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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

The metaphorical neck of this week's featured credential has already been stretched out to receive the unkindest cut. Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) Windows 10 is slated to get the axe on April 30. So consider this a long last look at a certification stalwart — No. 66 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list — suddenly living in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, circa 79 A.D.

Here's what the salary picture looks like for MCSA Windows 10 holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $85,950
Median Annual Salary: $86,880
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 3.7 percent
Very Satisfied: 22.2 percent
Satisfied: 29.7 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 37 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 7.4 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $55,520
Median Annual Salary: $53,750
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 21.7 percent
Satisfied: 30.4 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 43.5 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 4.4 percent

The largest single body of MCSA Windows 10 holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents: 60 percent. The demesne of Microsoft, however, and especially of Windows, stretches far and wide around the globe and we also heard from credential holders in 12 other countries: Australia, Austria, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Most of the MCSA Windows 10 holders who participated in the survey are men, but a notable number of women, 13.3 percent of those surveyed, contributed as well. MCSA Windows 10 certification is fairly evenly spread across four distinct age groups. There are a smattering of credential holders between the ages of 19 and 24 (5 percent of respondents), with everyone else either between the ages of 25 and 34 (15 percent), between the ages of 35 and 44 (27.5 percent), between the ages of 45 and 54 (27.5 percent), or between the ages of 55 and 64 (25 percent).

A considerable majority of MCSA Windows 10 holders have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of formal education completed by most MCSA Windows 10 holders is either a bachelor's degree (55 percent of respondents), master's degree (25 percent), professional degree (2.5 percent) or associate's degree (2.5 percent. The rest either exited the formal education realm after high school (7.5 percent of those surveyed), or completed some level of post-high school technical training (7.5 percent).

An impressive 89 percent of the MCSA Windows 10 holders in our survey pool have full-time jobs, with 4.4 percent employed part-time, 2.2 percent currently in school, and 4.4 percent out of work. Among those who have regular full-time jobs, most either put in the standard 40 hours per week (40 percent of those surveyed), have a moderately expanded schedule of between 41 and 50 hours per week (30 percent), or find themselves at the office more than 50 hours per week (20 percent). The outliers are the 7.5 percent of respondents who work between 31 and 39 hours per week, and the 2.5 percent who put in between 20 and 30 hours per week.

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of MCSA Windows 10 holders who participated in the survey are at either the specialist (22.2 percent of those surveyed) or senior specialist (also 22.2 percent) level. The rest, in descending order, are either managers and senior managers (both 18.8 percent of respondents), rank-and-file employees (10.4 percent), directors (4.1 percent), or executives (2.1 percent).

A considerable 45.9 percent of the MCSA Windows 10 holders we heard from 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 two years (20.8 percent), between 3 and 5 years (8.3 percent), between 6 and 8 years (12.5 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (12.5 percent).

Finally, here's the view of MCSA Windows 10 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: 50 percent
Several times a week: 29.2 percent
Several times a month: 8.3 percent
Occasionally: 8.3 percent
Rarely: 4.2 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 35.4 percent
Agree: 29.1 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 23 percent
Disagree: 8.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 4.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 33.3 percent
Agree: 41.7 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 18.8 percent
Disagree: 6.2 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 31.3 percent
Agree: 35.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 27.1 percent
Disagree: 6.2 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

PAST MCSA Windows 10 DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2018