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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Just in case anyone out there is confused, Magneto is the mutant master of magnetism who is a key antagonist of the Marvel Comics universe's X-Men. Magento � "gento," not "gneto;" it's an easy mistake to make � is an open-source e-commerce platform that processed $155 billion worth of online sales in 2019 alone.

If you're a master of computer code (as opposed to magnetism) eager to enter the world of Magento, then the Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer credential (No. 39 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list) is the first step in your journey to harnessing the might of Magento. (You'll probably need a mutant superpower if you want to harness the might of Magneto.)

Here's what the salary picture looks like for Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $112,520
Median Annual Salary: $117,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 25 percent
Very Satisfied: 33.3 percent
Satisfied: 41.7 percent
Not Very Satisfied: [No responses]
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $38,140
Median Annual Salary: $21,040
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 4.6 percent
Very Satisfied: 12.3 percent
Satisfied: 38.5 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 32.3 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 12.3 percent

A majority of the certified professionals who respond to the Salary Survey each year are from the United States, but this is one of the fairly few certifications where our pool of respondents does not reflect that skew: just 14.6 percent of Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer holders who responded to the survey are from the United States, while slightly more than 40 percent are from India. The rest are scattered across 17 different countries around the globe: Argentina, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Developers across most IT specializations tend to be men, and that's certainly the case here, with men accounting for 92.7 percent of all Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer holders who responded to the survey. Rather remarkably, on the other hand, an eye-popping 71 percent of those surveyed are younger than 35, either between  the ages of 25 and 34 (67.5 percent) or between the ages of 19 and 24. Even among "older" credential holders, 20.8 percent of respondents are between the ages of 35 and 44, leaving the high water mark to the 7.8 percent who are between the ages of 45 and 54 — not a single person we heard from is 55 or older.

Despite all of that youth, however, roughly 85 percent of Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer holders who responded to the survey have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of formal education completed by most Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer holders is either a bachelor's degree (54.5 percent of respondents), master's degree (24.7 percent), associate's degree (2.6 percent), professional degree (also 2.6 percent), or doctorate (1.3 percent). The outliers are the 3.9 percent of those surveyed who topped out at some level of post-high school technical training, the 9.1 percent who exited the realm of formal education after completing high school, and the 1.3 percent who are currently students.

Nearly all of the Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer holders who participated in the survey are working professionals, with 93.9 percent of those surveyed employed full-time, versus 3.7 percent who have part-time jobs, 1.2 percent who are in school, and 1.2 percent who are unemployed. Among those who have full-time jobs, most are at work either for the standard 40 hours per week (41.6 percent of respondents) or put in between 41 and 50 hours per week (37.7 percent). A fortunate 17 percent of respondents have a lighter-than-usual load, putting in either between 31 and 39 hours per week (14.3 percent) or fewer than 20 hours per week (2.5 percent), while a hard-charging 3.9 percent have their collective nose to the grindstone for more than 50 hours per week.

There's a fair amount of independence available to a skilled developer, but more than 83 percent of Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer holders are largely office-bound, working from home either fewer than 10 hours per week (64.9 percent) or between 10 and 20 hours per week (18.2 percent). A less-than-revolutionary 16 percent of those surveyed work from home more regularly, settling into their home offices for either between 21 and 30 hours per week (2.6 percent), between 31 and 39 hours per week (1.3 percent), 40 hours per week (5.2 percent), or more than 40 hours per week (7.8 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer holders we heard from, 34.5 percent of those surveyed, are employed at the senior specialist level. The rest, in descending order, are either rank-and-file employees (30.1 percent), specialists (18.6 percent), managers or directors (both 5.3 percent), executives (3.5 percent), or senior managers (2.7 percent).

Most of the Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer holders who responded to the survey are IT novices, having worked in a role that directly utilizes one or more of their certified skills for either between 3 and 5 years (34.8 percent or those surveyed) or between zero years (1 to 11 months) and 2 years (33 percent). The rest have been plying their certified skills for either between 6 and 8 years (19.6 percent), between 9 and 10 years (3.6 percent), or more than 10 years (9 percent).

Finally, here's the view of Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer 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: 54.9 percent
Several times a week: 24.8 percent
Several times a month: 12.4 percent
Occasionally: 4.4 percent
Rarely: 3.5 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 28.3 percent
Agree: 43.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 24.8 percent
Disagree: 2.7 percent
Strongly Disagree: 0.9 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 25.8 percent
Agree: 40.7 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21.2 percent
Disagree: 8.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.5 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 25.7 percent
Agree: 38.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 26.5 percent
Disagree: 6.2 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.7 percent