Quiz: The State of Technology and Life Sciences Executive Compensation

The Boston area is a breeding ground for life sciences and technology innovation. Startups and more established companies are everywhere—and so are the engineers, scientists, CTOs, and operating, finance, and sales whizzes that make these enterprises hum.

But what are all these folks paid—in salary, bonus, and stock? Are CEOs really the best compensated? How does life sciences differ from tech? And how have things changed over the last year, given the financial climate?

These questions are addressed in detail by CompStudy, an annual survey of the cash and equity compensation for top management at private life sciences and technology companies that is conducted by executive search company J. Robert Scott in partnership with Ernst & Young. We’ll be reporting soon on details of the study, which is rich with information. But meanwhile, I’ve worked with with Aaron Lapat, a managing director of J. Robert Scott, and Michael Greeley, a general partner with Flybridge Capital Partners and chairman of the New England Venture Capital Association, to cull some highlights from the study’s 2009 findings.

To test your knowledge about about the state of management compensation, take the quick 7-question quiz below. (The questions don’t get at any of the year-over-year changes in executive comp; our story next week will do that.) I’ll post the answers, along with some commentary from Lapat and Greeley, right after the Thanksgiving break—I imagine they’ll provide a yardstick you can use to assess your own compensation situation, or, let’s just say it, that of those around you.

Question No. 1

Question No. 2

Question No. 2a

Question No. 3

Question No. 3a

Question No. 4

Question No. 4a