What is the expected Customer Success salary?
Will mid-career professionals need to take a paycut or start over at the bottom?
If you have more than 5 years of professional working experience that overlaps with business, training, sales, marketing, or SaaS jobs like support, you will not need to start over at the bottom. Working with dozens of career transitioners every day to land mid-career (not entry level jobs), I’ve seen most get moderate to big pay increases. But not all.
We also see people who are very senior in their last career, Director level or higher. They may have Masters, Doctorates, or even PHDs. They have a big scope of responsibility. Sometimes that means that they make a lot (but not always).
But they want to make a change. They want a better quality of life. They want upward mobility options. Maybe they want to stop having a big scope of responsibility.
Jobs pay what the scope of responsibility for THAT job is worth to the business.
For example: a Customer Success Manager is estimated to prevent losses of 10% on $3MM book of business, that means a value of $300,000 to the company. They will likely keep half and budget half for the new hire. After benefits that should pay about $100,000.
🛑 It’s not relevant what you made doing some totally different job.
🛑 It only matters what value you will deliver and what the market rate is for that value.
🛑 Before you decide to make a career change, do your research and understand what value you’ll be able to deliver. Decide early if you can live with the associated compensation in exchange for a job you’ll love.
It could be less, or it could be way more (see below).
💰 Just remember, what you make is not a measure of your worth as a person. So let your ego go, and find the right balance of fulfillment, compensation, and potential in your new career.
2021 CSM salary survey and bootcamp grad typical ranges
What is the Average Pay for a CSM?
Customer Success compensation can vary a lot based on the scope of work/ value to the company. This generally is measured by the book of business you are responsible for and the average Annual Contract Value (ACV) of the accounts you manage. The higher the ACV the higher the level of service the Customer Success account manager will have to provide, and the more detrimental a single account churning (cancelling) can be.
Customer Success Associates (CSAs) are entry level jobs which are often no/low touch service level. They are responsible for hundreds of low value contracts which pose less financial risk to a company if a newer account manager churns a few. Pay is typically $45-$75k and may or may not have equity as part of the package.
Career transitioners are rarely hired as Sr. CSMs since they have a handful of accounts, each representing millions of dollars in business. They are too high risk to put an untested CSM into for most companies. These roles are a clear career path after 1+ years as a CSM and typically pay in the $120k-$175k range. Or CSMs can move into team leadership roles which are a similar range with a pathway to Director of CS or VP of CS at a startup which often pay in the $150k to $250k range.
For our bootcamp grads, coming from mid-career roles, most move into traditional Customer Success Manager roles which pay in the $80k to $120k/ year range. This does not include equity.
Benefits can also be substantial in the tech industry, so remember to factor in things like your healthcare contribution when deciding if this career is right for you.
If you’d like help estimating your pay based on your experience and interests, speak with a CSM Career Specialist.
