Compensation and Benefits Managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate compensation and benefits activities of an organization.
- Median pay
- $149,230
- Doing it now
- 23,700
- By 2035
- Up 1.1%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
1,600 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Direct preparation and distribution of written and verbal information to inform employees of benefits, compensation, and personnel policies.
- Administer, direct, and review employee benefit programs, including the integration of benefit programs following mergers and acquisitions.
- Plan, direct, supervise, and coordinate work activities of subordinates and staff relating to employment, compensation, labor relations, and employee relations.
- Identify and implement benefits to increase the quality of life for employees by working with brokers and researching benefits issues.
- Design, evaluate, and modify benefits policies to ensure that programs are current, competitive, and in compliance with legal requirements.
- Analyze compensation policies, government regulations, and prevailing wage rates to develop competitive compensation plan.
- Formulate policies, procedures and programs for recruitment, testing, placement, classification, orientation, benefits and compensation, and labor and industrial relations.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Business Administration, Management and OperationsSee 1,587 colleges that teach it
- Human Resources Management and ServicesSee 433 colleges that teach it
- InsuranceSee 60 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Leading and persuading
Organised and precise
Helping and teaching
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $149,230 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.