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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

identity management provider Okta has three levels of standard certification, along with a satellite developer credential: Okta Certified Developer (No. 2 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list). As noted on the Okta certification website, credential holders "are technically proficient at building secure, seamless experiences using Okta APIs and SDKs."

They are also pretty high on the hiring list for a lot of organizations, or at least that would seem to be the case based on the level of compensation reported by credential holders who shared their data with us. There are doubtless Okta certification holders out there who will roll their eyes at our numbers — just remember that we don't make this stuff up.

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

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $164,230
Median Annual Salary: $165,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 15.6 percent
Very Satisfied: 38.5 percent
Satisfied: 38.2 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 7.7 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $89,560
Median Annual Salary: $92,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 41 percent
Very Satisfied: 10.5 percent
Satisfied: 39 percent
Not Very Satisfied: [No responses]
Not At All Satisfied: 9.5

The largest single body of Okta Certified Developer holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (72.2 percent of those surveyed), but we also heard from credential holders in five other countries: Australia, Germany, India, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Nearly all of the Okta Certified Developer holders we heard from are men, with woman accounting for just 11.1 percent of total responses. The overall group is considerably younger than the Deep Focus norm: More than 70 percent of those surveyed are younger than 45, with 5.4 percent between the ages of 19 and 24, 25 percent between the ages of 25 and 34, and 44.5 between the ages of 35 and 44. The outliers are the 19.4 percent of respondents between the ages of 45 and 54 and the 5.7 percent between the ages of 55 and 64.

More than 93 percent of Okta Certified Developer 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 Okta Certified Developer holders is either a bachelor's degree (61.1 percent of respondents), master's degree (30.6 percent), or doctorate (2.7 percent). The outliers are the 5.6 percent of those surveyed who departed the realm of formal education after completing high school.

Okta certification is apparently a rock solid hedge against unemployment: 100 percent of Okta Certified Developer holders who responded to the survey are employed full-time. For most, that means punching the clock for either between 41 and 50 hours per week (44.5 percent of respondents) or for the standard 40 hours (33.3 percent). The rest put in either more than 50 hours per week (16.7 percent of respondents), between 31 and 39 hours per week (2.9 percent), or between 20 and 30 hours per week (2.6 percent).

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic early last year, quite a few Okta Certified Developer holders report spending their work hours entirely at home: 94 percent of respondents work from home either 40 hours per week (38.9 percent), or more than 40 hours per week (55.6 percent). That leaves just 5 percent of those surveyed who spend any of their time in a traditional office setting, working from home for either between 31 and 39 hours per week (3.4 percent) or between 10 and 20 hours per week (2.1 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Okta Certified Developer holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (61.1 percent of respondents). The rest, in descending order, are either specialists (14 percent), rank-and-file employees (13.8 percent of those surveyed), managers (5.7 percent), or directors (5.4 percent).

A core 39 percent of the Okta Certified Developer 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 (11.1 percent of those surveyed), between 3 and 5 years (33.3 percent), between 6 and 8 years (8.3 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (8.3 percent).

Finally, here's the view of Okta Certified 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: 58.3 percent
Several times a week: 30.6 percent
Several times a month: 8.3 percent
Occasionally: 2.8 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 61.3 percent
Agree: 30.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 8.3 percent
Disagree: [No responses]
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 47.2 percent
Agree: 27.8 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 22.2 percent
Disagree: 2.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 44.4 percent
Agree: 38.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 16.7 percent
Disagree: [No responses]
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]