Trade Show Coordinator, $45,750
Email Marketing Specialist, $46,000
Marcom Coordinator, $50,000
Event/Trade Show Manager, $51,000
Get the Salary Guide for Creative & Marketing Professionals here.