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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

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There are 5 different certifications available at the “analyst” level inside the IBM information technology ecosystem. So you’ll have to do some narrowing of the scope of your technology analyst interests before becoming an IBM Certified Analyst (No. 61 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list).

Here what the salary picture looks like for IBM Certified Analyst holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $92,580
Median Annual Salary: $75,310
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 3.2 percent
Very Satisfied: 54.9 percent
Satisfied: 32.2 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 9.7 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $78,610
Median Annual Salary: $53,750
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 20 percent
Very Satisfied: 15 percent
Satisfied: 35 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 25 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 5 percent

The largest single body of IBM Certified Analyst 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 IBM Certified Analyst holders we heard from are spread across 15 other countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, India, Syria, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom.

Contrary to general industry biases, women abound in this neck of the IT woods: 26 percent of IBM Certified Analyst holders who responded to the survey are female. The rest are either male (70.1 percent), per the industry norm, or transgender male (3.9 percent). Generally speaking, the pool of credential holders is surprisingly youthful, with 90 percent of those surveyed younger than 45, either between the ages of 19 and 24 (2 percent), between the ages of 25 and 34 (49 percent), or between the ages of 35 and 44 (39.2 percent). The remaining 10 percent of respondents are either between the ages of 45 and 54 (7.8 percent) or between the ages of 55 and 64 (2 percent).

Roughly 98 percent of IBM Certified Analyst 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 IBM Certified Analyst holders is either a bachelor’s degree (49 percent of those surveyed), master’s degree (33.3 percent), doctorate (9.8 percent), associate's degree (3.9 percent), or professional degree (2.1 percent). The only outliers are the 1.9 percent of respondents who completed some level of technical training after high school.

There’s a generally positive employment outlook for IBM Certified Analyst holders: 66.2 percent of survey respondents are employed full-time, 18.2 percent have part-time jobs, 3.9 percent are currently enjoying some form of sabbatical, 2.6 percent are students, and 9.1 percent are currently unemployed. Among those with full-time jobs, most are at work either between 31 and 39 hours per week (41.2 percent of those surveyed) or for between 41 and 50 hours per week (31.3 percent). The rest are either punching the clock for the standard 40 hours per week (19.6 percent of respondents), for more than 50 hours per week (4.1 percent), or for between 20 and 30 hours per week (3.8 percent).

There's not a lot of freedom to work from home among IBM Certified Analyst holders. Even in the post-COVID-19 world, roughly 69 percent of those surveyed are spending most of those hours in a traditional workplace, working at home either 10 or fewer hours per week (27.5 percent) or between 10 and 20 hours (41.1 percent). After that, there’s a little bit of everything: 15.7 percent work between 21 and 30 hours per week from home, 5.9 percent work between 31 and 39 hours per week from home, 3.9 percent work 40 hours per week from home, and 5.9 percent work more than 40 hours per week from home.

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of IBM Certified Analyst holders we heard from are employed at the senior manager level (32.5 percent of those surveyed). The rest, in descending order, are either executives (24.1 percent of respondents), senior specialists (also 12 percent), managers (10.8 percent), directors (8.4 percent), specialists (6.1 percent), or rank-and-file employees (6.1 percent).

A core 54.2 percent of the IBM Certified Analyst holders who responded to the survey are IT up-and-comers, having worked in a role the directly utilizes their certified skills for between 3 and 5 years. The rest have been plying their certified skills for either between zero years (1 to 11 months) and 2 years (16.9 percent of respondents), between 6 and 8 years (18.1 percent), between 9 and 10 years (7.2 percent), or more than a decade (3.6 percent).

Finally, here’s the view of IBM Certified Analyst 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: 16.9 percent
Several times a week: 32.5 percent
Several times a month: 42.2 percent
Occasionally: 16.9 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 25.3 percent
Agree: 51.8 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 16.9 percent
Disagree: 4.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 24.1 percent
Agree: 45.8 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21.7 percent
Disagree: 4.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.6 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 27.7 percent
Agree: 33.7 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 24.1 percent
Disagree: 8.5 percent
Strongly Disagree: 6 percent

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