Salary Survey Extra is a series of dispatches that give added insight into the findings of both our annual Salary Survey and our smaller Salary Survey PLUS polls. These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

At the CompTIA website, the overview of Server+ certification notes that, "Today's IT environments demand planning, securing and maintaining a variety of server equipment. CompTIA Server+ certification validates IT professionals can do just that and more." So get Server+ and you'll be certified to manage servers — just like if you worked at Chili's.

Sorry. That joke probably doesn't even deserve a rimshot. Server+ checked in at No. 61 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list (still the one from January 2017, but not for much longer), and the average annual salary of U.S. respondents is a healthy $96,620 (with a median annual salary of $92,500), which we agree is probably beyond the reach of even the grandest shift manager at Chili's.

Most of CompTIA's certs have a broad global base, and while 73 percent of Server+ holders who responded to the survey live and work in the United States, we also heard from credential holders in eight other countries: Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, and South Africa. The average annual salary for those folks in 2016 was $66,330, with a median annual salary of $62,500.

Nearly all of the Server+ holders who responded to the survey are men (97.7 percent of those surveyed), though females were also represented. Most of the Server+ holders we heard from are established IT professionals, either between the ages of 25 and 34 (14.1 percent of those surveyed), between the ages of 35 and 44 (31.8 percent), between the ages of 45 and 54 (33.6 percent), or between the ages of 55 and 64 (15.9 percent).

The highest level of formal education attained by most Server+ holders is either a bachelor's degree (27.2 percent of those surveyed), master's degree (34.1 percent), or two-year college degree (13.6 percent). A further 11.4 percent completed some level of technical training (though without ever going to college).

Full-time employment among Server+ holders is a solid 91 percent, though the remaining 9 percent of those surveyed are presently unemployed (or were, at the time of the survey). Almost nobody who responded to the survey gets any slack on their work hours, though 12.2 percent of respondents do put in between 31 and 39 hours per week. Most of the rest either enjoy a standard 40-hour work week (41.5 percent of those surveyed) or are somewhat overworked at between 41 and 50 hours per week (34.1 percent of those surveyed), though a hard-charging few are logging more than 50 hours of work per week (7.3 percent).

Server+ follow the general workplace distribution of most certification, though there is a tilt toward management. A notable 10 percent of respondents are directors, and there are also contingents of managers (14.8 percent of those surveyed) and senior managers (8.4 percent). The rest of our Server+ holders are either senior specialists (35.5 percent of respondents), specialists (21.4 percent), or rank-and-file employees (8.6 percent).

Given all of those senior specialists and managers, it's no surprise that most of the Server+ holders in the survey are IT veterans. Almost exactly 20 percent of respondents have worked in role that directly utilizes one or more of their certified skills for between 5 or fewer year, but everyone else has been plying their certified skills for between 6 and 8 years (13.6 percent of those surveyed), between 9 and 10 years (4.5 percent), or for more than 10 years (61.4 percent).

Finally, here's the view of Server+ 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: 52.3 percent
Several times a week: 35 percent
Several times a month: 10.4 percent
Occasionally: 2.3 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 40.1 percent
Agree: 40.1 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 10.7 percent
Disagree: 4.6 percent
Strongly Disagree: 4.5 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 27.3 percent
Agree: 54.5 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 15.9 percent
Disagree: 2.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 25 percent
Agree: 54.5 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 18.2 percent
Disagree: 2.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]