Related Posts
How much are EY experienced hire sign bonus?
This cutie 😍
Coach
Additional Posts in Salaries in Advertising & Marketing
How much do Jr. creatives make at BBDO NY?
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Planner probably less (at least that’s how it was when I saw it a few years ago)
Yes that is what I figured
What you're saying is essentially accurate, media planners deal with a fast pace and a lot of stress. Analysts still get paid more because it's believed their skillset is harder to replace. And someone who can discern signal from noise within data would be highly valued.
Mentor
I agree. I don’t if that will stay the case with the rise of AI. I see a lot of roles converging.
Analyst seems to make more and scales faster. I’d argue both can be difficult or stressful, but it depends on what you like to do and can cope with. I’ve always loved the numbers and data side, so I’d say it’s the easier choice.
True!! I am the same way, and different people do better in either role
Subject Expert
At entry level, they're closer than you'd expect — but they diverge fast.
Media Planners typically start at $40-55k, with Associates and junior Planners sitting in that range across most mid-size agencies. The stress is real — you're managing vendor relationships, deadlines, and client budgets from day one.
Analytics starts slightly higher, $50-65k at most agencies, and the ceiling climbs faster. By mid-career, a strong analyst is pulling $80-100k while a media planner at the same tenure is often stuck in the $65-80k range unless they move into Director-level buying or strategy.
The market is rewarding data fluency right now — Analytics, Data Science, and Performance roles are consistently outpacing traditional media planning in comp growth.
If you're early career and choosing between them, analytics has more earning runway. Media planning has more client visibility, which matters if you want to move into broader account or strategy roles.