Survey: Internal privacy professionals earn USD146,200 on average

According to a new report, the overall average base salary for internal privacy professionals has continued to rise since 2019, with these professionals earning USD146,200 annual compensation on average.

Research published in May by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) shows that the average salary for an internal privacy professional has increased by 7% from 2021 and by 10% increase from 2019.

The 2023 IAPP Privacy Professionals Salary Survey was open to the IAPP’s global membership base; over the course of seven weeks, more than 1,400 people from more than 60 countries responded to the survey.

For the first time, the survey was expanded to focus on both internal privacy roles, such as those working within an organisation’s privacy function or with privacy-related roles, and external roles, such as those offering privacy-related services, including consultants, lawyers and vendors.

The scope of the survey was also expanded to consider non-salary compensation and benefits in more detail. The report of the survey, a publication by the IAPP and TRU Staffing Partners, is available as both an Executive Summary and a full report, available only to IAPP members here.

To find out more about data privacy certification preparatory courses, including for certifications offered by the IAPP, visit the Courses section of the DPEX Network portal.

Highest salary reported was for Chief Privacy Officer

One of the key takeaways from the survey was that the average base salary for a chief privacy officer (CPO), which was the highest among internal privacy professionals. This figure for a CPO was USD206,000.

The average base salary for an external privacy professional was for a privacy lawyer, who earned an average salary USD200,800.

In addition, 76% of the survey respondents said they received a raise in the previous 12 months, while almost seven in 10 received a bonus.

The results of this survey comes after a Singapore-based job search study, conducted by the Data Protection Excellence (DPEX) Centre, which found a 125% increase in data protection jobs in 2022 from 2021.

The findings of DPEX Centre’s 2022 Singapore Data Protection Officer Job Search Study can be viewed by DPEX Network members via this useful infographic.

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