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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

As cloud computing become increasingly more integral to business operations and overall internet function, the demand for cloud-fluent IT professionals goes up. Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform is one of the most widely used cloud management tools, and the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) Cloud Platform credential (No. 13 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list) is an excellent way to learn the ins and outs of Azure.

Here’s what the salary picture looks like for MCSA Cloud Platform holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $135,890
Median Annual Salary: $130,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 28.6 percent
Very Satisfied: 21.4 percent
Satisfied: 35.7 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 14.3 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $59,660
Median Annual Salary: $40,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 17.7 percent
Satisfied: 11.7 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 58.8 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 11.8 percent

The largest single body of MCSA Cloud Platform holders who responded to the survey is made up of U.S. residents (43.8 percent), but we got a substantial international response as well. Our other certified professionals were fairly evenly spread across the following 16 countries: Australia, Canada, Colombia, Finland, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Almost all of those we heard from are men (97 percent of respondents), giving MCSA Cloud Platform only marginal representation among women. Most of the MCSA Cloud Platform holders who weighed in are young, with nearly 75 percent of those surveyed either between the ages of 25 and 34 (29 percent) or between the ages of 35 and 44 (45.2 percent). The outliers are the 12.9 percent of respondent who are between the ages of 45 and 54, and the 12.9 percent who are between the ages of 55 and 64.

In terms of the highest level of formal education completed, most MCSA Cloud Platform holders are somewhere on the college spectrum, with 29 percent of respondents having risen to the level of a bachelor’s degree and 32.3 percent holding master’s degree, while 9.7 percent have associate’s (two-year) degrees and 9.8 percent have a professional degree (such as a juris doctor). That leaves 9.7 percent of those surveyed who completed some level of technical training after high school, as well as identical 3.2 percent segments who are either currently in school or completed their formal education with only a high school diploma.

Most of the MCSA Cloud Platform holders who responded to the survey have full-time jobs (96.9 percent of those surveyed), leaving just a handful who are  currently unemployed (3.1 percent). Among those with jobs, more than half put in a little extra time each week with a schedule of between 41 and 50 hours (51.6 percent of respondents), while the rest either have a standard 40-hour work week (29 percent), work more than 50 hours per week (16.1 percent), or have a moderately cushy schedule of between 31 and 39 hours per week (3.3 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of MCSA Cloud Platform holders (39 percent of those surveyed) are senior specialists, followed, in descending order, by specialists (19.4 percent), managers (13.9 percent), directors (8.4 percent), rank-and-file employees (8.3 percent), executives (8.2 percent), and senior managers (2.8 percent).

There are some novices among MCSA Cloud Platform holders, but not many who are straight-out noobs. Just 5.6 percent of those surveyed have worked in a role that directly utilizes one or more of their certified skills for between zero years (1 to 11 months) and 2 years, while 19.4 percent have been thus engaged for between 3 and 5 years, 13.9 percent have been at it for between 6 and 8 years, and 8.3 percent have between 9 and 10 years of direct cloud management experience. The rest, more than half (52. 8 percent) of those surveyed, have been plying their certified skills for more than a decade.

Finally, here’s the view of MCSA Cloud Platform 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: 61.1 percent
Several times a week: 19.5 percent
Several times a month: 5.6 percent
Occasionally: 13.8 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 33.3 percent
Agree: 50 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 8.3 percent
Disagree: 5.6 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.8 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 36.1 percent
Agree: 44.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 8.3 percent
Disagree: 8.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.9 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 25 percent
Agree: 47.2 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 16.7 percent
Disagree: 11.1 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]