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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Every organization with significant digital assets — which, in 2019, is most of them — needs a strong security policy (and playbook) and dedicated cybersecurity personnel. And that's really the minimum standard. Adding a Chief Information Security Officer to the mix is like adding guard towers and battlements to the defensive wall around your organization.

There are various certification options for experienced security professionals who want to add a mark of distinction to their CV. One of the foremost certifications for top-level security managers is EC-Council's Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO) credential. The CCISO was No. 8 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list.

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

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $143,480
Median Annual Salary: $147,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 21.1 percent
Very Satisfied: 10.5 percent
Satisfied: 36.8 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 31.6 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $77,510
Median Annual Salary: $58,750
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: [No responses]
Satisfied: 45.5 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 45.5 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 9 percent

The largest single body of CCISO holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (63 percent), but we also heard from credential holders in 10 other countries: Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

In a relatively rare occurrence for the Salary Survey, we did not hear from a single CCISO-certified woman — all of our CCISO survey respondents are men. And while we did hear from some relatively youthful credential holders, CCISO is largely a late-career achievement: 40 percent of those surveyed are between the ages of 55 and 64, while a further 26.7 percent are between the ages of 45 and 54, and 3.3 percent are between the ages of 65 and 74. The outliers are the 30 percent of CCISO-certified "youngsters" who are between the ages of 35 and 44.

More than 80 percent of the CCISO 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 CCISO holders is either a bachelor's degree (43.4 percent of respondents), master's degree (33.3 percent), or doctorate (3.3 percent). The rest of those surveyed either departed the realm of formal education after completing high school (6.7 percent), or completed some level of post-high school technical training (13.3 percent).

A strong 96.8 percent of CCISO holders to participate in the survey are employed full-time, with the other 3.2 percent holding part-time jobs. Among those who are employed full-time, most are at work either between 41 and 50 hours per week (60 percent of respondents) or more than 50 hours per week (20 percent). The rest either have a standard 40-hour work week (16.7 percent of respondents) or put in between 31 and 39 hours per week (3.3 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of CCISO holders who participated in the survey are at the director level (21.2 percent of those surveyed). The rest, in descending order, are either senior specialists (18.5 percent of respondents), managers (18.2 percent), senior managers (17.9 percent), executives (12.4 percent), or specialists (11.8 percent).

More than 75 percent of the CCISO holders we heard from 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 (3 percent), between 6 and 8 years (3 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (18.2 percent).

Finally, here's the view of CCISO 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: 69.7 percent
Several times a week: 18.2 percent
Several times a month: 6.1 percent
Occasionally: 6 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 48.5 percent
Agree: 36.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 12.1 percent
Disagree: 3 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 33.3 percent
Agree: 36.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 15.2 percent
Disagree: 9.1 percent
Strongly Disagree: 6 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 33.3 percent
Agree: 39.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 18.2 percent
Disagree: 9.1 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

PAST CCISO DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2017