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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.‍

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Working in big business doesn't always mean power lunches, stock portfolios, and $500 haircuts. Imagine that your point of entry to the biggest stages of the global commerce arena sounded, for example, more like this: "Configure, troubleshoot, and manage the networks of the largest companies in the world."

That, according to globally prominent computer networking firm Cisco, is what you'll be prepared to handle if you can master the CCNP Enterprise certification, No. 19 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list. You might not even need any golf clubs, or a haircut that costs more than twenty bucks.

Here what the salary picture looks like for CCNP Enterprise holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $132,860
Median Annual Salary: $135,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 19.1 percent
Very Satisfied: 11.9 percent
Satisfied: 52.4 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 11.9 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 4.7 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $67,400
Median Annual Salary: $63,750
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 5.4 percent
Very Satisfied: 15.1 percent
Satisfied: 33.3 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 26.9 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 19.3 percent

The largest single body of CCNP Enterprise holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (31.1 percent of those surveyed), but we also heard from credential holders in 46 other countries: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Fiji, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

Nearly all of the CCNP Enterprise holders we heard from are men (86.8 percent of respondents). The rest are either female (11.4 percent of those surveyed), transgender female (0.6 percent), or chose not to identify their gender (1.2 percent). Generally speaking, most respondents are middle-aged either between the ages of 35 and 44 (50.4 percent of those surveyed) or between the ages of 45 and 55 (28.9 percent). The youth vanguard are between the ages of 25 and 34 (17.8 percent of respondents), with the balance of those surveyed either between the ages of 55 and 64 (2.2 percent) or between the ages of 65 and 74 (0.7 percent).

More than 90 percent of CCNP Enterprise 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 CCNP Enterprise holders is either a bachelor's degree (45.9 percent of respondents), master's degree (31.9 percent), associate's degree (5.2 percent), doctorate (3.7 percent), or professional degree (5.9 percent). The outliers are the 3 percent of those surveyed who departed the realm of formal education after completing some level of post-high school technical training, the 2.9 percent who left formal education behind after completing high school, and the 1.5 percent who are currently in school.

A solid 80.8 percent of CCNP Enterprise holders who responded to the survey are employed full-time, with 4.8 percent holding part-time jobs, 5.4 percent presently in school, 4.8 percent on sabbatical, and 4.2 percent out of work altogether. Among those who have full-time jobs, most are punching the clock for either between 41 and 50 hours per week (37.1 percent of respondents) or for the standard 40 hours (40 percent). The rest put in either more than 50 hours per week (11.1 percent of respondents), between 31 and 39 hours per week (7.4 percent), between 20 and 30 hours per week (2.2 percent), or fewer than 20 hours per week (also 2.2 percent).

The COVID-19 pandemic altered the outlook on hours spent working from home for a great many IT workers. For a notably largish chunk of CCNP Enterprise holders, the profile of full-time work didn't change much, with remote work only on the table for either fewer than 10 hours per week (30.9 percent of respondents) or between 10 and 20 hours per week (14.3 percent). Everyone else winds up at work without leaving the house for more than half of their weekly schedule, using a home wi-fi connection for either between 21 and 30 hours per week (9 percent of respondents), between 31 and 39 hours per week (13.5 percent), 40 hours per week (17.3 percent), or more than 40 hours per week (15 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of CCNP Enterprise holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (37.7 percent of respondents). The rest, in descending order, are either specialists (18 percent of those surveyed), managers (17.4 percent), senior managers (10.8 percent), directors (9 percent), rank-and-file employees (6.5 percent), or executives (0.6 percent).

A notable 52.1 percent of the CCNP Enterprise 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 (4.8 percent of those surveyed), between 3 and 5 years (15.6 percent), between 6 and 8 years (16.8 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (10.7 percent).

Finally, here's the view of CCNP Enterprise 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: 43.1 percent
Several times a week: 29.9 percent
Several times a month: 10.2 percent
Occasionally: 12 percent
Rarely: 4.8 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 41.3 percent
Agree: 38.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 9 percent
Disagree: 3.6 percent
Strongly Disagree: 7.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 41.3 percent
Agree: 39.5 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 10.8 percent
Disagree: 3.6 percent
Strongly Disagree: 4.8 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 32.9 percent
Agree: 39.5 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 16.2 percent
Disagree: 6 percent
Strongly Disagree: 5.4 percent

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