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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Cybersecurity has become one of the foremost concerns for every business and every organization, and executives and CIOs are looking for any edge they can get. Analysts, skilled cybersecurity professionals who can critically evaluate human behavior and apply those insights to security practices, have an important new role to play.

Recognizing the growing importance of security analytics, CompTIA two years ago expanded its portfolio of security certifications to include a new credential, CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+), which popped through in our annual Salary Survey 75 list (at No. 41) for the first time this year. With the weight of CompTIA's reputation behind it, CySA+ is poised to become a staple of cybersecurity certification.

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

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $110,480
Median Annual Salary: $106,250
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 3.5 percent
Very Satisfied: 34.5 percent
Satisfied: 34.5 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 17.2 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 10.3 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $63,090
Median Annual Salary: $60,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 35 percent
Satisfied: 33.3 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 31.7 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

The largest single body of CySA+ holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (82.8 percent), but we did hear from credential holders in 5 other countries:  the Czech Republic, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

Almost every one of the CySA+ holders who participated in the survey are men, with women accounting for just 6 percent of all responses. CySA+ certification is heavily concentrated among mid-career professionals, with 42.8 percent of respondents between the ages of 35 and 44, and 34.3 percent between the ages of 45 and 54. The balance of CySA+ holders to participate in the survey are either between the ages of 19 and 24 (2.6 percent of those surveyed), between the ages of 25 and 34 (14.3 percent), or between the ages of 55 and 64 (5.7 percent).

More than 85 percent of the CySA+ holders to participate in the survey have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of formal education completed by most CySA+ holders is either a bachelor's degree (51.4 percent of those surveyed), master's degree (25.7 percent), or associate's degree (8.6 percent). The outliers are the 8.6 percent of respondents who completed some level of post-high school technical training, and and 5.7 percent who left formal education behind after high school.

CySA+ is one of this survey's few certifications (there are two or three every year) to post a perfect score on the employment front: 100 percent of CySA+-certified survey respondents are employed full-time. In terms of hours worked each week, 45.7 percent of those surveyed put in between 41 and 50 hours per week, while 31.4 percent have a standard 40-hour work week. The rest are either at work for more the 50 hours each week (14.3 percent of respondents), or have a schedule of between 31 and 39 hours per week (8.6 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of CySA+ holders who participated in the survey are at the senior specialist level (39.5 percent of respondents), followed by specialists, managers, and senior manages (13.2 percent per each). The rest, in descending order, are either directors (10.5 percent of those surveyed), rank-and-file employees (7.8 percent), or executives (2.6 percent).

A little more than half (55.2 percent) of the CySA+ holders we heard from are IT veterans, having worked in a role that directly utilizes one or more of their certified skills form more than a decade. The rest have been plying their certified skills for either between zero years (1 to 11 months) and 2 years (13.2 percent), between 3 and 5 years (21.1 percent), or between 6 and 8 years (10.5 percent).

Finally, here's the view of CySA+ 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: 57.9 percent
Several times a week: 26.3 percent
Several times a month: [No responses]
Occasionally: 15.8 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 34.3 percent
Agree: 42.1 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21 percent
Disagree: [No responses]
Strongly Disagree: 2.6 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 36.8 percent
Agree: 39.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 18.4 percent
Disagree: 2.6 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.6 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 36.8 percent
Agree: 39.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21 percent
Disagree: 2.6 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]