The Salary of a Phone Survey Worker

Telephone survey clerks administer opinion polls and market research surveys by phone.

Although most people are annoyed when they answer the telephone and are solicited to take part in a survey, telephone polling and interviews are an important part of marketing research and opinion polling. Although the manpower necessary to place enough calls to complete a survey is large, the researchers and statisticians who develop the questions and analyze answers to surveys earn the highest salaries in the field.

Average Telephone Survey Interviewer Salary

Although interviewers who poll passers-by at public locations are sometimes paid per completed survey they produce, telephone surveyors often receive compensation primarily as an hourly wage or a weekly salary, although they may receive performance benefits. Because of this, and because of the varied training levels among pollsters necessary to conduct a telephone survey, average earnings may vary considerably. Telephone survey representatives earn an average salary of $27,000 as of February 2011, according to Simply Hired, although Indeed.com reports the average salary in the nation as $44,000.

Telephone Survey Interviewer Salaries Around the Country

With the rise of cheap and reliable telecommunications technology, call centers are increasingly located in parts of the country with lower standard wages. Despite that, opportunities exist around the country, although most positions pay relatively low wages. Telephone surveyors in New York earn the highest average annual salary, $36,626, while pollsters in Orlando, Florida, earn the smallest, and receive $26,901, as of February 2011, according to Salary Expert. Telephone survey interviewers earn average annual salaries between $30,173 and $32,767 in half of the cities Salary Expert surveyed.

Survey Researcher Salaries

Before interviewers take to the telephone lines, a statistically valid survey must be created, and its results must be properly analyzed. Survey researchers perform this function and frequently supervise telephone interviewers as they administer the survey. Survey researchers earn a median annual salary of $35,380 as of May 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of all survey researchers earn salaries between $22,220 and $54,480, so wide variations in salary mark the occupation.

Statisticians

In the most reliable and upscale telephone research firms, statisticians are in charge of developing surveys, creating sample populations and analyzing survey data. These statisticians bring an added element of reliability to a telephone survey's results, but it comes with a price. Statisticians earn about double that of a telephone researcher with a median annual income of $72,610 as of May 2008, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Professional statisticians typically hold a master's or doctorate degree in statistics or mathematics; researchers aren't as highly trained.

References

• Indeed.com: Telephone Survey Representative Salary
• Simply Hired: Average Telephone Survey Interviewer Salary
• Salary Expert: Telephone Interviewer Salaries
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Survey Researchers
• Occupational Outlook Handbook: Statisticians