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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

GDPR has been on the books for a couple of years now. California has a new consumer privacy protection law that will take effect on Jan. 1. It's an important time for businesses and organizations to mind their privacy protection Ps and Qs. One excellent means of ensuring compliance is to hire a certified privacy protection professional.

The leading credential in the field is the Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) managed by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. CIPP certification can help technologists enter a financially rewarding line of work, as evidenced by the Top 10 standing (No. 9) of the CIPP on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list.

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

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $141,240
Median Annual Salary: $152,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 21.4 percent
Satisfied: 57.2 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 14.3 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 7.1 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $109,230
Median Annual Salary: $82,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 19.1 percent
Very Satisfied: 20.9 percent
Satisfied: 40 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 20 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

The largest single body of CIPP holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (56 percent), but we also heard from credential holders in nine other countries: Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and Sweden.

Most of the CIPP holders who participated in the survey are men (87.5 percent), though the core group of women credential holders is relatively large. The range of ages among CIPP holders skews fairly heavily toward late middle age, with 37.5 percent of those surveyed between the ages of 45 and 54, and 33.3 percent between the ages of 55 and 64. The outliers are the 8.4 percent of respondents between the ages of 25 and 34, and the 20.8 percent between the ages of 35 and 44.

More than 80 percent of the CIPP 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 CIPP holders is either a bachelor's degree (33.3 percent of those surveyed), master's degree (also 33.3 percent), doctorate (8.3 percent), or professional degree (7.5 percent). A small but notable group never made it to the higher education realm, with 9.2 percent of respondents having completed some level of post-high school technical training, 4.6 percent leaving behind formal education after completing high school, and 3.8 percent who claim no formal education prior to entering the workforce.

A solid 96 percent of the CIPP holders we surveyed are employed full-time, with the remaining 4 percent on sabbatical. Among those with full-time jobs, most either put in between 41 and 50 hours per week (58.4 percent of those surveyed) or have a standard 40-hour work week (20.8 percent). The rest are either logging between 31 and 39 office hours per week (12.5 percent of respondents), or are clocking more than 50 hours at work per week (8.3 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of CIPP holders we heard from (29.1 percent of respondents) are at the senior specialist level. The rest, in descending order, are either directors (25 percent), managers and senior managers (both 16.7 percent), or executives (12.5 percent).

More than half (55.6 percent) of the CIPP holders who participated in the survey are tech 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 (7.4 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (14.8 percent), or between 6 and 8 years (22.2 percent).

Finally, here's the view of CIPP 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: 74.1 percent
Several times a week: 18.5 percent
Several times a month: [No responses]
Occasionally: 3.7 percent
Rarely: 3.7 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 40.7 percent
Agree: 48.2 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 7.4 percent
Disagree: [No responses]
Strongly Disagree: 3.7 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 26 percent
Agree: 62.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 7.4 percent
Disagree: [No responses]
Strongly Disagree: 3.7 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 25.9 percent
Agree: 51.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 14.8 percent
Disagree: 3.7 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.7 percent

PAST CIPP DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2018

2017