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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

A server is kind of like a Greek God, hidden from view and pulling the strings of events in the mortal realm. The internet as we know it — as well as other less massive and complicated networks — literally could not function without servers, but they are also temperamental and demanding, capricious at times if not given proper attention by the humans who worship them (or at least live according to their beneficence).

CompTIA Server+ (No. 59 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list) validates the skill set needed to stay on top of server operations and keep servers both available and functioning at peak performance more or less around the clock. Here’s what the salary picture looks like for CompTIA Server+ holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $104,230
Median Annual Salary: $102,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 6 percent
Very Satisfied: 16 percent
Satisfied: 60 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 10 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 8 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $96,820
Median Annual Salary: $96,250
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 35.9 percent
Very Satisfied: 9.1 percent
Satisfied: 36.8 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 18.2 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

The largest single body of Server+ holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (80 percent), but we also heard from credential holders in three other countries: Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The overwhelming majority of the Server+ holders who responded to the survey are men, but we did hear from a tiny group (4.7 percent of respondents) of female credential holders. We heard from credential holders of many different ages, but most are either between the ages of 35 and 44 (31.1 percent of respondents), between the ages of 45 and 54 (32.8 percent), or between the ages of 55 and 64 (23 percent). The rest are either between the ages of 25 and 34 (8.2 percent of respondents), between the ages of 65 and 74 (3.3 percent), or 75 and older (1.6 percent).

More than 85 percent of the Server+ 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 Server+ holders is either a bachelor’s degree (44.3 percent of those surveyed), master’s degree (34.4 percent), associate’s degree (6.6 percent), or doctorate (3.3 percent). The outliers are the 6.6 percent of respondents who exited the realm of formal education after completing some level of post-high school technical training, the 1.6 percent whose highest educational attainment is a high school diploma, and the 3.2 percent who are currently in school.

An exceptional 95.3 percent of Server+ holders who responded to the survey are employed full-time. The rest either have part-time jobs (3.1 percent of respondents) or are out of work altogether (1.6 percent). Among those who have full-time jobs, most either put in the standard 40 hours per week (31.1 percent) or are on the clock for between 41 and 50 hours per week (49.2 percent). The rest have a full-time work schedule of either more than 50 hours per week (8.2 percent of respondents) or between 31 and 39 hours per week (11.5 percent).

In the COVID-19 working world, about 48 percent of Server+ holders were spending the lion’s share of those hours in a traditional workplace setting, working from home either fewer than 10 hours per week (31.1 percent of respondents) or between 10 and 20 hours per week (16.4 percent). The rest are notably more familiar with what has become the norm for many, working from home either between 21 and 30 hours per week (3.3 percent of those surveyed), between 31 and 39 hours per week (6.6 percent), 40 hours per week (9.8 percent), or more than 40 hours per week (32.8 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Server+ holders we heard from (33.8 percent of those surveyed) are employed at the senior specialist level. The rest, in descending order, are either managers (14.1 percent of respondents), rank-and-file employees (14 percent), specialists (12.7 percent), senior managers or directors (both 11.3 percent), or executives (2.7 percent).

A bit more than two-thirds (69 percent) of the Server+ holders who participated in the survey 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 (4.2 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (also 4.2 percent), between 6 and 8 years (12.7 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (9.9 percent).

Finally, here’s the view of CompTIA 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: 40.8 percent
Several times a week: 35.2 percent
Several times a month: 12.7 percent
Occasionally: 9.9 percent
Rarely: 1.4 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 39.5 percent
Agree: 38 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 14.1 percent
Disagree: 7 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1.4 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 29.6 percent
Agree: 40.8 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 25.4 percent
Disagree: 4.2 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 25.4 percent
Agree: 38 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 31 percent
Disagree: 5.6 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

PAST COMPTIA SERVER+ DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2018

2017

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