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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

The company slogan for Teradata, an international data firm with headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, is, “We believe analytics and data unleash the potential of great companies.” Analytics and data can also unleash the salary potential of great tech professionals, or at least the ones who live and work in the United States.

Fluency with Teradata’s database products is certainly a pathway to prosperity for some, as indicated by the placement (at no. 40) of the Teradata 14 Certified Professional credential on this year’s Salary Survey 75 list. As you’ll see in a moment, however, the often stark earnings gap between U.S. workers and those from other countries yawns even wider than the norm here.

Here’s what the salary picture looks like for Teradata 14 Certified Professional holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $119,380
Median Annual Salary: $115,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: [No responses]
Very Satisfied: 41.7 percent
Satisfied: 58.3 percent
Not Very Satisfied: [No responses]
Not At All Satisfied: [No responses]

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $44,780
Median Annual Salary: $24,450
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 2.7 percent
Very Satisfied: 12.2 percent
Satisfied: 43.2 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 27.8 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 4.1 percent

The largest single body of Teradata 14 Certified Professional holders who responded to the survey is made up of Indian nationals (31.4 percent of those surveyed), followed by U.S. residents (13.4 percent). That leaves roughly 55 percent of those surveyed scattered across 22 different countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Measured by gender, the survey population is considerably less diverse, with just 5.8 percent of respondents who are women, compared to 94.2 percent who are men. It’s a relatively youthful group, with 4.7 percent of respondents between the ages of 19 and 24, while 51.2 percent are between the ages of 25 and 34, and 23.2 percent are between the ages of 35 and 44. The “old folks” are the 12.8 percent of respondents who are between the ages of 45 and 54, and the 8.1 percent who are between the ages of 55 and 64.

The highest level of formal education completed by most Teradata 14 Certified Professional holders is either a bachelor’s degree (52.3 percent) or master’s degree (33.8 percent). That leaves just a smattering of credential holders who climbed to some different rung of the formal education ladder before exiting the system altogether: a doctorate (2.2 percent of those surveyed), a professional degree such as a juris doctor (3.4 percent), an associate’s (two-year) degree (2.3 percent), post-secondary technical training (2.4 percent), or a high school diploma (3.6 percent).

A solid 96.6 percent of Teradata 14 Certified Professional holders are employed full-time, with 1.1 percent of those surveyed currently on sabbatical, and 2.3 percent unemployed. Among those who have full-time jobs, most either put in a standard 40-hour work week (53.5 percent of those surveyed) or are somewhat overworked, spending between 41 and 50 hours per week at the office (40.7 percent). The outliers are the 1.1 percent of respondents who put in more than 50 hours per week, and 4.7 percent whose weekly schedule falls somewhere between 31 and 39 hours.

In terms of workplace standing, most Teradata 14 Certified Professional holders who responded to the survey are either senior specialists (50.9 percent of those surveyed), specialists (17 percent), or rank-and-file employees (24.5 percent). The only one in the upper echelons are the 5.7 percent of respondents who are managers.

In another departure from the norm, there aren’t nearly as many old hands among Teradata 14 Certified Professional holders as we typically encounter in our surveys. More than a third (33.9 percent) of credential holders have worked in a role that directly utilizes one or more of their certified skills for between zero years (1 to 11 months) and 2 years, and a further 24.5 percent have only done so for between 3 and 5 years. That leave 14.2 percent of those surveyed who have been plying their certified skills for between 6 and 8 years, 5.7 percent who have been doing so for between 9 and 10 years, and 20.7 percent who have been doing so for more than a decade.

Finally, here’s the view of Teradata 14 Certified Professional 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: 35.8 percent
Several times a week: 31.1 percent
Several times a month: 18.9 percent
Occasionally: 6.7 percent
Rarely: 7.5 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 18 percent
Agree: 51.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 2.7 percent
Disagree: 7.5 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1.9 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 16 percent
Agree: 51.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21.7 percent
Disagree: 8.5 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1.9 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 19.8 percent
Agree: 42.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 25.5 percent
Disagree: 10.4 percent
Strongly Disagree: 1.9 percent