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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.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 business deals with risk and every management team could probably benefit by getting sound advice from a risk management professional. The GRC Professional (GRCP) certification, No. 18 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list, is among the premier credentials for professionals who wants to specialize in the governance of risk, compliance, and controls.

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

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $132,840
Median Annual Salary: $130,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 10 percent
Very Satisfied: 35 percent
Satisfied: 30 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 25 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $84,160
Median Annual Salary: $78,750
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 23.5 percent
Satisfied: 47.1 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 17.6 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 11.8 percent

The largest single body of GRCP holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (54.1 percent), but we also heard from credential holders in 13 other countries: Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Nearly all of the GRCP holders we heard from are men, though we did hear from a handful (10.8 percent of those surveyed) of women. Most of those in the survey group are older, either between the ages of 35 and 44 (27 percent of survey respondents), between the ages of 45 and 54 (also 27 percent), or between the ages of 55 and 64 (also 27 percent). The outliers are the 16.2 percent of those surveyed who are between the ages of 25 and 34, and the 2.8 percent between the ages of 65 and 74.

Every GRCP holder who responded to the survey has an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of education completed by most GRCP holders is either a bachelor's degree (43.2 percent of those surveyed), master's degree (also 42.3 percent), professional degree (5.5 percent), or associate's degree (8.1 percent).

A wholly respectable 92.5 percent of GRCP holders who participated in the survey are employed full-time, with the remaining 7.5 percent either employed part-time (2.5 percent) or presently out of work (5 percent). Among those who have full-time jobs, most are punching the clock either for the standard 40 hours per week (29.7 percent of survey respondents) or for between 41 and 50 hours per week (43.3 percent). The rest are at work either for more than 50 hours per week (13.5 percent of those surveyed) or for between 31 and 39 hours per week (also 13.5 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of GRCP holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (35 percent of those surveyed). The rest, in descending order, are either managers (20 percent of survey respondents), senior managers and directors (both 15 percent), specialists (7.5 percent), or executives (also 7.5 percent).

A bit more than one-third (35 percent) of the GRCP holders who responded to 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 (15 percent of those surveyed), between 3 and 5 years (20 percent), between 6 and 8 years (7.5 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (22.5 percent).

Finally, here's the view of GRCP 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: 47.5 percent
Several times a week: 22.5 percent
Several times a month: 22.5 percent
Occasionally: 7.5 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 40 percent
Agree: 37.5 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 20 percent
Disagree: 2.5 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 30 percent
Agree: 50 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 12.5 percent
Disagree: 5 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.5 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 30 percent
Agree: 27.5 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 35 percent
Disagree: 7.5 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

PAST GRCP DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2018