85% of Academic Tech Transfer Offices Offered Remote Work Options in 2022, New AUTM Salary Survey Finds

 

WASHINGTON, DC – September 27, 2023 – Hybrid work is now the norm for technology transfer offices (TTOs) at academic research institutions, with 85% of TTOs offering staff some type of remote work option in 2022, according to the AUTM Salary Survey, the industry’s best tool for tracking the key metrics driving compensation for licensing associates, patent managers and other technology transfer professionals.

The results of this year’s AUTM Salary Survey reflect how the COVID-19 pandemic and other disruptive elements have shaped the way tech transfer offices are staffed and the factors that need to be considered when hiring. Participating institutions reported significant job turnover in the last several years, with 46% of their tech transfer professionals in their current positions for three years or fewer.

“With research funding now at historic levels, it’s critical for tech transfer offices to be fully staffed with highly qualified professionals,” said AUTM CEO Stephen J. Susalka. “The future of innovation depends on those offices having the metrics they need to hire and retain the best people available. The AUTM Salary Survey takes the guesswork out of those critical staffing decisions.”

The 2022 Salary Survey gathered data from 121 research institutions in the US and Canada on 10 of the most common tech transfer positions. This year, for the first time, the Survey findings are being released as a searchable database that allows users to customize benchmarking reports based on the positions and variables that matter most to them.

The database includes salary statistics as well as institutional characteristics (region, office size, remote work options, incentive compensation) and individual characteristics (educational degree, gender, experience, number of direct reports).

The key findings of the 2022 Survey include:

• Of the 121 institutions surveyed, 103 (85%) offer some level of remote work.
• Tech transfer professionals in leadership positions are more likely than those in other positions to have experience outside their TTO and their organization.
• Of the 1,031 tech transfer professionals for whom data about gender was provided, 54% were female. However, 63% of directors and 61% of assistant or associate directors were male.
• For seven of the 10 positions analyzed, median salaries were 7% to 19% higher for men than for women.
• Of the 121 institutions surveyed, 34% said they consider whether a candidate has a CLP (Certified Licensing Professional) or RTTP (Registered Technology Transfer Professional) designation when hiring.

About the Salary Survey
To read more about this year's findings, visit the AUTM website.

About AUTM
AUTM is the nonprofit leader in efforts to educate, promote and inspire professionals to support the development of academic research that changes the world and drives innovation forward. Our community comprises more than 3,000 members who work in more than 800 universities, research centers, hospitals, businesses and government organizations around the globe. To learn more about AUTM, visit www.autm.net.

Media Contact
For more information or an interview with AUTM‘s CEO, please contact:
Jordana Bieze Foster
AUTM Marketing Manager
[email protected]
+1-617-501-4597 

Download a PDF of the press release here.