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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

We’re in a “second verse” (not the same as the first) frame of mind this week, taking a look at the second of two credentials curated by data analytics firm SAS to appear on this year’s Salary Survey 75 list. The SAS Certified Advanced Programmer credential is No. 69 on this year’s list, one slot ahead of the previously profiled SAS Certified Base Programmer.

Here’s what the salary picture looks like for SAS Certified Advanced Programmer holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $87,050
Median Annual Salary: $87,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 28.2 percent
Satisfied: 45.5 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 26.3 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $49,190
Median Annual Salary: $40,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 6.2 percent
Satisfied: 43.8 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 50 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

The largest single body of SAS Certified Advanced Programmer holders in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (40 percent of those surveyed). The rest of our respondents are spread somewhat evenly across seven other countries — Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan — with notable participation from Australia, China, and India.

SAS Certified Base Programmer stood out for the high percentage of females among respondents, and the same is true here as well, with women accounting for an almost equally remarkable 31.4 percent of all SAS Certified Advanced Programmer holders in the Salary Survey. There’s also, again repeating the established pattern, a heavy skew toward youth.: 10.4 percent of SAS Certified Advanced Programmer holders are between the ages of 19 and 24, with a further 73 percent either between the ages of 25 and 34 (50 percent of those surveyed) or between the ages of 35 and 44 (23.3 percent). That leaves just 16 percent of respondents who are either between the ages of 45 and 54 (9.7 percent of those surveyed) or between the ages of 55 and 64 (6.6 percent).

Like their SAS Certified Base Programmer peers, SAS Certified Advanced Programmer holders are exceptionally well educated, with the highest level of education attained by most being either a master’s degree (50 percent of those surveyed), bachelor’s degree (40 percent) or doctorate (6.7 percent). The rest, a mere 3.3 percent of respondents, completed technical training but have no college degree.

Full-time employment among SAS Certified Advanced Programmer holders is strong at 90 percent, with 7 percent of those surveyed in part-time positions and just 3 percent currently out of work. Among those who have jobs, most either have a standard 40-hour work week (46.7 percent of those surveyed) or are slightly overworked with a weekly schedule of between 41 and 50 hours (33.3 percent). The rest either work more than 50 hours per week (6.7 percent of respondents) or between 31 and 39 hours per week (13.3 percent).

As you might expect given the relative youthfulness of the survey population, most of the SAS Certified Advanced Programmer holders we heard from fill up the lower echelons at their workplaces, with 30.6 percent of those surveyed in rank-and-file employee roles, while 36.1 percent are specialists, and 22.2 percent are senior specialists. SAS Certified Advanced Programmer holders are, it would seem, harder to find in management roles, with 11.1 percent of those surveyed serving as managers, and nobody claiming a post above that level.

Most SAS Certified Base Programmer holders are relative newcomers. A notable 25 percent of those surveyed have worked in a role that directly utilizes one or more of their certified skills for between zero years (1 to 11 months) and two years, while 38.9 percent have been doing it between 3 and 5 years, 16.7 percent have been in the game for between 6 and 8 years, and 8.3 percent have been cranking away for between 9 and 10 years. The rest, just 11.1 percent of those surveyed, have been plying their certified skills for more than a decade.

Finally, here’s the view of SAS Certified Base 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: 44.4 percent
Several times a week: 24 percent
Several times a month: 13.9 percent
Occasionally: 11.4 percent
Rarely: 5.3 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 16.9 percent
Agree: 41.7 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 33.1 percent
Disagree: 2.2 percent
Strongly Disagree: 6.1 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 30.1 percent
Agree: 39.2 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 19.4 percent
Disagree: 8.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 31.4 percent
Agree: 40.8 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 22.2 percent
Disagree: 3.6 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2 percent