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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

There's a romantic allure to so-called "ethical hacking" that sets it a notch or two above more ordinary, garden-variety cybersecurity topics. Ethical hackers get to embrace the roguish hacker persona and modus operandi, but without operating outside the law with all of the attendant risks to personal freedom and private assets. Everyone likes to play the part of the bad guy.

It would be inaccurate to say that EC-Council has cornered the market on ethical hacking skills training. On the other hand, it does have the invaluable signature name brand cachet of its Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) credential, No. 30 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list.

Here's what the salary picture looks like for Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $118,680
Median Annual Salary: $118,130
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 10.5 percent
Very Satisfied: 22.9 percent
Satisfied: 45.7 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 17.1 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 3.8 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $68,940
Median Annual Salary: $64,380
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 5.3 percent
Very Satisfied: 19.5 percent
Satisfied: 33.6 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 37.2 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 4.4 percent

The largest single body of CEH holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents: 47.4 percent. EC-Council has a global brand, however, and we also heard from credential holders in 38 other countries: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

Most of the CEH holders who participated in the survey are men, with women accounting for just 7.3 percent of respondents. CEH certification is heavily concentrated among a specific age range: 25 to 54. More than 85 percent of those surveyed are either between the ages of 25 and 34 (21.1 percent), between the ages of 35 and 44 (41.7 percent), or between the ages of 45 and 54 (25.6 percent). The outliers are credential holders between the ages of 19 and 24 (0.5 percent), between the ages of 55 and 64 (10.1 percent), and between the ages of 65 and 74 (1 percent).

Nearly all of the CEH holders we surveyed have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of formal education completed by most CEH holders is either a master's degree (46.3 percent of those surveyed), bachelor's degree (38.1 percent of respondents), associate's degree (3.2 percent), doctorate (1.8 percent), or a professional degree, such as a juris doctor (1.4 percent). The pinnacle of formal education for the rest is either a high school diploma (3.7 percent of respondents) or post-high school technical training (4.1 percent), with 1.4 percent currently in school.

A rock-solid 95.3 percent of CEH holders in the survey have full-time jobs, with 3.5 percent employed part-time, and tiny pockets of folks who are either students (0.4 percent), on sabbatical (0.4 percent), or presently out of work (0.4 percent). Among those who have regular full-time jobs, most either put in the standard 40 hours per week (45.9 percent of those surveyed), or have a moderately expanded schedule of between 41 and 50 hours per week. A fortunate few (6.4 percent of those surveyed) work between 31 and 39 hours per week, while the rest (7.8 percent) are at the office more than 50 hours per week.

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of CEH holders who participated in the survey are at the senior specialist level (40 percent of respondents). The rest, in descending order, are either managers (19.6 percent of those surveyed), specialists (13.2 percent), directors (10 percent), senior managers (9.6 percent), executives (4 percent), or rank-and-file employees (3.6 percent).

A considerable 52 percent of the CEH holders we heard from 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 (5.6 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (14.8 percent), between 6 and 8 years (15.6 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (12 percent).

Finally, here's the view of CEH 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: 53.2 percent
Several times a week: 27.2 percent
Several times a month: 12.4 percent
Occasionally: 5.2 percent
Rarely: 2 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 38.4 percent
Agree: 43.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 15.6 percent
Disagree: 1.6 percent
Strongly Disagree: 0.8 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 29.6 percent
Agree: 42 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21.2 percent
Disagree: 6 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 27.2 percent
Agree: 41.2 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 22.4 percent
Disagree: 8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1.2 percent

PAST Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2018

2017