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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Almost all computer users interact with servers every day, but many couldn’t tell you what a server is, or what it does, beyond a vague sense of its being a bigger, more powerful computer that lives, like the song from that one kids movie says, “somewhere … out there.” People who build, manage, and maintain servers, on the other hand, have to formulate a considerably larger picture.

One way to get a solid grounding in that wider world of computers that most people don’t actually ever see or touch is through the Server+ certification offered by tech industry association CompTIA. Server+, which appears at No. 60 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list, is an excellent place to start for anyone looking to work in the vital IT infrastructure realm.

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

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $98,060
Median Annual Salary: $94,380
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 7.4 percent
Very Satisfied: 18.5 percent
Satisfied: 51.9 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 14.8 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 7.4 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $51,380
Median Annual Salary: $55,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 14.3 percent
Satisfied: 57.2 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 21.4 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 7.1 percent

The largest single body of Server+ holders who responded to the survey is made up of U.S. residents (68.5 percent), but we also heard from certified professionals in 9 other countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Egypt, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Nearly all of those we heard from are men, but we did capture data from a small number of female Server+ holders (4.9 percent of those surveyed). The bulk of respondents are solidly middle-aged, either between the ages of 35 and 44 (31.7 percent of respondents) or between the ages of 45 and 54 (36.9 percent), with outliers at both ends of the spectrum: 2.4 percent of those surveyed are between the ages of 19 and 24, 7.3 percent are between the ages of 25 and 34, 14.6 percent are between the ages of 55 and 64, and 7.1 percent are between the ages of 65 and 74.

In terms of the highest level of formal education completed by Server+ holders, almost everyone has a college degree. For most that means topping out at a bachelor’s degree (26.8 percent of those surveyed) or master’s degree (31.7 percent), with peak attainment for others represented either by a doctorate (2.4 percent) or an associate’s degree (17.1 percent). A small group either steered clear of formal education altogether after completing high school (4.9 percent of respondents) or completed some level of post-high school technical training (17.1 percent).

Full-time employment among Server+ holders is excellent at 95.3 percent, with the remaining 4.7 percent of respondents presently unemployed. Among those who have regular full-time jobs, most have either a standard 40-hour work week (34.1 percent of those surveyed) or put in between 41 and 50 hours per week (46.3 percent). The rest either more than 50 hours per week (12.2 percent of respondents) or between 31 and 39 hours per week (7.3 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Server+ holders, 40 percent of those surveyed, are at the senior specialist level. The rest, in descending order, are either specialists (22.2 percent), directors (11.1 percent), senior managers (9.1 percent), rank-and-file employees (9 percent), or managers (8.6 percent).

More than half of those surveyed — 55.6 percent — are IT veterans, having worked in 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 (6.7 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (11.1 percent), between 6 and 8 years (17.7 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (8.9 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: 48.9 percent
Several times a week: 35.6 percent
Several times a month: 6.7 percent
Occasionally: 6.6 percent
Rarely: 2.2 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 31.1 percent
Agree: 51.1 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 15.6 percent
Disagree: 2.2 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 37.7 percent
Agree: 46.7 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 6.7 percent
Disagree: 6.7 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 35.6 percent
Agree: 46.7 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 8.9 percent
Disagree: 4.4 percent
Strongly Disagree: 4.4 percent