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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.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 long-range forecast in the field of cloud identity management calls for thunderous growth. If you’re looking to storm into the cloud computing realm, then cloud identity management is a great way in and an Okta credential can be a real rainmaker. Earlier this year we looked at the mid-tier Okta Certified Administrator certification, and today we’re focusing on the entry-level Okta Certified Professional certification, No 18 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list.

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

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $132,640
Median Annual Salary: $123,750
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 2.8 percent
Very Satisfied: 50 percent
Satisfied: 38.9 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 8.3 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $71,000
Median Annual Salary: $65,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 24.2 percent
Satisfied: 41.7 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 25.8 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 8.3 percent

The largest single body of Okta Certified Professional holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents: 75 percent of those surveyed. We did hear from credential holders in four other countries: Australia, India, Netherlands, and Romania.

Most of the credential holders we heard from are men (81.3 percent of respondents), but the nearly one-fifth of respondents (18.7 percent) who are women is a huge number in the male-dominated IT realm. Okta Certified Credential is also a youthful credential, with 35.4 percent of respondents between the ages of 25 and 34, 37.5 percent between the ages of 35 and 44, and 2.3 percent between the ages of 19 and 24. The outliers are the 22.9 percent of respondents between the ages of 45 and 54, and the 1.9 percent between the ages of 55 and 64.

More than 80 percent of the Okta Certified Professional holders we surveyed have an educational background that includes college. The highest level of education completed by most Okta Certified Professional holders is either a bachelor’s degree (56.3 percent of those surveyed), master’s degree (16.5 percent), or an associate’s degree (8.3 percent). Among those with no college credentials, the highest level of education completed for most is some level of post-high school technical training (16.9 percent of respondents), with 2 percent having risen no higher than a high school diploma.

Among all Okta Certified Professional holders surveyed, 100 percent have full-time jobs — a Salary Survey rarity. Most are at least slightly overworked, putting in either between 41 and 50 hours per week (47.9 percent) or more than 50 hours (22.7 percent). The rest either have a standard 40-hour schedule (23.1 percent) or put in between 31 and 39 hours (6.3 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Okta Certified Professional holders in the survey are at the senior specialist level (35.4 percent of those surveyed). The rest, in decscending order, are either specialists (19.8 percent), managers (19.4 percent), senior managers (9.8 percent), directors (7.8 percent), and rank-and-file employees (7.8 percent).

In a strong digression from the norm, more than half (59.6 percent) of Okta Certified Professional holders are relative newcomers to cloud identity management, having worked in a role that directly utilizes one or more of their certified skills for between zero year (1 to 11 months) and 2 years. The rest have been plying their certified skills for either between 3 and 5 years (21.6 percent), between 6 and 8 years (7.8 percent), between 9 and 10 years (2 percent), or for more than a decade (11.7 percent).

Finally, here’s the view of Okta Certified Professional 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: 70.5 percent
Several times a week: 17.7 percent
Several times a month: 3.9 percent
Occasionally: 5.9 percent
Rarely: 2 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 37.3 percent
Agree: 45.1 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 13.6 percent
Disagree: 2 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 39.2 percent
Agree: 43.1 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 15.7 percent
Disagree: [No responses]
Strongly Disagree: 3.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 39.2 percent
Agree: 45.1 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 9.8 percent
Disagree: 3.9 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2 percent