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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

We are living in a new age of ITIL: Earlier this year, AXELOS, the U.K. agency that manages ITIL and ITIL certification, ushered in ITIL 4. So as a footnote to history, we'll point out that today's discussion of AXELOS ITIL Foundation (No. 42 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list) technically draws its data from an era (i.e. last year) when Version 3 was the prevailing ITIL.

Here's what the salary picture looks like for ITIL Foundation holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $109,930
Median Annual Salary: $105,630
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 0.9 percent
Very Satisfied: 23.3 percent
Satisfied: 44.8 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 25.9 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 5.1 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $63,320
Median Annual Salary: $67,680
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 5.4 percent
Very Satisfied: 12.4 percent
Satisfied: 40.3 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 34.1 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 7.8 percent

We often say that this or that IT credential has a global footprint, or a worldwide presence, or what have you, but ITIL Foundation is the somewhat rare cert that really impressively bears out that characterization. The largest single body of ITIL Foundation holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (47.3 percent), but we also heard from credential holders in 36 (!) other countries: Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Most of the ITIL Foundation holders who participated in the survey are men (89.8 percent), though we did hear from a small core of women credential holders. The ITIL Foundation crowd is younger than what we typically get, with 0.8 percent of those surveyed between the ages of 19 and 24, 20.4 percent between the ages of 25 and 34, and 40.8 percent between the ages of 35 and 44. The geezers in the bunch are either between the ages of 45 and 54 (27.8 percent), between the ages of 55 and 64 (9.4 percent), or between the ages of 65 and 74 (0.8 percent).

A bit more than 88 percent of the ITIL Foundation holders who responded to the survey have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of education completed by most ITIL Foundation holders is either a bachelor's degree (37.6 percent), master's degree (38.8 percent), associate's degree (9.4 percent), doctorate (1.2 percent), or professional degree (1.2 percent). The outliers are an impressively splintered group, with 4.1 percent of respondents having completed some level of post-high school technical training, 5.7 percent having departed the realm of formal education after achieving a high school diploma, 1.6 percent currently in school, and 0.4 percent  claiming no formal education before entering the workplace.

A strong 96.5 percent of ITIL Foundation holders are employed full-time, with 1.6 percent employed part-time, 1.6 percent presently out of work, and 0.3 percent currently on sabbatical. Among those with full-time jobs, most have either a standard 40-hour schedule (43.6 percent of those surveyed), or work between 41 and 50 hours per week (40 percent). The outliers are the 7.8 percent of respondents who work more than 50 hours per week, the 8.2 percent who put in between 31 and 39 hours, or the 0.4 percent who are at the office between 20 and 30 hours per week.

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of ITIL Foundation holders we heard from are at the senior specialist level (37.8 percent of those surveyed). The rest, in descending order, are either managers (22.6 percent), specialists (13 percent), senior managers or directors (both 8.1 percent), rank-and-file employees (7.8 percent), or executives (2.6 percent).

A bit less than half (47 percent) of the ITIL Foundation holders who participated in the survey are tech veterans, having worked in a role that directly utilizes one or more of the 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 (5.9 percent), between 3 and 5 years (19 percent), between 6 and 8 years (13.7 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (14.4 percent).

Finally, here's the view of ITIL Foundation 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: 53.3 percent
Several times a week: 26.3 percent
Several times a month: 10.8 percent
Occasionally: 8.5 percent
Rarely: 1.1 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 36.7 percent
Agree: 40 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 18.5 percent
Disagree: 3.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1.5 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 27.4 percent
Agree: 50 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 16.3 percent
Disagree: 4.4 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1.9 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 26 percent
Agree: 42.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 24.4 percent
Disagree: 5.9 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1.1 percent

PAST ITIL FOUNDATION DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2018

2017