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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

The internet is 100 percent safe and secure ... said no one, well, maybe not "ever," but certainly not in the past 20 years. Web security is such a potentially punishing proposition, in fact, that protection measures need to be "baked in" to sites and apps starting during the design and development phase. Maintaining precautions starts the minute a site goes live.

That's where CIW Web Security Associate (No. 59 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list) comes in. If you're interested in the work of securing and defending a website or network against attack, then this is one certification (admittedly among many) that can help you get started.

As is the case with a number of credentials in the Salary Survey 75, we didn't field a strong international response here. Hence, we only have data to report from U.S. credential holders. Here's what the salary picture looks like for the CIW Web Security Associate holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $87,200
Median Annual Salary: $85,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 4.2 percent
Very Satisfied: 37.5 percent
Satisfied: 20.8 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 25 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 12.5 percent

Most of the CIW Web Security Associate holders who responded to the survey — 91.7 percent of them, to be exact — are men, though we did hear from a handful of women. Somewhat contrary to the Deep Focus norm, 75 percent of survey respondents are younger than 45, either between the ages of 25 and 34 (37.5 percent) or between the ages of 35 and 44 (also 37.5 percent). That leaves the 16.7 percent of respondents who are between the ages of 45 and 54, and the 8.3 percent who are between the ages of 55 and 64.

More than 60 percent the of CIW Web Security Associate holders who participated in the survey have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of education completed by most is either an associate's degree (25 percent of those surveyed), bachelor's degree (also 25 percent), or master's degree (12.5 percent). The rest either topped out by completing some level of post-high school technical training (20.8 percent) or are currently in school (16.7 percent).

A sturdy 88.9 percent of CIW Web Security Associate holders who participated in the survey have full-time jobs, with 3.7 percent employed part-time, and 7.4 percent currently out of work. Among those who have full-time jobs, most are at work either for the standard 40 hours per week (50 percent of respondents) or for between 41 and 50 hours per week (45.8 percent). The rest, a mere 4.2 percent of those surveyed, put in between 20 and 30 hours per week.

Many IT careers are not bound to a traditional office workplace, though that's not the case for a majority of CIW Web Security Associate holders: 75 percent of those surveyed work from home fewer than 10 hours per week. The rest have the option of wearing pajama pants instead of real pants for either between 10 and 20 hours per week (8.3 percent), between 31 and 39 hours per week (3.8 percent), 40 hours per week (8.3 percent), or more than 40 hours per week (4.6 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of CIW Web Security Associate holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (31 percent of those surveyed). The rest, in descending order, are either managers (24.1 percent), rank-and-file employees (20.7 percent), specialists (17.2 percent), or senior managers (7 percent).

On the career experience front, the largest single group of CIW Web Security Associate holders who responded to the survey — 33.4  percent — 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 (13.3 percent), between 3 and 5 years (20 percent), between 6 and 8 years (23.3 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (10 percent).

Finally, here's the view of CIW Web Security 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: 72.4 percent
Several times a week: 13.8 percent
Several times a month: 3.5 percent
Occasionally: 10.3 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 40 percent
Agree: 40 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 10 percent
Disagree: 10 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 23.4 percent
Agree: 60 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 10 percent
Disagree: 3.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.3 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 23.3 percent
Agree: 43.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 23.3 percent
Disagree: 6.7 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.3 percent