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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Based in Canada, the nonprofit Linux Professional Institute operates probably the most well-rounded, top-to-bottom Linux certification program in the industry. The cornerstone credential of that lineup is LPIC-1: Linux Administrator, which checked in at No. 59 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list.

Here's what the salary picture looks like for LPIC-1 holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $90,480
Median Annual Salary: $88,130
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 17.4 percent
Very Satisfied: 13.1 percent
Satisfied: 30.4 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 26.1 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 13 percent

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: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: [No responses]
Satisfied: 54.6 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 9.1 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 36.3 percent

The largest single body of LPIC-1 holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (64.9 percent), but we also heard from credential holders in 11 other countries: Australia, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, China, Germany, Greece, India, Japan, Madagascar, and Spain.

Almost all of the LPIC-1 holders who responded to the survey are men (94.1 percent), with just a handful of certified women participating. Most of those in our survey group are locked into middle age, with 35.3 percent of respondents between the ages of 35 and 44, and 32.4 percent between the ages of 45 and 54. The rest are either young bucks between the ages of 25 and 34 (14.7 percent of those surveyed), or prospective senior citizens between the ages of 55 and 64 (17.6 percent).

A bit more than 85 percent of the LPIC-1 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 most LPIC-1 holders is either a bachelor's degree (58.8 percent of those surveyed), master's degree (23.5 percent), associate's degree (6 percent), doctorate (2.4 percent), or professional degree (2.6 percent). The rest either topped out after completing some level of post-high school technical training (3.8 percent of respondents) or exited the realm of formal education after finishing high school (2.9 percent).

Roughly 95 percent of LPIC-1 holders who participated in the survey are employed full-time, with the remaining 5 percent presently out of work. Among those who have full-time jobs, most put in either the standard 40 hours per week (47.1 percent of respondents) or are at work between 41 and 50 hours per week (44.1 percent). The rest are at the office either more than 50 hours per week (5.9 percent of respondents) or clock in between 31 and 39 hours per week (2.9 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of LPIC-1 holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (36.6 percent of those surveyed). The rest, in descending order, are either managers (24.4 percent of respondents), specialists (19.5 percent), directors and senior managers (both 7.3 percent), or rank-and-file employees (4.9 percent).

Nearly two-thirds (63.4 percent) of the LPIC-1 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 (7.3 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (14.6 percent), between 6 and 8 years (9.8 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (4.9 percent).

Finally, here's the view of LPIC-1 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: 56.1 percent
Several times a week: 17.1 percent
Several times a month: 14.5 percent
Occasionally: 9.8 percent
Rarely: 2.4 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 39 percent
Agree: 39 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 19.6 percent
Disagree: 2.4 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 36.6 percent
Agree: 43.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 17.1 percent
Disagree: [No responses]
Strongly Disagree: 2.4 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 31.8 percent
Agree: 46.3 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 17.1 percent
Disagree: 2.4 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.4 percent