By Shannon Abram, The Community Roundtable.
With the SOCM 2016 survey fully launched we have just one CCC fun fact left for you – and it’s probably something you’ve known for a while. CCC Fun Fact #8: Community management isn’t “entry-level” – the average community manager has more than 12 years of work experience including nearly five in community roles alone.
I bet you’re reading this, shaking your head. Of course great community management takes experience, but so often we see community jobs advertised as “entry-level” for laughably little money. The 2014 Community Manager Salary Survey demonstrated clearly that community managers are hardly entry-level employees in their skills or their experience, and this year’s CCC research confirms that. The average community manager has more than a decade of work experience, with much of that in community management. Most of the community managers in this year’s survey aren’t in their first job — but they may be in a new one. Half of the respondents have held their current job for less than 2 years.
If you’re looking to level up your community career the Community Skills Framework is a great place to start. 
You can identify your strengths and find growth opportunities that will help you advance your career – and maybe even get a raise!
Download the Community Careers and Compensation 2015 summary report now, or take the survey and get free access to the full report!
If you love research like the CCC we’d love your help with our current research initiative – The State of Community Management. Take the survey now and you’ll get free access to the full report in May!
