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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

It's been 25 years since the Java programming language first appeared and 15 years since it was acquired by database titan Oracle. After all that time, Java is still in demand and certified programmers are in demand. They're in demand enough for Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) Java SE 8 Programmer to land at No. 4 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list.

Here's what the salary picture looks like for OCP Java SE 8 Programmer holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $141,130
Median Annual Salary: $150,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No response]
Very Satisfied: 40 percent
Satisfied: 31.1 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 28.9 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No response]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $53,190
Median Annual Salary: $46,250
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No response]
Very Satisfied: 16.2 percent
Satisfied: 46.2 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 23.1 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 14.6 percent

A bit less than 45 percent of the OCP Java SE 8 Programmer holders who participated in the survey live and work in the United States, but Oracle and its products have a global footprint. We also heard from credential holders in 8 different countries: Australia, Brazil, India, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Romania, and Spain.

Nearly all of the OCP Java SE 8 Programmer holders we heard from are men: 96.3 percent. Most of those surveyed are also in middle age or older, with 43.5 percent of respondents between the ages of 35 and 44, 30.4 percent between the ages of 45 and 54, and 4.4 percent between the ages of 55 and 64. There is, however, a not inconsiderable youth movement, with 21.7 percent of respondents between the ages of 25 and 34.

A shade more than 96 percent (!) of OCP Java SE 8 Programmer holders who participated in the survey have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of formal education completed by most OCP Java SE 8 Programmer holders is either a bachelor's degree (47.8 percent of those surveyed) or a master's degree (48.3 percent). The 3.9 percent of respondents not in that group all exited the realm of formal education after completing some level of post high-school technical training.

A rock solid 95.8 percent of the OCP Java SE 8 Programmer holders we heard from are employed full-time, with everyone else (4.2 percent) holding part-time jobs. Among survey respondents who have full-time jobs, most are at work either for the standard 40 hours per week (48.7 percent of those surveyed) or for between 41 and 50 hours per week (43.5 percent). The outliers are the 4.3 percent of respondents who spend more than 50 hours per week on the job, and 3.5 percent who are at work for between 31 and 39 hours per week.

Working hours have traditionally been spent at some sort of employer-owned facility, but IT often permits the greater freedom of doing work from home. That doesn't appear to be the case for most OCP Java SE 8 Programmer holders. A whopping 90 percent of those surveyed work from home either fewer than 10 hours per week (59.1 percent) or between 10 and 20 hours per week (31.8 percent). The only respondents getting in more than half of their work hours from home are the 9.1 percent who are at home between 21 and 30 hours per week.

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of OCP Java SE 8 Programmer holders who participated in the survey, 62.1 percent, are employed at the senior specialist level. The rest, in descending order, are either specialists (17.2 percent), senior managers (10.3 percent), rank-and-file employees (7 percent), or executives (3.4 percent).

Slightly more than half (55.2 percent) of the OCP Java SE 8 Programmer holders who responded to the survey are IT veterans, having worked in a role that directly utilizes one or more their certified skills. The rest have been plying their certified skills for either between zero years (1 to 11 months) and 2 years (6.9 percent), between 3 and 5 years (3.4 percent), between 6 and 8 years (13.8 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (20.7 percent).

Finally, here's the view of OCP Java SE 8 Programmer 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: 51.8 percent
Several times a week: 17.2 percent
Several times a month: 6.9 percent
Occasionally: 10.3 percent
Rarely: 13.8 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 34.5 percent
Agree: 38 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 24.1 percent
Disagree: 3.4 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 17.3 percent
Agree: 55.2 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 10.3 percent
Disagree: 17.2 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 13.8 percent
Agree: 55.2 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 10.3 percent
Disagree: 20.7 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]