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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Microsoft’s Windows Server 2012 software is, not to put too fine a point on it, old tech. And yet, there are plenty of systems out there that haven’t been upgraded to Windows Server 2016 — and probably won’t be, possibly for several more years. So if you have a Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) Windows Server 2012 credential, you are still highly employable.

Here’s what the salary picture looks like for MCSA Windows Server 2012 holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $114,740
Median Annual Salary: $109,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 20.5 percent
Very Satisfied: 12.8 percent
Satisfied: 46.2 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 15.4 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 5.1 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $79,680
Median Annual Salary: $57,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 15.2 percent
Satisfied: 23.9 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 50 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 10.9 percent

The largest single body of MCSA Windows Server 2012 holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents: 45.5 percent of those surveyed. Microsoft has a strong global brand, however, and we also heard from credential holders in 34 other countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

The pool of MCSA Windows Server 2012 holders that we heard from is almost overwhelmingly male — just 2.3 percent of those surveyed are women. Windows Server 2012 may be “old,” but the people who know how to use it, or at least those we heard from, are not: 29.4 percent of those surveyed are between the ages of 25 and 34, and 41.2 percent are between the ages of 35 and 44. The outliers are those between the ages of 45 and 54 (17.6 percent of respondents), those between the ages of 55 and 64 (10.6 percent), and those between the ages of 65 and 74 (1.2 percent).

On the formal education front, the highest level of education completed by most MCSA Windows Server 2012 holders is some type of university degree, either a bachelor’s degree (33.3 percent), master’s degree (23.1 percent), associate’s degree (12.9 percent), or professional degree (5.1 percent). Most of those who didn’t complete a university program completed some level of technical training (20.5 percent of respondents), while 5.1 percent are currently in school.

A rock-solid 96.6 percent of MCSA Windows Server 2012 holders who responded to the survey are employed full-time, with 1.1 percent retired, 1.1 percent on sabbatical, and 1.2 percent currently looking for work. Among those who have full-time jobs, most are on the clock either between 41 and 50 hours per week (41.2 percent of respondents) or for the standard 40 hours (34.1 percent). The outliers are those who put in more than 50 hours per week (11.8 percent of respondents), those at work between 31 and 39 hours per week (11.8 percent), and those at work between 20 and 30 hours per week (1.1 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of MCSA Windows Server 2012 holders are senior specialists (53.2 percent of those surveyed). The rest, in descending order, are either specialists (13.5 percent), managers (10.4 percent), rank-and-file employees (9.4 percent), directors (7.3 percent), senior managers (4.2 percent), or executives (2 percent).

Roughly half (49 percent) of all MCSA Windows Server 2012 holders to participate in the survey are 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 (15.6 percent), between 6 and 8 years (17.7 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (10.4 percent).

Finally, here’s the view of MCSA Windows Server 2012 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: 28.1 percent
Several times a month: 11.5 percent
Occasionally: 9.4 percent
Rarely: 1 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 20.8 percent percent
Agree: 36.5 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 34.3 percent
Disagree: 4.2 percent
Strongly Disagree: 4.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 27.1 percent
Agree: 46.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 16.7 percent
Disagree: 7.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 29.2 percent
Agree: 43.8 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 18.7 percent
Disagree: 7.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1 percent