Salary Update for Employed Specifiers

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Author Message Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 01:36 am:    Since the last survey was two years ago, how about a new update for employed specifiers (not independent specifiers)? Following similarly as in the past, would others be willing to share, anonymously, their: Salaries (base/bonus). General experience (including whether CCS, registered architect or not) and years of experience.. CSI Region. # hours work week ;-) Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 10:00 am:    25 years overall experience, last 8 as specifier Registered Architect in 2 states CCS and CCCA, working toward LEED AP Middle Atlantic region Serve 50 architects and designers 40 to 50 hrs/week 80k, no bonus The previous thread proved to be quite valuable. Together with other factors, I was able to use it to build a case for an 11% salary increase. Long overdue I might add. Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 10:32 am:    over 30 years experience registered Architect in 2 states CCS Middle Atlantic staff of over 50 40 -50 hours per week 75K + bonus Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 10:39 am:    35 years as Architect, last 8 as specifier CCS, CCCA, AIA, LEED AP North Central Region 75 architectural staff in two offices 40 hours a week 80k Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 11:18 am:    43 years as Architect, 14 as specifier [some part-time] RA, CSI. CPCA, CBO Great Lakes Region 30 architectural/interior staff [oversee 30 more in CSMEP] 45 hours a week usually 80k + bonus Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 11:12 am:    30 years as an internal specifier, degree in architecture but not registered FCSI, CCS Middle Atlantic Region (primary office with staff 140) 2nd office of 40 in South Central Region 45 hours a week average over a year 117k plus quarterly bonuses based on % profit of firm Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 08:29 am:    55,000 no bonus in 06 CCS, LEED AP not registered Pittsburgh Area 40 per week Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 11:30 am:    20 years as specifier reg arch, CCS, CCCA north central 50 hrs 84K base, 20K bonus, profit sharing Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 11:55 am:    NW Coast CCS, AIA, 20 years exp, head of specs and evolving into head of QAQC as well two people answer to me directly. 80K with 4-5K bonus. I'll be negociating to the mid 80's soon Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 12:22 pm:    30+ years as specifier RA in 2 states plus NCARB certificate AIA, CSI, CCS and LEED AP Great Lakes region Staff of 55 architects and 15 engineers 40 hrs/week typical, OT hours paid 95k base plus OT, no bonus Generous benefits package Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 82 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 12:53 pm:    Annonymous in Pittsburgh: Want to relocated to Phoenix? Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 12:57 pm:    Hold out Pittsburg....looks like an attempt to buy you cheap! Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 83 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 01:31 pm:    Not at all... if anyone else wants to relocate to phx I would be happy to chat. I could greatly increase Pittsburgh's income though! Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 02:35 pm:    7 years as an internal specifier, Architecture license from 1989, work experience from 1984. AIA, CDT, LEED-AP San Francisco Bay Area(primary office with staff 175). 2nd office of about 100 in London, England. Additional permanent offices in Seattle, Salt Lake and Boston with a further 100 or so total. I cover the US offices with about 5-10% of work farmed out to former employees. We are on a 90 hour two week period with one Friday off. Overtime plentiful but not paid. 105k including bonuses. Anonymous   Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 04:13 pm:    $70k+ and bonuses - end of year and quarterly as profits dictate. MArch, 21+ years general experience; 11+ years as specifier, CCS, LEED AP. (not registered) 60+ designers in this office. North Central Region 45+/- hours per week, but not more than 50 Anonymous   Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 04:40 pm:    21 years overall experience, last 15 as specifier CCS, Registered Architect Northwest Region Serve aprox 50 architects and designers 40 to 50 hrs/week 69K, + 8% bonus Anonymous   Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 06:50 pm:    30 years experience FCSI, CCS, not registered California office of 180 $140K base plus bonus and profit share Anonymous   Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2007 - 12:52 pm:    34 years experience, last 22 as specifier Registered Architect CCS for 20 years Great Lakes Region Serve approximately 40 Architects and Engineers 40 to 45 hours per week usuaslly 80K, no bonus, poor benefits Anonymous   Posted on Monday, February 05, 2007 - 04:37 pm:    25+ years as licensed architect, last 8 as specifier CCS, AIA, CSI, NCARB Southeast Region Serve approximately 150 architects and engineers 40 hours per week usually 81K, no bonus, basic benefits Anonymous   Posted on Monday, February 05, 2007 - 10:37 pm:    20 years as licensed architect, wrote specs part time throughout,but last 3 as full time specifier AIA, CSI San Francisco Bay Area Serve staff of 70 in two offices. 40 to 50 hours per week 84K, bonus based on profitability, basic benefits Anonymous   Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 01:28 pm:    40 years experience (20 as spec writer), AIA, CSI, CCS Middle Atlantic Region, Offices in Delaware Valley area. Current firm 55 in 3 offices. 40 hours/week, flex-time, personal time off. 80k plus mid and end of year bonus based on profitability. 401K with company match. Good company paid benefits package (includes spouse coverage). Anonymous   Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 06:17 pm:    25 years experience, 10 as spec writer AIA CSI CCS CCCA 200+ total staff in several offices Supervise several spec writers Southeast region 45-50 hours/week 3 week vacation 85k plus 2 or 3% bonus varies small 401k match varies Decent medical policy Significant ownership option unlikely Anonymous   Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 07:59 pm:    Please forward this thread on to all the employed specifiers you know. The more data we have the better. I am currently compiling the data and setting up a spreadsheet. I will share results when I get more data. Anon in Pittsburgh who is making 55K, I need to know your years of experience and years writing specs. Those of you who wrote only years of experience I will assume that these in in writing specs, not a mix of architecture and specs. Anonymous   Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 08:25 pm:    25+ years experience, last 13 as spec writer AIA CSI CCS 70 in home office with 5 in branch office Northeast region 45-50 hours/week 5 weeks of vacation plus 1 week sick leave 85k plus 5% bonus 50% 401k match ok medical policy stock ownership offered Anonymous   Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 08:57 am:    27 years architectural experience; last 18 devoted exclusively to CA (about 60%) and specs (about 40%); CCS; not registered architect; 115+ person office in south-central US; $90K plus bonus(es) (grossed about $104K in 2006); Good benefits; Average 45 - 48 hours per week annually. Anonymous   Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 09:13 am:    I think I need to relocate ... Approximately 25 years experience CSI, CCS, not registered Approximately 60 person firm Central Ohio 45 hours a week typical, more depending on deadlines 3 weeks of vacation, 1 week sick 55K plus, bonuses only when the firm makes a profit Decent benefits but new medical insurance as of first of year has been a pain in the neck so far Anonymous   Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 08:29 am:    Poor in Pittsburgh here, have 20 years exp. 12 years writing specs. CCS and LEED AP. William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: wpegues Post Number: 638 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 09:30 am:    To Ohio, that salary level is just under the '75 percentile' for 5 years experience AND working under another senior specifier or someone else in charge of specifications. And that is for Columbus, Ohio specifically. I think its very valuable to see these postings, but you can also get some general feel by going to... http://salary.hotjobs.com/ Under Architecture they list Specifications Writer, though reading the summary the experience is for not a senior positiong but someone of 5 or so years of experience working under someone elses supervision. You can use the 'basic' report for free and still customize it to the specific city location. They also list a variety of other architectural positions which can be checked for their descriptions to find something more equivalent to your level than the level of specifier they list. William (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 09:51 am:    $85K, plus bonus ($3K this year as new employee, and profits under target. Next year: maybe $10K.) CCS, CCCA, not registered. 25 years experience as specifier and contract administrator. Northeast region, A/E firm with 80 or so architects. 40 hour week, paid overtime(!), decent benefits. Helaine K. (Holly) Robinson CSI CCS CCCA Senior Member Username: hollyrob Post Number: 260 Registered: 07-2003 Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 10:01 am:    Could we start indicating gender? I am curious to see whether the female specifiers are poorly-compensated in comparison with male specifiers. Anonymous   Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 12:21 pm:    I'm female making $140K plus benefits (all health care paid, vision, dental, 6 weeks time off, bonus, profit share, all CSI and AIA expenses paid) 30 years experience. California firm; international projects. Anonymous   Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 01:17 pm:    Here are the results so far: Average Salary: $84.3K Average Years Experience: 27.0 Average Years in Specs: 17.2 Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, February 08, 2007 - 06:26 pm:    $83.5K, avg. bonus $2K. 45 hr/week, much more w/deadlines. Overtime "recognized" only when each project is profitable. Duh! Who decides that? 30 years experience (as of today!) 22 yrs. writing specs, (the last) 17 as fulltime specifier. RA in 3 states, NCARB certified. CSI, CCS, CCCA, AIA & LEED AP. 150 person firm (incl. 1 other fulltime specifier). Northeast region. Decent benefits. 3 wks vacation. 5 days sick time. 401k match varies - never exceeds 10%. No ownership potential. No management/supervisory responsibility. No membership in boys club. Hmmm...falling behind previous post. Steven Bruneel, AIA, CSI-CDT, LEED-AP Senior Member Username: redseca2 Post Number: 19 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Thursday, February 08, 2007 - 07:55 pm:    Do we specification writers ever become principals or partners or whatever your firm calls them? My firm has "Practice Area Directors" and "Associate Principals" but these tend to be like coming in 4th in the Olympic marathon... Anonymous   Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 10:09 am:    Anonymous who posted on Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 04:13 pm: I'm female. Anonymous   Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 11:11 am:    Male, 6 foot, 217 pounds NW region 39 years 8 months experience in profession; writing specs since 1973. Duties include: Specifications, QA/QC reviews, mentoring/continuing education for interns, risk management, some AtuoCAD, internal newsletter. $86.6K base salary; average yearly bonus of late 8-10% but always descretional. 40hr/week, more w/deadlines. No over time compensation for salaried employees. Not registered. Let membership in CSI lapse. Achieved CCS in 1990, SCIP affiliate. 90 person firm, A/ID/Planning (incl. 1 other fulltime specifier). Decent benefits. 4 wks PTO but includes sick leave. 401k with match matching contributions after certain period of time which I cannot remember. Decent healthcare/dental/vision. Employee premiums paid for by employer (includes spouse coverage but for extra cost to employee). Flex spending account for out of pocket medical expenses. Public transportation or parking costs subsidized. CSI expenses paid (dues and conventions) No ownership potential. No management responsibility. Performance appraisals once per year. RE: CSI membership. The benefits gained from the current network of contributors to 4Specs.com discussion forums far outweighs the benefits I receive(d) from CSI, but do enjoy the comradery of the local CSI membership. Anonymous   Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 12:41 pm:    Since we are reposting with more detail... * Male. * 30 years as an internal specifier, degree in architecture but not a registered architect. * FCSI, CCS. * Middle Atlantic Region (primary office with staff 140 and including another specifier). * 2nd office of 40 in South Central Region. * Head of specifications for entire firm, responsible for all projects including scheduling of project manuals. * 45 hours a week average over a year. * 117k plus quarterly bonuses based on % profit of firm. * Very good benefits including paid long term care, 401k with regular firm contributions, 5 weeks vacation, paid travel, hotel and registration to CSI national convention as well as CSI region conferences including days at both billed to general overhead (not vacation). * Flexible spending with pre-tax dollars for medical, child care and public transportation and (when car pooling and parking in the building parking with Directors and above having free parking in the building [downtown metropolitan area]) * Paid membership in professional organizations. * Management Responsibilities: Principal level in the firm specifically in charge of specifications and controlling coordination requirements between specifications and drawings firm wide. Decision maker on suitability and quality of all products for all projects firm wide. Coordination and recommendation of firm's contract and proposal language. Coordination and approval of firms technical and educational seminars and suitability of product presentation seminars. Internal mentor program, employee reviews, employee bonus recommendations and other internal functional management responsibilities. Anonymous   Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 02:18 pm:    It looks like that, of the two specifiers that reported to be female, one is third from the lowest paid (of the 24 on the list so far)and the other is by far the highest paid of anybody (by 23k.) The average wage for the 2 women is therefore 105k while the total average is 89.3K. I guess you can't really draw any accurate conclusions from that. Anonymous   Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 02:33 pm:    I think you are forgetting the bonuses potential. The 140k salary is nice and great to be consistent. But the 117k the bonuses came to an additional 60k for the year as an average. They are not true 'bonuses' as they are truly profit sharing as a principal. Anonymous   Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 03:53 pm:    okay, fine. you win. bonuses are inconsistent, and you can't get a mortgage using them; my former firm paid me a bonus of 25% a year of my salary; my current firm has simply said that I will be "very comfortable" at the end of the year. I haven't been here long enough to know what that means. as for being female: I think after a certain point in your career, it stops being that relevant. you either can go toe-to-toe or you can't. it does make you more visible at management, and there are both good and bad points to that. good: you're more visible. bad: you're more visible.