Salary Survey Extra is a series of periodic dispatches that give added insight into the findings of our most recent Salary Survey. These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Cloud computing technology provides the underpinning of a rapidly increasing number of IT functions. Naturally, then, effectively securing and protecting cloud technology is of vital importance to preserving the availability and stability of a whole lot of IT tools and services.

The biggest name in cloud computing is Amazon Web Services (AWS), and the growing AWS certification program is an excellent place to start for cloud technologists eager to burnish their cloud security bona fides. The AWS Certified Security – Specialty credential checked in at No. 5 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list.

Here’s what the salary picture looks like for AWS Certified Security holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $142,980
Median Annual Salary: $147,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 25 percent
Very Satisfied: 24.8 percent
Satisfied: 40.2 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 5 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 5 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $88,580
Median Annual Salary: $83,750
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 11.8 percent
Very Satisfied: 17.6 percent
Satisfied: 47.1 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 23.5 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

A little more than half of the AWS Certified Security holders who participated in the Salary Survey are U.S. residents (52.6 percent), but we also heard from credential holders in 11 other countries: Albania, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

Tech circles tend to be dominated by men, and male professionals account for 86.8 percent of the AWS Certified Security holders who participated in the survey. (Women accounted for 7.9 percent of those surveyed, with the remaining 5.2 percent preferring not to disclose gender information.) Most respondents, regardless of gender identity, are clustered around middle age either between the ages of 35 and 44 (59.5 percent of those surveyed) or between the ages of 45 and 54 (18.9 percent). Most of the outliers are either between the ages of 55 and 64 (10.8 percent of respondents), or between the ages of 25 and 34 (8.1 percent), with a handful still going strong after retirement age between the ages of 65 and 74 (2.7 percent).

More than 85 percent of AWS Certified Security holders who responded to the survey have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of formal education completed by most AWS Certified Security holders is either a bachelor’s degree (16.2 percent of those surveyed), master’s degree (59.5 percent), doctorate (5.4 percent), or associate’s degree (5.5 percent). The outliers are the 8.1 percent of respondents who topped out at some level of post-high school technical training and the 5.3 percent who exited the realm of formal education after completing high school.

A striking 97.4 percent of the AWS Certified Security holders who responded to the survey are employed full-time, with the remaining 2.6 percent holding part-time positions. Among those who have full-time jobs, most are at work either for the standard 40 hours per week (46 percent of respondents) or put in between 41 and 50 hours per week (24.3 percent). The remaining roughly 30 percent of those surveyed are either carrying a heavy load, working more than 50 hours per week (10.8 percent), or getting off easy with a standard work week of between 31 and 39 hours per week (18.9 percent).

Since the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many AWS Certified Security holders who probably had a desk at an office before 2020 are spending most or all of their work schedule at home. A notable 62 percent of respondents don’t ever leave the house for work, putting in either 40 hours per week from home (35.1 percent) or more than 40 hours per week from home (27.1 percent). Among the remaining 38 percent, 10.8 percent work from home between 31 and 39 hours per week, 8.1 percent work from home between 21 and 30 hours per week, and 19 percent work from home between 10 and 20 hours per week.

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of AWS Certified Security holders we heard from, 35 percent of those surveyed, are employed at the senior specialist level. The rest, in descending order, are either managers (22.5 percent of respondents), executives and senior managers (both 15 percent) directors (10 percent), and specialists (2.5 percent).

A little more than half (52.5 percent) of the AWS Certified Security holders who responded to the survey are IT veterans, having worked in a role that directly utilizes one or more of their certified skills for more than a decade. The rest have been plying their certified skills for either between zero years (1 to 11 months) and 2 years (7.5 percent of those surveyed), between 3 and 5 years (17.5 percent), between 6 and 8 years (7.5 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (15 percent).

Finally, here’s the view of AWS Certified Security holders on key questions from the survey about how certification impacts job performance:

At my current job I use skills learned or enhanced through certification:
Several times a day: 55 percent
Several times a week: 27.5 percent
Several times a month: 12.5 percent
Occasionally: 5 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 47.5 percent
Agree: 40 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 5.1 percent
Disagree: 4.9 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.5 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 32.5 percent
Agree: 47.5 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 15 percent
Disagree: [No responses]
Strongly Disagree: 5 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 35 percent
Agree: 47.5 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 12.5 percent
Disagree: 2.5 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.5 percent

PAST AWS CERTIFIED SECURITY – SPECIALTY FEATURES

2021

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