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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Many IT jobs require a degree of explaining to a customer, a coworker, or perhaps a manager how this or that IT process works. Some IT professionals have a deep understanding of technology and can explain it clearly and succinctly. And some people have a natural gift for teaching others. Put those two traits together, and you’ve got the makings of a technical trainer.

One popular credential for individuals looking to enter the technical training ranks is the Certified Technical Trainer (CTT+) cert offered by tech industry association CompTIA. CTT+ showed up at No. 39 on our most recent Salary Survey 75. Here’s what the salary picture looks like for CTT+ holders who responded to the survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $120,180
Median Annual Salary: $125,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 7.1 percent
Very Satisfied: 35.7 percent
Satisfied: 35.7 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 21.5 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $58,020
Median Annual Salary: $60,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 9.1 percent
Satisfied: 54.5 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 36.4 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

The largest single body of CTT+ holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents: 56 percent of those surveyed. CompTIA is a global certification brand, however, and we also heard from credential holders in nine other countries: Australia, Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, Kuwait, New Zealand, Romania, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom.

Most of the credential holders we heard from are men, but not nearly by the usual margin: almost 1 out of every 4 respondents (24 percent) are women. The technical trainer crowd is fairly evenly spread across the age spectrum, with 28 percent of respondents between the ages of 25 and 34, 24.4 percent between the ages of 35 and 44, 23.6 percent between the ages of 45 and 54, and 20 percent between the ages of 55 and 64. The youthward tilt of those numbers is steepened by the 4 percent of respondents who are between the ages of 19 and 24.

Based on our sample, there’s almost no getting into technical training without a university education. The highest level of education completed by most CTT+ holders in the survey is either a bachelor’s degree (40 percent of respondents) or master’s degree (48 percent). The outliers are the 4 percent of respondents who climbed no higher than an associate’s degree, and the 8 percent who topped out with some level of post-high school technical training.

It would seem that there’s high demand for certified trainers: CTT+ is one of those rare credentials where we found that 100 percent of survey respondents have full-time jobs. The work schedule can vary, though 72 percent of CTT+ holders report working between 41 and 50 hours per week, with 12 percent putting in a standard 40 hours, 8.4 percent at work more than 50 hours per week, and 7.6 percent putting in between 31 and 39 hours.

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of CTT+ holders in the survey are at the senior specialist level (38.5 percent of respondents). The rest, in descending order, are either specialists (23.5 percent of those surveyed), senior managers (22.7 percent), directors (11.5 percent), or managers (3.8 percent).

Exactly half of all CTT+ holders surveyed 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 2 years (11.5 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (7.8 percent), between 6 and 8 years (11.5 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (19.2 percent).

Finally, here’s the view of CTT+ 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: 46.2 percent
Several times a week: 38.5 percent
Several times a month: 11.5 percent
Occasionally: 3.8 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 30.8 percent percent
Agree: 23.1 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 34.6 percent
Disagree: 3.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 7.7 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 31.2 percent
Agree: 30.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 11.5 percent
Disagree: 7.7 percent
Strongly Disagree: 7.7 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 34.6 percent
Agree: 42.3 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 11.6 percent
Disagree: 3.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 7.7 percent