Keith Crank, ASA Research and Graduate Education Manager

The ASA takes three salary surveys: an academic statistics salary survey; an academic biostatistics salary survey; and a salary survey of statisticians and biostatisticians in business, industry, and government. The first two are done every year, and the third is done every two years. Reports on the 2010 academic salary surveys appeared in the December 2010 and January 2011 issues of Amstat News. A report on the next business, industry, and government salary survey will appear later this year.

The results of these salary surveys are presented in different ways, making them difficult to compare. In particular, the academic statistics salary data are presented as nine-month salaries, while the other two sets of data are presented as 12-month salaries. The data are presented this way to be consistent with the way appointments are made in the different areas.

In this article, I will try to provide a reasonable comparison of academic salaries for faculty in statistics and biostatistics. In doing so, I will take the 12-month biostatistics faculty salaries as my point of comparison. The main issue, then, is how to adjust the nine-month statistics faculty salaries so the comparison is valid.

The comparative information is provided in Tables 1, 2, and 3. These data are for faculty at research institutions. Table 1 is for assistant professors, Table 2 for associate professors, and Table 3 for full professors. All three tables give the nine-month salaries for statistics faculty, the 12-month salaries for biostatistics faculty, and the scaled values to convert a nine-month salary to an 11-month and a 12-month value for statistics faculty. Since the primary comparisons are between the biostatistics salaries and the 11-month and 12-month statistics salaries, I have placed the biostatistics salaries between the two scaled statistics salaries. The biostatistics salaries are highlighted in green. Values above the biostatistics numbers are highlighted in blue, while values below are highlighted in yellow.

At the assistant professor level, the nine-month salaries for statistics faculty are (not surprisingly) all below the 12-month salaries for biostatistics faculty. Most of the values in the 11-month column also are below the 12-month salaries for biostatistics faculty. But, the values in the 12-month column for statistics faculty are all above the salaries for biostatistics faculty. So, what does this say about statistics versus biostatistics faculty at the assistant professor level?

Table 1—Salaries for Assistant Professors at Research Universities

Table 2—Salaries for Associate Professors at Research Universities

Table 3—Salaries for Full Professors at Research Universities

I think it says statistics faculty members receive less compensation than biostatistics faculty members do. An assistant professor in statistics receives his/her nine-month salary. In addition, there is the possibility of supplementing that salary with grants, additional teaching, and outside consulting. But, for an assistant professor trying to establish a research program, additional teaching and outside consulting are drains on the faculty member’s time. And the additional teaching would not pay at the same rate as the academic year salary. Only a research grant (which is often limited to two month’s salary or less) would be considered productive for an assistant professor. The number of assistant professors in statistics departments who receive 12 months of salary is minimal. So, I think statistics assistant professors, in general, receive less pay than biostatistics assistant professors do.

For associate and full professors in statistics, the situation is no better. The 12-month column for this level is generally below the corresponding value for biostatistics faculty. While it’s more likely that associate and full professors in statistics get closer to a 12-month salary than an 11-month salary, it is certainly not automatic. I think most statistics faculty members with tenure are able to supplement their university salary with outside consulting, but I don’t know whether that brings them to a “12-month equivalent.”

Based on the 2010 academic salary surveys of statistics and biostatistics faculty, it appears biostatistics faculty members are paid more than statistics faculty. But, salary is only one piece of the job picture when deciding where one wants to work.

To contact me, send an email to keith@amstat.org. Questions or comments about this article, as well as suggestions for future articles, are always welcome.