Procurement salaries on the rise

• Purchasing and supply management salaries have generally gone up over the past year
• Women still earn less than men
• Professionals with higher education certifications earn significantly more

Global - It's not all gloom and doom in the downturn, with supply management salaries reportedly earning more in 2008 over the previous year.

The annual Institute for Supply Management (ISM) salary report, which polled over 1,000 supply managers in the US, found procurement and supply management professionals earned 6.8% more in 2008 over 2007, or an average annual salary of US$98,117 including base salaries and bonuses.

The median salary, however, was slightly lower at about US$84,000.

CPOs or VPs of purchasing reportedly pulled in US$201,000 in salary last year, while at manager level, staff earned US$131,000. "Experienced" staff with over three years purchasing experienced earned US$69,000 while entry level staff, or those than have less than three years experience, earned US$48,000 last year.

In terms of gender differences, women in procurement earned an average US$84,090 while men earned US$106,679. The 26.9% gap was only slightly smaller from the 27.1% reported a year earlier.

Female staff could enter a different salary bracket by attaining educational certification, the survey suggests.

According to its findings, staff with an associate's degree made an average of 28% more than those with a high-school degree. Bachelor degree holders can expect to earn 55% more than the respondents who completed a high-school degree, and about 21% more than those who have an associate's degree.

Master's degree holders can expect to be paid 36% more than their colleagues at bachelor's degree level, but those with a doctorate degree pull an average of 55% more than master's degree holders.