Salary Survey Extra is a series of dispatches that give added insight into the findings of our annual Salary Survey. These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

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Robotic process automation is the catchy term for using software "robots" to automate business processes. Blue Prism is a U.K.-based multinational software firm that specializes in RPA technology. (Earlier this year, U.S. tech firm SS&C Technologies acquired Blue Prism for a reported $1.6 billion.)

If that sounds intriguing, then you may be a good candidate for Blue Prism certification, which comes in a variety of flavors. Blue Prism Certified Developer (No. 57 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list) is the practitioner level of Blue Prism developer certification, occupying a middle ground between associate developer and professional developer.

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

All U.S. Respondents
‍Average Annual Salary: $94,880
Median Annual Salary: $90,630
‍How satisfied are you with your current salary?
‍Completely Satisfied: 15 percent
Very Satisfied: [No responses]
Satisfied: 71.4 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 13.6 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

‍All Non-U.S. Respondents
‍Average Annual Salary: $30,760
Median Annual Salary: $20,130
‍How satisfied are you with your current salary?
‍Completely Satisfied: 4.6 percent
Very Satisfied: [No responses]
Satisfied: 41.9 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 41.9 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 11.6 percent

The largest single body of Blue Prism Certified Developer holders to participate in the survey is made up of residents of India (44.9 percent), with U.S. credential holders next (14.3 percent). The rest of the Blue Prism Certified Developer holders we heard from are spread across 14 other countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

The IT realm is typically dominated by male professionals, but a relatively healthy contingent of the Blue Prism Certified Developer holders we heard from — 18 percent of those surveyed — are women. (Roughly two percent chose not to identify their gender, and the rest are men.) The age of credential holders is even further outside the Salary Survey norm, with 74 percent of those surveyed either between the ages of 19 and 24 (2.1 percent) or between the ages of 25 and 34 (71.5 percent). The rest are either between the ages of 35 and 44 (20.4 percent of respondents), between the ages of 45 and 54 (4.1 percent), or between the ages of 55 and 64 (1.9 percent).

A striking 91 percent of the Blue Prism 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 Blue Prism Certified Developer holders is either a bachelor's degree (57.2 percent of respondents) or a master's degree (34.7 percent). The remaining 8 percent of Blue Prism Certified Developer holders either topped out with some level of post-high school technical training (2 percent of those surveyed) or departed the realm of formal education after completing high school (6.1 percent).

Employment among Blue Prism Certified Developer holders is rock solid, with 98 percent of credential holders employed full-time and the remaining 2 percent out of work. For most respondents, full-time employment means either a standard 40-hour work week (36 percent of respondents) or a regular schedule of between 41 and 50 hours per week (40.2 percent). Out of the remaining 24 percent of those surveyed, 5.8 percent work between 31 and 39 hours per week and 18 percent put in more than 50 hours per week.

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reshuffled workplaces worldwide in 2020. Two years later, Blue Prism Certified Developer holders have settled into a work-from-home norm: A notable 79 percent of those surveyed are spending their entire work schedule at home, putting in either 40 hours per week from home (25.5 percent) or more than 40 hours per week (52.5 percent). That leaves just 21 percent of respondents who have gotten re-acquainted with their cubicles (or corner offices), working from home either between 31 and 39 hours per week (6.1 percent of respondents), between 10 and 20 hours per week (10 percent), or for fewer than 10 hours per week (5.9 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Blue Prism Certified Developer holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (38 percent). The rest, in descending order, are either rank-and-file employees (24.1 percent of respondents), specialists (22.4 percent of respondents), managers (10.4 percent), executives (3.4 percent), or directors (1.7 percent).

An core 28.2 percent of the Blue Prism 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 between zero years (1 to 11 months) and 2 years (20 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (23.8 percent), between 6 and 8 years (7.8 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (9.7 percent).

Finally, here's the view of Blue Prism 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: 48.1 percent
Several times a week: 28.6 percent
Several times a month: 11 percent
Occasionally: 8.4 percent
Rarely: 3.9 percent

‍Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
‍Strongly agree: 37 percent
Agree: 39.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 15 percent
Disagree: 5.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.6 percent

‍Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
‍Strongly agree: 32.2 percent
Agree: 44 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 15.8 percent
Disagree: 4 percent
Strongly Disagree: 4 percent

‍Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
‍Strongly agree: 31.8 percent
Agree: 36.2 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 16 percent
Disagree: 12 percent
Strongly Disagree: 4 percent

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