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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Cloud identity management provider Okta has three levels of standard certification, along with a satellite developer credential. Okta Certified Professional (No. 6 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list) is the first step on the way up the pyramid. With security being of paramount concern generally across the IT realm, and cloud computing looming large everywhere in IT, an Okta certification brings together two valuable knowledge bases.

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: $141,020
Median Annual Salary: $138,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 9.3 percent
Very Satisfied: 38.8 percent
Satisfied: 38 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 13 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 0.9 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $76,900
Median Annual Salary: $78,750
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 6.7 percent
Very Satisfied: 23.3 percent
Satisfied: 46.7 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 23.3 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

The largest single body of Okta Certified Professional holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (78.2 percent of those surveyed), but we also heard from credential holders in 10 other countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania, and the United Kingdom.

Nearly all of the Okta Certified Professional holders we heard from are men, with woman accounting for just 8.7 percent of responses. The overall group is considerably younger than the Deep Focus norm: More than 70 percent of those surveyed are younger than 45, with 2.9 percent between the ages of 19 and 24, 30.4 percent between the ages of 25 and 34, and 38.4 between the ages of 35 and 44. The outliers are the 22.5 percent of respondents between the ages of 45 and 54, the 5.1 percent between the ages of 55 and 64, and the 0.7 percent between the ages of 65 and 74.

More than 80 percent of Okta Certified Professional 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 Professional holders is either a bachelor's degree (51.4 percent of respondents), master's degree (19 percent), associate's degree (9.4 percent), doctorate (0.7 percent), or professional degree (also 0.7 percent). The outliers are the 10.1 percent of those surveyed who departed the realm of formal education after completing some level of post-high school technical training, the 8 percent who left formal education behind after completing high school, and the 0.7 percent who entered the workforce without any formal education.

Okta certification is apparently a rock solid hedge against unemployment: 100 percent of Okta Certified Professional 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 (53 percent of respondents) or for the standard 40 hours (26.8 percent). The rest put in either more than 50 hours per week (18.8 percent of respondents) or between 31 and 39 hours per week (1.4 percent).

For some, that means a lot of time at the office, though a surprising number of those surveyed work either mostly or entirely from home: 38 percent of respondents work from home either 40 hours per week (13.8 percent), or more than 40 hours per week (24.6 percent). A further 14 percent of respondents spend half or more than half of their work time in pajamas (or other casual wear), clocking in from home for either between 31 and 39 hours per week (5.1 percent) or between 21 and 30 hours per week (9.4 percent). That leaves just 47 percent of those surveyed who spend most of their time in a traditional office setting (or did, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), only working from home for either between 10 and 20 hours per week (15.2 percent) or fewer than 10 hours per week (31.9 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Okta Certified Professional holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (43.4 percent of respondents). The rest, in descending order, are either rank-and-file employees (15.1 percent of those surveyed), specialists (13.1 percent), managers (12.5 percent), senior managers (7.5 percent) or directors (8.2 percent).

A core 25.8 percent of the Okta Certified Professional 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 (25.2 percent of those surveyed), between 3 and 5 years (39 percent), between 6 and 8 years (6.9 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (3.1 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: 67.3 percent
Several times a week: 20 percent
Several times a month: 5.7 percent
Occasionally: 5.7 percent
Rarely: 1.3 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 35.2 percent
Agree: 38.3 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21.4 percent
Disagree: 3.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1.3 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 24.5 percent
Agree: 42.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 20.1 percent
Disagree: 10 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.5 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 28.3 percent
Agree: 40.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 18.9 percent
Disagree: 8.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.1 percent

PAST OKTA CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2019

2018