Mediators earn $66,800

Hot on the heels of yesterday's post showing mediation to be just a quarter of the cost of lawyer-to-lawyer settlements (and less than 10% of litigation) comes this recent article advising the median pay of a mediator in the US is $66,800.

Apparently most mediators charge between $100 and $250 an hour but need to supplement their work with other employment to end up with a middle-class annual income.

So where's the value equation?

If mediators don't value what they do, no one else will.

Not sure what you should be charging? Well, there's plenty out there to help you to decide what's a reasonable 2008 fee level in your market.

Start by looking at Dr Tammy Lenski's Mediators, are your hourly rates keeping you afloat? and her new book Making Mediation Your Day Job... even get a free chapter here)

The article goes on to estimate that there are 10,000 mediators earning around $50,000 a year from mediation. A larger number earn less [read more]

See also Mediator: A Day in the Life

"...Like most mediators, you do pro bono work. In this next case, the police department asks you to mediate a dispute involving a neighbor complaining of frequent parties that last into the wee hours: "My bed shakes with every bass note, and it doesn't stop until 5 a.m." The partier agrees to tone down the music, and the neighbor agrees to be more tolerant, but you won't bet your life that this dispute is permanently settled"

OK, so maybe becoming a full time mediator no longer appeals?

Then try these ahead-of-the-curve 2008 careers on for size.

P.S. A great perspective on this post by Vickie Pynchon How Rich are We? A Modest Response to Geoff Sharp's Mediator Salary Post