3 answers
Timothy’s Answer
To give a very rough estimate you could make anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000 if you're working in LA or NY for a major company.
Ana’s Answer
Hi, Michaela.
Pay for a social media director varies based on factors like location, type and size of company or organization (media, digital agency, nonprofit, publicly traded company, etc.), and scope of responsibilities, like whether you're a people manager or an individual contributor. Other types of compensation like stock also affect pay.
In the US, sites like Glassdoor, Payscale, Indeed and Salary.com have estimates between $45,000 and $60,000 a year. For larger companies, pay can be six figures with a huge range: from $100,000 to $200,000 or more.
I worked in journalism before social media and pay was rarely in the six-figure range unless you worked at the biggest publications (like The New York Times), which often require several years of experience. Most journalists don't join the profession for the money; it's fulfilling and creative work but with long, irregular hours. It's a lot like social media work, which is generally better compensated.
Both career paths can be very rewarding and there's an overlap in the required skill sets so you could probably move between the two if you chose.
Good luck!
Ana