As you scroll through your Facebook newsfeed, like photos, comment on posts, and share interesting links, have you ever wondered who is responsible for moderating all the content?
Facebook employs thousands of moderators around the world, and their job is to review posts and media to ensure they meet the platform’s community standards.
However, despite the important role these moderators play in keeping Facebook safe and civil, their pay and working conditions are often less than ideal. If you’ve considered a job as a Facebook moderator, you may be surprised to learn how little these critical positions typically earn.
In this article, we explore the salary ranges and job requirements of Facebook moderators in the US to determine whether the pay is truly fair compensation for such an important job. The results may shock you.
The Role And Responsibilities of A Facebook Moderator
As a Facebook moderator, your primary role is to review user-generated content on Facebook and ensure it complies with the platform’s Community Standards. This includes identifying and removing content that violates policies related to violence, hate speech, bullying, pornography, and other objectionable material.
The specific responsibilities of a Facebook moderator are the following:
| Responsibility | Description |
|---|---|
| Reviewing user-generated content | Evaluate posts, photos, videos, comments, and other content reported by Facebook users or identified by Facebook’s detection systems. Assess the context to determine if the content should be removed or allowed to remain on the platform. |
| Taking action on violating content | Remove violating content, restrict its distribution, or escalate it for further review. This helps maintain a safe and welcoming environment on Facebook where users can connect and share. |
| Providing feedback on content policy violations | Offer insights and feedback on content policy violations to improve Facebook’s detection systems and policies. Human moderators’ input is valuable for training artificial intelligence systems and refining the moderation process. |
| Staying up-to-date with Facebook’s Community Standards and Policies | Engage in ongoing training to keep abreast of Facebook’s latest Community Standards and content moderation policies. Stay informed about policy updates that address new forms of abuse and objectionable content. |
Working efficiently and accurately to review a high volume of user reports and other flagged content. Facebook moderators typically review thousands of posts, comments, and other items per day.
Entry-Level Facebook Moderator Salary
As an entry-level Facebook moderator, you can expect to earn between $15 to $20 per hour. Salaries will vary depending on factors like:
- Location and cost of living. Pay tends to be higher in areas with a higher cost of living. For example, Moderators in San Francisco or New York may earn slightly more than those in other parts of the country.
- Experience. While this role is typically considered entry-level, those with previous experience moderating content or in a related role like customer service may be able to negotiate a higher starting pay.
- Education. Having a bachelor’s degree, especially in a field like communications, marketing, or psychology, may make you a more attractive job candidate and open you up to increased pay opportunities.
- Responsibilities. Moderators with additional responsibilities like training new moderators, handling escalated issues, or moderating high-risk content areas may earn a higher salary.
- Company and benefits. Large tech companies like Facebook often provide competitive pay and benefits packages. Salaries at these companies have the possibility of being on the higher end of the range.
While the role of a Facebook moderator may seem straightforward, it requires good judgment, adaptability, and resilience in the face of disturbing or offensive content. The job also plays an important role in keeping Facebook’s community safe and promoting positive interactions.
For these reasons, Facebook aims to provide fair and reasonable pay for this position. With time and experience, pay for Facebook moderators can increase substantially.
Experienced Facebook Moderator Pay
Years of Experience
Experienced Facebook moderators, defined as those with 3-5 years of experience or more, typically earn $35,000 to $45,000 per year in the United States.
The exact pay depends on factors like location, education, additional skills, and performance. For example, Moderators working in large tech hubs like San Francisco or Seattle may earn on the higher end of the range.
Additional Responsibilities
More experienced moderators often take on additional responsibilities, such as training or supervising new moderators. They may also specialize in moderating complex policy areas that require nuanced judgment, such as hate speech, bullying, or other sensitive issues.
Moderators with specialized experience in multiple languages or cultural contexts are also highly demanding and can command a salary premium.
Career Growth Opportunities
While the day-to-day work of a Facebook moderator may seem repetitive, there are opportunities for career growth over time.
Moderators can be promoted to team lead or operation manager roles, overseeing groups of moderators and ensuring quality and productivity targets are met. Some moderators may transition into policy development roles, helping to craft and refine the community standards that they were once responsible for enforcing.
Benefits
Facebook offers benefits for full-time moderators, like health insurance, paid time off, and retirement plans. The company also provides wellness resources and counselling services to help moderators cope with the mental health impacts of exposure to disturbing content as part of their job.
While the work of a Facebook moderator can be demanding, these additional benefits and support resources aim to improve job satisfaction and retention.
Additional Compensation and Benefits for Facebook Moderators
Base Salary
According to Glassdoor, the average base pay for a Facebook moderator in the U.S. is $36,000 per year. Actual salaries may vary significantly based on factors such as location, education, experience, and job responsibilities.
Moderators in large tech hubs like San Francisco and Seattle, where the cost of living is higher, tend to earn slightly more. Entry-level moderators typically start around $30,000, while more experienced moderators with additional training and responsibilities can make up to $45,000.
Bonuses and Commissions
Some Facebook moderators may be eligible for bonuses and commissions in addition to their base salary. For example, bilingual moderators who review content in multiple languages may receive a small bonus.
Moderators who consistently exceed productivity targets and performance metrics may also qualify for bonuses. However, bonuses are not guaranteed and depend entirely on individual and company performance.
Career Growth Opportunities for Facebook Moderators
As a Facebook moderator, there are several opportunities for career growth and advancement. While the role typically starts as an entry-level position, moderators can progress to more senior roles over time through on-the-job experience and additional training.
Advancement to Lead Moderator
With 6-18 months of experience, moderators may be promoted to lead moderators. Lead moderators provide guidance and support to moderators, ensure quality control, and handle escalated issues. This role comes with a pay increase of 10-15% on average.
Promotion to Operations Specialist
Operations specialists take on additional responsibilities such as training new moderators, optimizing workflows, and project management.
They act as subject matter experts in content moderation and work with multiple teams. This role typically requires at least two years of experience and relevant certifications. Operations specialists earn 20-30% more than lead moderators.
Transition to Other Roles
After gaining substantial experience as a moderator, opportunities may open up to transition into related roles at Facebook, such as:
- Trust and Safety Specialist: Focuses on policy development and enforcement strategies. Usually requires a bachelor’s degree and 3+ years of experience.
- Content Strategist: Helps determine best practices for content moderation and works with product teams. Typically requires 5+ years of experience.
- Public Policy Associate: Works with governments and policymakers on issues such as data privacy, content regulation, and censorship. Requires a degree and 5-7 years of experience.
While the pay for entry-level moderators is relatively low, Facebook does provide opportunities for career growth over the long run. Moderators who excel in their roles, gain additional experience and skills, and take on more responsibility can achieve salary increases of 50-100% or more. The key is patience, persistence, and continuous self-improvement.
Conclusion
- Facebook moderators are responsible for reviewing user-generated content to ensure it meets the platform’s Community Standards, but their pay and working conditions are often less than ideal.
- Entry-level Facebook moderators typically earn between $15 to $20 per hour. Pay for Facebook moderators varies depending on location, experience, education, additional skills, and performance.
- Experienced moderators typically earn $35,000-45,000 per year, with additional responsibilities and career growth opportunities.
- Facebook moderators receive base pay of $36,000 per year, bonuses and commissions, health insurance, paid time off, retirement plans, wellness resources, counselling services, and career growth opportunities.
- Benefits include health insurance, 401(k) retirement plans, paid time off, employee assistance programs, and discounts on Facebook products and services.
- Moderators can progress to more senior roles over time through on-the-job experience and additional training, with pay increases of 10-15%.