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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

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Any organization — public or private, corporate or government, commercial or nonprofit — that maintains a computer network is at risk of a cyberattack. Just last year, major attacks were perpetrated against an electrical utility in Spain, a candy company in Japan, one of the largest private health insurance firms in Australia, and the International Committee of the Red Cross in Switzerland.

Attacks can range in severity, but the outcome always brings some level of negative consequences. In short, any organization that has a computer network needs to have personnel on staff trained to protect that network.

One of the foremost networking security credentials is CCNP Security, which resides at the professional tier of the globally respected Cisco certification program and which made a surprise breakthrough in our 2023 Salary Survey. CCNP Security, which didn't even appear on the 2022 Salary Survey 75 list, is this year's No. 2 certification.

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

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $153,630
Median Annual Salary: $162,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 43.8 percent
Very Satisfied: 18.8 percent
Satisfied: 12.5 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 21.9 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 3.1 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $65,320
Median Annual Salary: $56,250
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 6.5 percent
Very Satisfied: 14.5 percent
Satisfied: 40.3 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 22.6 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 16.1 percent

The largest single body of CCNP Security holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (34 percent of those surveyed), but we also heard from credential holders in 40 other countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Nearly all of the CCNP Security holders we heard from are men (91.5 percent of respondents). The rest are either female (5.3 percent of those surveyed), transgender male (1.1 percent), or chose not to identify their gender (2.1 percent). Generally speaking, most respondents are middle-aged either between the ages of 35 and 44 (41.5 percent of those surveyed) or between the ages of 45 and 55 (33 percent). There are a bare handful of kids in the room, with 2.1 percent of those surveyed between the ages of 19 and 24, as well as a youngish cohort between the ages of 25 and 34 (22.3 percent of respondents). The balance of respondents are the 1.1 percent between the ages of 55 and 64.

Nearly 95 percent of CCNP Security 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 Security holders is either a bachelor's degree (43.6 percent of respondents), master's degree (36.2 percent), associate's degree (2.1 percent), doctorate (4.3 percent), or professional degree (8.5 percent). The outliers are the 2.1 percent of those surveyed who departed the realm of formal education after completing some level of post-high school technical training, the 2.1 percent who left formal education behind after completing high school, and the 1.1 percent who are currently in school.

A solid 83 percent of CCNP Security holders who responded to the survey are employed, either full-time (77.7 percent of respondents) or part-time (5.8 percent), with a further 5.8 percent presently in school, 6.6 percent on sabbatical, and 4.1 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 (28.6 percent of respondents) or for the standard 40 hours (40.7 percent). The rest put in either more than 50 hours per week (14.3 percent of respondents), between 31 and 39 hours per week (11 percent), between 20 and 30 hours per week (4.4 percent), or fewer than 20 hours per week (also 1 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 Security 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 (31.9 percent of respondents) or between 10 and 20 hours per week (11 percent). Everyone else is working from home for more than half of their weekly schedule, using a home wi-fi connection for either between 21 and 30 hours per week (17.5 percent of respondents), between 31 and 39 hours per week (8.8 percent), 40 hours per week (13.2 percent), or more than 40 hours per week (17.6 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of CCNP Security holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (36 percent of respondents). The rest, in descending order, are either managers (6 percent of those surveyed), directors and senior managers (both 11.2 percent), specialists and rank-and-file employees (both 10.4 percent), or executives (4.8 percent).

Nearly 40 percent of the CCNP Security 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 (10.4 percent of those surveyed), between 3 and 5 years (14.4 percent), between 6 and 8 years (20.8 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (16 percent).

Finally, here's the view of CCNP Security 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 percent
Several times a week: 21.6 percent
Several times a month: 14.4 percent
Occasionally: 6.4 percent
Rarely: 9.6 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 46.4 percent
Agree: 24.8 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 12.8 percent
Disagree: 5.6 percent
Strongly Disagree: 10.4 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 43.2 percent
Agree: 32 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 15.2 percent
Disagree: 6.4 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 35.2 percent
Agree: 33.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 16 percent
Disagree: 8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 7.2 percent

PAST CCNP Security DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2017

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