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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

When most people hear F5, they perhaps think first of the widely-used scale for determining the intensity of a tornado — F5 is the highest rating. Unlike the disruption and devastation found in the aftermath of an F5 tornado, however, F5 Networks is all about ensuring reliability, predictability, and security.

The Seattle-based company offers certification in its various technologies, including the BIG-IP platform that supports many of its solutions. One of the key BIG-IP credentials is F5 Certified BIG-IP (F5-CA), No. 33 on this year's Salary Survey 75 list.

Here's what the salary picture looks like for BIG-IP Administrator holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $117,440
Median Annual Salary: $112,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 25.8 percent
Very Satisfied: 24.2 percent
Satisfied: 33.3 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 16.7 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $91,370
Median Annual Salary: $86,250
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 18.2 percent
Very Satisfied: 17.6 percent
Satisfied: 47.1 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 17.1 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

The largest single body of BIG-IP Administrator holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (41.4 percent), but we also heard from credential holders in 13 other countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Croatia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

All of the BIG-IP Administrator holders who responded to the survey are men, something of a rarity in our Deep Focus series. There is a surprising core of BIG-IP Administrator holders who are relatively young: 31 percent of those surveyed are between the ages of 25 and 34. Not only that, but a further 51.7 percent are between the ages of 35 and 44. The balance of survey participants are either between the ages of 45 and 54 (13.8 percent of respondents) or between the ages of 55 and 64 (3.5 percent).

A bit more than 85 percent of BIG-IP Administrator holders who responded to the survey have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of education completed by BIG-IP Administrator holders is either a bachelor's degree (51.7 percent of respondents), master's degree (31 perent), or associate's degree (3.8 percent), with a further 3.1 percent who are currently in school. The rest either topped out after completing some level of post-high school technical training (6.9 percent) or exited the realm of formal education after finishing high school (3.5 percent).

Roughly 97 percent of BIG-IP Administrator holders who participated in the survey are employed full-time, with the remaining 3 percent presently on sabbatical. Among those who have full-time jobs, most put in either between 41 and 50 hours per week (51.7 percent of respondents) or the standard 40 hours per week (31 percent). The rest are either putting in more than 50 hours per week (6.9 percent of those surveyed) or working between 31 and 39 hours per week (10.4 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of BIG-IP Administrator holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (51.6 percent of those surveyed). The rest, in descending order, are either specialists (35.6 percent of respondents), managers (3.5 percent), directors (3.2 percent), rank-and-file employees (3.2 percent), or executives (2.9 percent).

A little more than one-third (35.5 percent) of the BIG-IP Administrator holders 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 (12.9 percent), between 3 and 5 years (19.4 percent), between 6 and 8 years (16.1 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (16.1 percent).

Finally, here's the view of BIG-IP Administrator 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: 58.1 percent
Several times a week: 29 percent
Several times a month: 3.2 percent
Occasionally: 9.7 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 32.2 percent
Agree: 48.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 12.9 percent
Disagree: 3.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 35.5 percent
Agree: 38.7 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 19.4 percent
Disagree: 6.4 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 29 percent
Agree: 29 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 35.5 percent
Disagree: 3.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.2 percent