Reading Advocate Salaries

The Central Intelligence Agency noted in July 2011 that 99 percent of the American population over the age of 15 has the ability to read and write, but modern literacy also involves skills in reading and understanding basic instructional materials and the ability to document and perform the quantitative tasks involved in economic literacy. Reading advocates work with both children and adults to improve reading and comprehension skills and also encourage people to view reading as an important leisure activity.

National Reading Advocacy Salaries
National reading advocacy organizations work with branches in each state to promote reading at all ages. Large reading organizations work with parents, public schools and social service organizations. The range of employment at these agencies includes all levels of staffing, from executive directors to professionals networking directly with state branch offices as trainers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that management-level positions at organizations, including those promoting literacy, earned an average hourly salary of $34.24 in 2007.

State-Level Advocacy Pay
State-level reading advocates include high-level positions in the departments of education. These positions work with county departments of education and local school boards in developing student reading programs and promotional projects to encourage reading. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics noted the annual mean wage for officials working with literacy and education was $63,920 in May 2010.

Local Advocate Salaries
Reading advocates work with local schools and after-school programs to help students learn to read and enjoy literature. National public service organizations uses advocates, including the AmeriCorps VISTA program, a service organization for college-age and adult volunteers, and RSVP, part of a volunteer network of people over age 55. Volunteers in both groups receive a living stipend determined by the state cost of living and also receive a basic life insurance policy and medical coverage during their service. Volunteers also earn a one-time payment of a service completion bonus or a tuition reimbursement credit so they may return to school for post-secondary classes or career or vocational training. The monthly stipend in Indiana for 2008, for example, was approximately $1,000. Senior volunteers receiving Social Security payments must meet income eligibility requirements in certain states, including Wisconsin.

For-Profit Advocate Pay
Private industry reading advocates work with for-profit tutoring companies to encourage preschool through college-age students to read. Workers at these agencies also contract with local schools to instruct students in remediation classes and before- and after-school tutoring programs. Earnings for these jobs vary widely and include hourly pay and full-time salaries, with certain tutors and instructors operating under independent work contracts. The mean hourly wage, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for career professionals assigned to advocacy instruction involving teaching literacy was $24.56 in May 2010. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated yearly salaries in the same time period ranged from $27,090 to $83,580.