The West Virginia Development Office’s Export Promotion Program offers local small and medium-sized companies export counseling, translation services, trade events, and dependable freight forwarders to expand their international trade capabilities, which helps provide greater access to high paying jobs for international business and relations professionals that work here.
For example, in a June 2015 article published by the Charleston Gazette, the West Virginia Development Office is reportedly working in tandem with the West Virginia Hardware Alliance Zone to increase the exportation of wood and lumber products to China. This collaborative effort has benefitted the state’s economy by increasing employment within the lumber and wood industry from 5,844 in 2012 to 6,332 in 2014.
According to the United States Department of Labor, in 2014, international and relations professionals employed in the metropolitan division of Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV earned especially high salaries in their respective occupational categories. For instance, this metropolitan region was ranked:
- The second highest paying metropolitan locale for interpreters, translators, logisticians, and fundraisers in the country
- The sixth highest paying metropolitan area for economists in the country
- The seventh highest paying metropolitan area for compliance officers in the country
- The ninth highest paying metropolitan area for postsecondary area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers in the country
- The tenth highest paying metropolitan area for purchasing managers in the country
International Business Salaries in West Virginia
The Business Roundtable reported that international business workers helped companies in West Virginia sell products and services to 150 countries and territories worldwide. In that year, West Virginia’s top exports included coal and petroleum gases, resins and synthetic fibers, and motor vehicle parts. As a result, international business professionals that cater to these specific industries may have a greater opportunity to earn more competitive salaries.
In 2014, the United States Department of Labor provided the median salaries amounts for major occupations involved in West Virginia’s growing international business ventures:
- Industrial Production Managers: $89,000
- Purchasing Managers: $108,800
- Transportation Storage and Distribution Managers: $68,700
- Compliance Officers: $47,200
- Logisticians: $62,200
- Management Analysts: $70,300
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists: $42,900
Shown here is a full analysis of salary data for international business professionals in West Virginia (US Department of Labor, 2014):
International Relations Salaries in West Virginia
International relation professionals help advance West Virginia’s global trade ambitions by reaching out to foreign countries through cultural exchange programs, diplomatic operations, and humanitarian relief missions. By exercising these goodwill tactics, international relations workers in West Virginia establish strong foundations of cultural understanding, which allows future business transactions to evolve more smoothly.
The Business Roundtable reported that West Virginia’s biggest foreign trade markets in 2013 were located in Canada, Netherlands, Brazil, Italy, China, and the United Kingdom. Therefore, international relations professionals with advanced experience working with these countries may have achieve higher-end salaries in the field.
In 2014, the United States Department of Labor reported the median salary amounts for major occupations that help propel successful international relations in West Virginia:
- Fundraisers: $41,300
- Economists: $38,000
- Urban and Regional Planners: $54,400
- Political Science Teachers Postsecondary: $65,100
- Foreign Language and Literature Teachers Postsecondary: $51,800
- Area, Ethnic and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary: $56,000
- Interpreters and Translators: $23,400
Shown here is a full analysis of salary data for international relations specialists in West Virginia (US Department of Labor, 2014):