---
title: "Occupational benchmarks, not founder-advice-specific pay"
slug: "hiring-signals/occupational-benchmarks-not-founder-advice-specific-pay"
section: "Hiring signals"
description: "| BLS occupation | May 2025 US median annual pay | Projections 2025–2035 | How to use it | | | :| | | | Management analysts | $101,860 | 10% growth | Broad"
internal_only: false
---

# Occupational benchmarks, not founder-advice-specific pay

| BLS occupation | May 2025 US median annual pay | Projections 2025–2035 | How to use it |
|---|---:|---|---|
| Management analysts | **$101,860** | **10%** growth | Broad consulting/analysis labour context only [Management Analysts — Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/management-analysts.htm) |
| Financial managers | **$166,570** | **10%** growth | Broad finance management context [Financial Managers — Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/financial-managers.htm) |
| Chief executives | **$213,990** | Occupation part of top-executive grouping | Not a startup CEO salary benchmark [Top Executives — Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/top-executives.htm) |
| General/operations managers | **$105,770** | Top executives group outlook **5%** | Distinct management occupation, not fractional adviser fee [Top Executives — Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/top-executives.htm) |

Do not divide salaries by 2,080 hours to claim a freelance consulting rate. Contract sales, acquisition, liability, utilisation and equity structure are entirely different.