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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Sometimes data science professionals are required to, in the words of longtime Survivor host Jeff Probst, "dig deep" to discover pockets of actionable intelligence in the cavernous belowground reaches of the mountains of data stored up by various organizations. San Francisco-based Splunk is among the ranks of software companies that provide tools to assist with such exploration.

Splunk Core Certified User (No. 32 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 lists) is a base-level credential, a starting point for those just entering the Splunk data analytics ecosystem. Here's what the salary picture looks like for Splunk Core Certified User holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $131,150
Median Annual Salary: $135,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 33.8 percent
Very Satisfied: 32.9 percent
Satisfied: 25 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 8.3 percent
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $71,850
Median Annual Salary: $75,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 14.3 percent
Very Satisfied: 7.9 percent
Satisfied: 64.3 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 7.1 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 6.4 percent

The largest single body of Splunk-certified professionals who participated in the survey (46.1 percent of those surveyed) are U.S. residents. Unlike last year, however, when Splunk registered on the Salary Survey 75 list for the first time and nearly every respondent was from the United States, this time around we heard from Splunk Core Certified User holders in 12 different countries: Australia, Canada, Colombia, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Almost all of the Splunk Core Certified User holders who participated, from all corners of the globe, are men—96.2 percent of those surveyed — though we did hear from a handful of female credential holders. Generally speaking, most are youngish, with more than 60 percent of respondents either between the ages of 25 and 34 (19.2 percent) or between the ages of 35 and 44 (42.3 percent). Everyone else landed are either between the ages of 45 and 54 (27 percent) or between the ages of 55 and 64 (11.5 percent).

A fairly stunning 96 percent of the Splunk Core Certified User 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 Splunk Core Certified User holders is either a bachelor's degree (53.8 percent of respondents), master's degree (38.5 percent), or associate's degree (4 percent). The rest (3.7 percent of those surveyed) all departed the realm of formal education after completing high school.

Having a Splunk certification, it would appear, is something employers find highly appealing: 100 percent of Splunk Core Certified User holders who responded to the survey are employed full-time. For many, that means a longer-than-standard work week, with 57 percent of respondents putting in either between 41 and 50 hours per week (42.3 percent), or more than 50 hours per week (15.4 percent). The rest are on the clock either for the standard 40 hours per week (38.5 percent of those surveyed) or have a full-time work schedule of between 31 and 39 hours per week (3.8 percent).

The COVID-19 pandemic massively realigned many workplaces in 2020, including those where Salary Survey respondents are employed. Roughly 70 percent of Splunk Core Certified User holders who participated in the survey are spending their entire work schedule at home: 34.6 percent work from home more than 40 hours per week, while an identical 34.6 percent work from home 40 hours per week. The remaining 30 percent of Splunk Core Certified User holders work from home either fewer than 10 hours per week (11.9 percent of those surveyed), between 10 and 20 hours per week (7.7 percent) or between 21 and 30 hours per week (11.2 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Splunk Core Certified User holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (59.3 percent of respondents). The rest, in descending order, are either specialists (11.5 percent of those surveyed), directors (10.7 percent), managers (7.4 percent), senior managers (also 7.4 percent), or rank-and-file employees (3.7 percent).

A core 33.7 percent of the Splunk Core Certified User 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 month) and 2 years (7.4 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (33 percent), between 6 and 8 years (18.5 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (7.4 percent).

Finally, here's the view of Splunk Core Certified User 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: 63 percent
Several times a week: 18.5 percent
Several times a month: 7.8 percent
Occasionally: 10.7 percent
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 40.7 percent
Agree: 44.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 11.1 percent
Disagree: [No responses]
Strongly Disagree: 3.7 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 25.9 percent
Agree: 40.7 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 22.2 percent
Disagree: 11.1 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 26.3 percent
Agree: 37 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 25.2 percent
Disagree: 11.5 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

PAST SPLUNK CORE CERTIFIED USER DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2002