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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.‍‍

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Everything is in the cloud in 2023. We just accept it. Along with taking the cloud for granted, however, we don't often think about who makes clouds for everything to be inside of. Someone has to design the cloud and hybrid cloud solutions that are everywhere present behind the scenes of modern life.

If that sounds like interesting work to you, then you may end up crossing paths with Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. More specifically, the Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert credential — No. 17 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list — verifies that cloud professionals are ready to mold Azure's clay.

Here’s what the salary picture looks like for Azure Solutions Architect Expert holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $133,410
Median Annual Salary: $130,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 45.5 percent
Satisfied: 23 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 22.5 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 9 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $77,910
Median Annual Salary: $76,250
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 1.5 percent
Very Satisfied: 12 percent
Satisfied: 53.7 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 22.4 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 10.4 percent

The largest single body of Azure Solutions Architect Expert holders to participate in the survey is made up of residents of the United States (24.7 percent). The rest of the Azure Solutions Architect Expert holders we heard from are spread across 29 other countries: Albania, Algeria, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

The IT industry is typically dominated by male professionals, but a notably largish group of the Azure Solutions Architect Expert holders we heard from — 22.2 percent of those surveyed — are women. A more routine 72.6 percent of respondents are men, 3.4 percent chose not to identify their gender, 0.9 percent are transgender male, and 0.9 percent are transgender female. Somewhat against type, on the other hand, the Azure Solutions Architect Expert survey cohort is relatively youthful, with nearly 95 percent of those surveyed younger than 55 either between the ages of 25 and 34 (24.7 percent), between the ages of 35 and 44 (34.9 percent) or between the ages of 45 and 54 (34.8 percent). That leaves roughly 6 percent who are either between the ages of 55 and 64 (3.4 percent), between the ages of 65 and 74 (1.1 percent), or 75 or older (also 1.1 percent).

A notable 93 percent of the Azure Solutions Architect Expert 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 Azure Solutions Architect Expert holders is either a bachelor’s degree (48.3 percent of respondents), master’s degree (36 percent), associate’s degree (2.2 percent), doctorate (3.4 percent), or professional degree (also 3.4 percent). The remaining 7-ish percent of Azure Solutions Architect Expert holders either topped out with some level of post-high school technical training (4.5 percent) or departed the realm of formal education after graduating from high school (2.2 percent).

Employment among Azure Solutions Architect Expert holders is fairly sturdy, with 76 percent of credential holders employed full-time. The remaining 24 percent of those surveyed are either in part-time positions (5.2 percent), are students (6.8 percent), are on sabbatical (5.1 percent), or are out of work (6.9 percent). For most respondents, full-time employment means a regular work schedule of either between 41 and 50 hours per week (39.5 percent) or the standard 40 hours per week (37.2 percent). Out of the remaining 25-ish percent of those surveyed, 5.8 percent work between 31 and 39 hours per week, 14 percent put in more than 50 hours per week, and a fortunate 3 percent have a full-time work schedule of either between 20 and 30 hours per week (2.3 percent) or fewer than 20 hours (1.2 percent).

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reshuffled workplaces worldwide in 2020, and there’s strong evidence of that here: A notable 44 percent of the Azure Solutions Architect Expert holders we heard from are spending their entire work schedule at home, with 18.1 percent working beneath the same roof that’s overhead when they sleep at night for more than 40 hours per week, and a further 26.1 percent doing so for 40 hours per week. The rest haven’t entirely separated from their cubicles (or corner offices), working from home either between 31 and 39 hours per week (12.5 percent of respondents), between 21 and 30 hours per week (19.3 percent), between 10 and 20 hours per week (5.7 percent), or for fewer than 10 hours per week (18.1 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Azure Solutions Architect Expert holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (35 percent). The rest, in descending order, are either managers (26.5 percent of respondents), senior managers (13.7 percent), rank-and-file employees (9.4 percent), directors (8.5 percent), specialists (4.3 percent), or executives (2.6 percent).

A core 32.5 percent of Azure Solutions Architect Expert 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 (13.6 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (21.4 percent), between 6 and 8 years (18.8 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (13.7 percent).

Finally, here’s the view of Azure Solutions Architect Expert 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: 34.3 percent
Several times a week: 32.4 percent
Several times a month: 15.3 percent
Occasionally: 10.3 percent
Rarely: 7.7 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 31.6 percent
Agree: 41.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 17.1 percent
Disagree: 4.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 5.1 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 24.8 percent
Agree: 48.7 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 14.5 percent
Disagree: 6 percent
Strongly Disagree: 6 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
‍Strongly agree: 20.5 percent
Agree: 49.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 13.7 percent
Disagree: 11.1 percent
Strongly Disagree: 5.1 percent

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