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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Ten years ago, Google and Microsoft had just barely formulated and announced cloud computing platforms. Go back a few years before that, and even Amazon Web Services didn't exist. In 2019, cloud computing is a nearly $150 billion industry. And with so many businesses and organizations resting vast swaths of IT infrastructure on the cloud, security is a vital issue.

There are a handful of certification options for tech professionals who want to enter the cloud protection arena, but the most well-rounded by far is the Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) from (ISC)2. A mainstay of the Salary Survey 75 since its inception, CCSP landed at No. 5 on this year's list.

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

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $146,970
Median Annual Salary: $143,750
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 10.9 percent
Very Satisfied: 24.7 percent
Satisfied: 39.7 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 19.2 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 5.5 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $92,730
Median Annual Salary: $87,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 6.7 percent
Very Satisfied: 15 percent
Satisfied: 46.7 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 26.6 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 5 percent

The largest single body of CCSP holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents: 54.7 percent of those surveyed. We also heard from credential holders in 23 other countries: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

All but a handful of the CCSP holders we heard from are men (95.6 percent), with only a very small group of women participating. The CCSP crowd is mostly made up of people on the downhill side of middle age, with 44.4 percent of those surveyed between the ages of 45 and 54, and 17.3 percent between the ages of 55 and 64. The rest are either between the ages of 35 and 44 (29.4 percent of respondents) or between the ages of 25 and 34 (9 percent).

Nearly 85 percent of CCSP holders who participated in the survey have an educational background that includes an institution of higher learning. The highest level of education completed by most CCSP holders is either a bachelor's degree (30.8 percent), master's degree (42.9 percent), associate's degree (6 percent), doctorate (2.3 percent), or professional degree (1.5 percent). The outliers are the 6.8 percent of respondents who completed some level of post-high school technical training, the 5.2 percent who ditched formal education after completing high school, the 2.3 percent who are currently in school, and the 2.2 percent who had no formal education before entering the workforce.

Among all CCSP holders surveyed, 97.1 percent have full-time jobs, while 0.7 percent are employed part-time, 0.7 percent are taking a sabbatical, and 1.5 percent are unemployed. Among those who have full-time jobs, most are at work either for the standard 40 hours per week (31.5 percent of those surveyed), or have a work week of between 41 and 50 hours (47.4 percent). The rest have a weekly schedule that calls for them to put in either more than 50 hours (12.8 percent), between 31 and 39 hours (7.5 percent), or between 20 and 30 hours (0.8 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of CCSP holders in the survey are at the senior specialist level (43.6 percent of respondents). The rest, in descending order, are either directors (19.3 percent of those surveyed), managers (12.1 percent), senior managers (10.7 percent), specialists (6.5 percent), executives (5.7 percent), or rank-and-file employees (2.1 percent).

Almost exactly two-thirds of CCSP holders who participated in the survey are 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 two years (2.1 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (8.6 percent), between 6 and 8 years (12.2 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (10.7 percent).

Finally, here's the view of CCSP 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: 62.2 percent
Several times a week: 22.1 percent
Several times a month: 12.1 percent
Occasionally: 2.8 percent
Rarely: 0.8 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 43.6 percent
Agree: 37.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 15.7 percent
Disagree: 2.1 percent
Strongly Disagree: 0.7 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 20 percent
Agree: 48.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 22.1 percent
Disagree: 7.9 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.1 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 20.7 percent
Agree: 41.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 27.9 percent
Disagree: 7.9 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.1 percent

PAST CCSP DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2018

2017