Many Health IT Workers Feel Underpaid, Considering Job Changes, Survey Finds
Despite it being one of the fastest-growing fields in the U.S., many health IT professionals still don't think they are getting paid what they deserve and plan to change jobs soon, according to a recent survey from HealthITJobs.com.
The 2015 HealthITJobs.com Healthcare IT Salary Survey included more than 700 health IT workers who offered not only their salary information, but other details such as how much experience they have, their employer type, and job titles. According to the results, the average health IT salary is $87,443 (median $80,000) and the average bonus is $7,990 (median $5,000). These numbers can swing significantly in either direction, depending on the specifics of the job in question, the report found.
Health IT undoubtedly spans a wide variety of skillsets and functions including electronic medical record (EMR) analysts, project managers, software developers, and informaticists. More than two-thirds of respondents are currently working in health IT jobs, and nearly three-fourths have health IT experience. Most are permanent employees, though contractors took the survey as well.
The average gap between what health IT professionals earn and what they think they deserve is pretty significant—around an $18,000 difference. This is probably a driving force of why more than 50 percent of respondents said they will change jobs within the next year, the survey said.
Not surprisingly, those with “executive” in their job titles reported earning the highest health IT salaries ($182,036). However, the sample size was small, the surveyors said. For the second year in a row, project managers reported the highest average health IT salaries ($107,000); this group also reported the highest average bonus of $12,702. Health IT management salaries were the next highest at $105,235 with an average bonus of $9,923.
What’s more, location matters. In looking at the country by region, it appears that New England health IT jobs pay the most ($99,500), with jobs in the mid-Atlantic ($97,600) and mountain ($97,400) regions close behind. The other areas of the country fell more line with the overall average, with the exception of the Midwest, where the average health IT salary is $80,311.
