In the spring and summer of 2009 SSPI conducted its first-ever member survey. The survey was broad in scope – designed to test some of the anecdotal suppositions about the industry, and to gain better understanding of the perceived value of SSPI membership – and it yielded a wealth of information.

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What did we learn?
For one thing, the satellite industry isn't as "gray" as we've been led to believe.  The age distribution of satellite professionals is remarkably even.  The gender disparity, however, was not surprising.  Approximately 80% of industry employees are male.

We also learned that job hopping isn't as common as we'd expected.  As a matter of fact, nearly half of respondents have been with their current employer between 6 and 25 years.  That bodes well for companies investing in the training and development of their employees.

There's been a lot of discussion throughout the industry in recent years about attracting and retaining young talent.  The satellite industry doesn't necessarily have the same starry eyed wow factor that it used to.  So it was particularly rewarding to see that the majority of respondents in the survey answer the question "what do you do for a living?" with an unqualified "I work in the satellite industry."

Click here to access the full "Satellite Industry Workforce 2009" report. 

Click here to listen to report author Tamara Bond, SSPI Membership Director, discuss the findings of the report.