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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

A neutral IT observer could be forgiven for assuming that Cisco created a new certification last year: Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate (No. 53 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list). There's nothing new under the proverbial sun, however, and Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate is not a new credential: It's just Cisco's only satellite associate-level certification still in the mix.

Cisco collapsed the associate level of its long-lived certification program last year, letting a single credential, Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), stand in for the whole ... with one exception: CCNA CyberOps hung around, retitled and repositioned as the sole associate-level sidekick to CCNA.

Here's what the salary picture looks like for Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $107,000
Median Annual Salary: $87,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 8.5 percent
Very Satisfied: 15.4 percent
Satisfied: 38.5 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 30.8 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 6.9 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $45,430
Median Annual Salary: $27,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: [No responses]
Satisfied: 40 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 33.3 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 26.7 percent

The largest single body of Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate holders to participate in the survey is made up of residents of the United States (46.4 percent). The rest of the Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate holders we heard from are spread across 16 other countries: Albania, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Lebanon, Nigeria, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and South Africa.

The IT security realm is typically dominated by male professionals, and only a handful of the Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate holders we heard from —6.5 percent of those surveyed  are women. Somewhat against type, on the other hand, the Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate is notably youthful, with 67.9 percent of those surveyed either between the ages of 25 and 34 (17.9 percent) or between the ages of 35 and 44 (50 percent). The next-largest group is credential holders between the ages of 45 and 54—21.4 percent of respondents— with the remaining 10.7 percent between the ages of 55 and 64.

A notable 96 percent of the Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate 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 Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate holders is either a bachelor's degree (42.9 percent of respondents) or master's degree (53.6 percent). The remaining 3.5 percent of Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate holders topped off their learning years by completing some level of post-high school technical training.

Employment among Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate holders is solid, with 90.4 percent of credential holders employed full-time and the remaining 9.6 percent holding part-time jobs. For most respondents, full-time employment means a regular work schedule of either between 41 and 50 hours per week (53.6 percent) or the standard 40 hours per week (35.7 percent). Out of the remaining 11 percent of those surveyed, 7.1 percent work between 31 and 39 hours per week and 3.6 percent put in more than 50 hours per week.

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reshuffled workplaces worldwide in 2020, and there's strong evidence of that here: A notable 56 percent of the Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate holders we heard from are spending their entire work schedule at home, with 25.9 percent working beneath the same roof that's overhead when they sleep at night for more than 40 hours per week, and a further 29.6 percent working 40 hours per week from home. The rest haven't entirely separated from their cubicles (or corner offices), working from home either between 31 and 39 hours per week (11.1 percent of respondents), between 10 and 20 hours per week (7.4 percent), or for fewer than 10 hours per week (26 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (38.7 percent). The rest, in descending order, are either specialists (19.4 percent), managers (16.1 percent), rank-and-file employees (9.7 percent), executives (6.4 percent), directors (6.4 percent), or senior managers (3.2 percent).

A solid 54.8 percent of Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate 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 (9.7 percent), between 3 and 5 years (also 9.7 percent), between 6 and 8 years (12.9 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (also 12.9 percent).

Finally, here's the view of Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate 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: 51.6 percent
Several times a week: 22.6 percent
Several times a month: 16.1 percent
Occasionally: 9.7 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Several times a day: 38.7 percent
Several times a week: 48.4 percent
Several times a month: 12.9 percent
Occasionally: [No responses]
Rarely: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 32.2 percent
Agree: 51.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 12.9 percent
Disagree: 3.2 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 29 percent
Agree: 58.1 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 12.9 percent
Disagree: [No responses]
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

PAST CISCO CERTIFIED CYBEROPS ASSOCIATE DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2020

2019