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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

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The city of Palo Alto in California is named for an iconic coast redwood tree, El Palo Alto — 110 feet tall and more than 1,000 years old — that stands adjacent to a railroad bridge over San Francisquito Creek. Somewhere in all of that there is probably something that explains the naming of Palo Alto Networks, the multinational cybersecurity firm that has its world headquarters in nearby Santa Clara, Calif.

Palo Alto Networks offers a handful of certifications tied to its software products. One of those credentials, Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer cracked our most recent Salary Survey 75 list, landing at No. 23.

Here what the salary picture looks like for Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $129,000
Median Annual Salary: $132,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 15 percent
Very Satisfied: 50 percent
Satisfied: 25 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 5 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 5

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $63,240
Median Annual Salary: $62,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 2.5 percent
Very Satisfied: 12.5 percent
Satisfied: 35 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 27.5 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 22.5 percent

The largest single body of Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (33.3 percent of those surveyed). The rest of the Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer holders we heard from are spread across 28 other countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

Contrary to general industry biases, quite a few of the Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer holders who responded to the survey are women: 30.9 percent. The rest are either male (67 percent of respondents) — per the industry norm — transgender male (1 percent), or chose not to identify their gender (also 1 percent). Generally speaking, the pool of credential holders is surprisingly youthful, with more than 70 percent of those surveyed younger than 45, either between the ages of 19 and 24 (3.3 percent), between the ages of 25 and 34 (31.7 percent), or between the ages of 35 and 44 (38.3 percent). The remaining 5 percent of respondents are between the ages of 45 and 54.

Nearly 95 percent of Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer 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 Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer holders is either a bachelor’s degree (51.7 percent of those surveyed), master’s degree (30 percent), associate's degree (3.3 percent), professional degree (6.7 percent), or doctorate (1.7 percent). The outliers are the 1.6 percent of respondents who completed some level of technical training after high school, and the 5 percent who exited the realm of formal education after obtaining a high school diploma.

There’s a mixed employment outlook for Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer holders: 64.5 percent of survey respondents are employed full-time, 5.4 percent have part-time jobs, an unusual 14 percent are currently enjoying some form of sabbatical, 6.4 percent are students, and 9.7 percent are currently unemployed. Among those who do have full-time jobs, a narrow majority are at work either between 41 and 50 hours per week (31 percent of those surveyed) or for the standard 40 hours per week (29.4 percent). The rest are either working hard, punching the clock for more than 50 hours per week (11.5 percent of respondents), or hardly working, clocking either between 31 and 39 hours per week (17.2 percent), between 20 and 30 hours per week (5.2 percent), or fewer than 20 hours per week (1.7 percent).

There's a fair amount freedom to work from home among Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer holders. A notable chunk of those surveyed are spending most of those hours in a traditional workplace, working at home either 10 or fewer hours per week (20.3 percent) or between 10 and 20 hours per week (13.6 percent). After that, there’s a little bit of everything: 15.3 percent work between 21 and 30 hours per week from home, 18.6 percent work from home between 31 and 39 hours per week, 11.9 percent put in 40 hours per week from home, and 20.3 percent are on the clock for more than 40 hours per week from home.

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (30.9 percent of those surveyed). The rest, in descending order, are either managers (19.6 percent), specialists (17.5 percent), senior managers (12.4 percent), directors 10.3 percent), or rank-and-file employees (9.3 percent).

A core 30.9 percent of the Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer 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 (8.2 percent of respondents), between 6 and 8 years (28.9 percent), between 9 and 10 years (5.2 percent), or for more than a decade (26.8 percent).

Finally, here’s the view of Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer 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: 31.9 percent
Several times a week: 29.9 percent
Several times a month: 16.5 percent
Occasionally: 12.4 percent
Rarely: 9.3 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 38.2 percent
Agree: 34 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 17.5 percent
Disagree: 4.1 percent
Strongly Disagree: 6.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 26.1 percent
Agree: 32 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 16.5 percent
Disagree: 11.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 4.1 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 24.7 percent
Agree: 39.2 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 16.5 percent
Disagree: 10.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 9.3 percent

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