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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Everybody has to start somewhere in IT, and get-a-foot-in-the-door certifications have become increasingly popular with high schools in recent years. Thanks to the long-established Cisco Networking Academy (CNA) program, the Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT) credential — No. 67 in our 2018 Salary Survey 75 list — is a point of entry to IT for many.

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

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $88,710
Median Annual Salary: $83,750
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 9.7 percent
Very Satisfied: 22.6 percent
Satisfied: 32.2 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 32.3 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 3.1 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $37,520
Median Annual Salary: $25,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 4.6 percent
Satisfied: 36.4 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 45.4 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 13.6 percent

The largest single body of CCENT holders who responded to the survey is made up of U.S. residents (68.9 percent), but Cisco’s certification program has global reach. There are 11 other countries represented in our results: Bulgaria, Canada, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Most of those we heard from (93 percent) are men, which suggests that the networking realm as a whole still needs to gain ground on attracting females. As a whole, CCENT holders are notably younger than most of our survey contingents, though not as young as you might expect: 72 percent of respondents are either between the ages of 25 and 34 (37.2 percent) or between the ages 35 and 44 (34.9 percent). The rest are either between the ages of 45 and 54 (20.9 percent of respondents) or between the ages of 55 and 64 (7 percent).

CCENT certification, it would seem, goes hand-in-hand with some level of college education. The highest level of formal education completed for more than 85 percent of those surveyed is either a bachelor’s degree (39.5 percent), master’s degree (25.6 percent), associate’s (two-year) degree (18.6 percent), or professional degree (2.3 percent). The outliers are the 7 percent of respondents who completed some level of post-high school technical training, those with high school diplomas (4.7 percent), and those currently in school (2.3 percent).

Most CCENT holders have full-time jobs (95.6 percent of those surveyed) and the rest (4.4 percent) are employed part-time — we didn’t hear from anyone who is currently out of work. Most have either a standard 40-hour work week (34.9 percent of those surveyed), work between 41 and 50 hours (39.5 percent), or are at the office more than 50 hours per week (16.3 percent). The outliers are the 7 percent who put in between 31 and 39 hours per week, and the 2.3 percent who have have a work schedule of between 20 and 30 hours per week.

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of CCENT holders, 34.1 percent of those surveyed, are senior specialists, with additional large blocks of specialists (19.1 percent) and employees (25.5 percent). The rest are either managers (6.4 percent of respondents) or senior managers (14.9 percent).

CCENT being an entry-level credential, it will not surprise readers to learn that there’s far less veteran IT savvy in our pool of survey respondents than is typically the case. We did hear from a notable 40.5 percent of CCENT holders who have worked in a role that directly utilizes one or more of their certified skills for more than 10 years. On the other hand, 17 percent of respondents have been plying their certified skills for between zero years (1 to 11 months) and 2 years, 19.1 percent have been so engaged for between 3 and 5 years, and 14.9 percent have been in the game for between 6 and 8 years. The rest (8.5 percent of respondents) have been at it for between 9 and 10 years.

Finally, here’s the view of CCENT 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: 46.8 percent
Several times a week: 17 percent
Several times a month: 27.7 percent
Occasionally: 2.1 percent
Rarely: 6.4 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 34 percent
Agree: 38.3 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21.3 percent
Disagree: 4.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.1 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 27.7 percent
Agree: 53.2 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 17 percent
Disagree: [No responses]
Strongly Disagree: 2.1 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 27.7 percent
Agree: 38.3 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 31.9 percent
Disagree: [No responses]
Strongly Disagree: 2.1 percent