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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

So this week's Deep Focus profile is more of an "in memoriam" than a portrait of the artist. There is no longer a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Routing and Switching credential. When Cisco revamped its certification program in February, it boiled down all of the CCNA specializations but one (CCNA CyberOps, which became Cisco Certified Cyberops Associate, or CCCA) into a single CCNA.

When CCNA Routing and Switching was retired, on Feb. 24, anyone with a current CCNA Routing and Switching certification upgraded (retrograded?) to the new (just) CCNA. So in that sense, all of the information we're about to cover still applies, it just describes individuals who now have a different credential.

Here what the salary picture looks like for CCNA Routing and Switching holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $105,820
Median Annual Salary: $98,130
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 7.2 percent
Very Satisfied: 15.3 percent
Satisfied: 38.8 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 28.8 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 9.9 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $48,950
Median Annual Salary: $43,750
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 7.7 percent
Satisfied: 44 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 33 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 15.3 percent

The largest single body of CCNA Routing and Switching holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (55 percent of those surveyed), but we also heard from credential holders in 46 other countries: Australia, Azerbaijan, Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

Nearly all of the CCNA Routing and Switching holders we heard from are men, with woman accounting for just 5 percent of responses. Generally speaking, most respondents are middle-aged either between the ages of 35 and 44 (38.1 percent of those surveyed) or between the ages of 45 and 55 (31.7 percent). There is also a youngish cohort between the ages of 25 and 34 (19.3 percent of respondents) with the rest of those surveyed either between the ages of 19 and 24 (1 percent) or between the ages of 55 and 64 (9.9 percent).

More than 75 percent of CCNA Routing and Switching 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 CCNA Routing and Switching holders is either a bachelor's degree (44.6 percent of respondents), master's degree (18.8 percent), associate's degree (8.9 percent), doctorate (3 percent), or professional degree (also 1.5 percent). The outliers are the 16.3 percent of those surveyed who departed the realm of formal education after completing some level of post-high school technical training, the 6.4 percent who left formal education behind after completing high school, and the 0.75 percent who entered the workforce without any formal education.

A strong 96 percent of CCNA Routing and Switching holders who responded to the survey are employed, either full-time (93.5) or part-time (3.2 percent), with a further 1.4 percent presently in school, and just 1.9 percent out of work. Among those who have full-time jobs, most are punching the clock for either between 41 and 50 hours per week (47 percent of respondents) or for the standard 40 hours (34.2 percent). The rest put in either more than 50 hours per week (13.4 percent of respondents), between 31 and 39 hours per week (4.5 percent), between 20 and 30 hours per week (0.6 percent), or fewer than 20 hours per week (0.3 percent).

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the outlook on hours spent working from home for a great many IT workers; the data we're about to cover describes the pre-pandemic working world. For most CCNA Routing and Switching holders, full-time work means (or meant) a lot of time at the office, with remote work only on the table for either fewer than 10 hours per week (61.9 percent of respondents) or between 10 and 20 hours per week (15.6 percent). Just 22 percent of respondents work (or worked) from home for more than half of their weekly schedule, using a home wi-fi connection for either between 21 and 30 hours per week (7 percent of respondents), between 31 and 39 hours per week (5 percent), 40 hours per week (3.5 percent), or more than 40 hours per week (7 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of CCNA Routing and Switching holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (41.8 percent of respondents). The rest, in descending order, are either specialists (19.1 percent of those surveyed), rank-and-file employees (13.6 percent), managers (12.8 percent), directors (8.2 percent), senior managers (3.8 percent), or executives (2.1 percent).

A bit more than half (52.8 percent) of the CCNA Routing and Switching 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 (10.6 percent of those surveyed), between 3 and 5 years (19.1 percent), between 6 and 8 years (9.8 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (7.7 percent).

Finally, here's the view of CCNA Routing and Switching 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: 51.2 percent
Several times a week: 25.5 percent
Several times a month: 10.6 percent
Occasionally: 8.9 percent
Rarely: 3.8 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 28.1 percent
Agree: 45.1 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 19.6 percent
Disagree: 3.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.4 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 34.9 percent
Agree: 42.1 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 14 percent
Disagree: 7.7 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1.3 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 34.1 percent
Agree: 36.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 18.3 percent
Disagree: 8.9 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.1 percent

PAST CCNA ROUTING AND SWITCHING DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2018

2017