Where Are Global Privacy Pros Working? The IAPP & TRU Privacy Professionals Salary Survey Offers Insights
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A recent webinar to analyze the 2023 IAPP Privacy Professionals Salary Survey gave attendees a high-level overview of the survey’s unprecedented exploration of global compensation and job market trends in the privacy industry. Panelists included TRU's Founder & CEO Jared Coseglia, alongside IAPP Principal Researcher in Privacy Management, Saz Kanthasamy, CIPP/E, CIPM, FIP, and IAPP Research & Insights Director, Joe Jones – all of whom offered several glimpses into the monumental research efforts that resulted in myriad statistics on what respondents earned, how they earned their compensation, where they were located, and their compensation based on their job titles. However, a surprising statistic stood out from the panelists’ discussion: More than two-thirds of privacy pros surveyed said they still worked from home more than they do in an office, and 40% were fully remote.
Considering that the industry is now well past the pandemic, this high percentage may have surprised some. That statistic tied into many more aspects of the remote work versus office work debate, and was also instrumental in an overwhelming majority of respondents saying they were extremely happy in their roles.
Why Remote Capability Is So Desirable in the Data Privacy Industry
During the pandemic, remote work proliferated. And thanks to new advancements in technology that supported “anywhere” connectivity, easy availability of cloud-based software, high-speed internet, video conferencing, and instant messaging apps, privacy pros around the world got comfortable at home and built a strong, healthy work-life balance. No one wanted to give that up.The IAPP and TRU collaborated on this deep-dive survey of the privacy industry, researching current remote working practices to see what changed when the world was open for business again.
The 2023 compiled data shows:
- 69% of respondents work from home more than they do in the office, a much greater proportion than the 36% of respondents who predicted working this way in 2021.
- 40% of respondents work fully remotely, an increase of 31% over those who predicted solely working from home in the 2021 survey.
- 5% of respondents are fully office based, making this comparable with those who predicted working this way in 2021.
By contrast, in the 2021 survey, more than 80% of respondents worked entirely from home and 11% “mostly” worked from home.
Remote Privacy Work Varies by Region
The survey also delved deeper into remote working practices to determine who worked where by region. Data from respondents showed:- 49% of respondents based in North America work fully remotely
- 26% of respondents in Europe work fully remotely
- 25% of those based in Africa and Asia work fully remotely
- At least six in 10 respondents in North America, Europe and South America worked from home more than in the office.
The actual percentages are much higher than what privacy pros thought they would be doing in the 2021 Salary Survey.
Remote Privacy Work by Job Title
The IAPP and TRU researchers then went one step farther in their research and learned that privacy analysts and engineers were the professionals most likely to be remote: nearly eight out of 10 privacy analysts and six out of 10 privacy engineers worked from home. About one in 10 of those surveyed with the job title of cybersecurity professional, DPO, or external privacy lawyer were fully office-based. Four out of 10 respondents who identified as DPOs worked from the office more than at home.
Coseglia noted that in terms of his clients and privacy placements, organizations that offered more remote capability had many more candidates to chose from when hiring for open positions.
Download the Full Salary Survey Report!
If you are a privacy pro looking for in-depth salary data on the industry or a hiring manager wanting to know what the best pros are earning, you need a copy of this full 2023 IAPP Privacy Professional Salary Survey. Download your copy online today.
