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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Things change quickly in information technology and that overall trend is often reflected in the IT certification world as well. Database technology provider Teradata has a certification program — it's just not the same certification program that was in place a year ago. (Sigh.)

There is an associate-level credential under the new "Vantage" certification scheme, so some of what you'll read about here probably still applies in some form. Just be aware that the Teradata 14 Database Certified Associate certification (No. 30 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list) is only still on the books pending its own obsolescence:

"Teradata 14 Certifications awarded will remain valid and will not expire. However, when the market dictates that certification on a previous release of Teradata is no longer meaningful, the certifications will no longer be supported by Teradata Certification." So there you have it.

Here's what the salary picture looks like for Teradata 14 Database Certified Associate holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $117,600
Median Annual Salary: $105,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 12.5 percent
Very Satisfied: 8.3 percent
Satisfied: 54.2 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 20.8 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 4.2 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $31,180
Median Annual Salary: Less than $20,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 4.3
Very Satisfied: 5.4 percent
Satisfied: 44.6 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 34.8 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 10.9 percent

Teradata is a U.S. company with a quintessential Silicon Valley origin story, but the pool of Teradata 14 Database Certified Associate holders who responded to the survey is heavily tilted toward individuals living and working outside the United States: just 20 percent of those surveyed are U.S. residents. The rest are spread across 18 other countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, and Taiwan.

It's typical in IT for women to be substantially outnumbered by men, but there are notably more female credential holders — 22.6 percent of those surveyed — among our pool of Teradata 14 Database Certified Associate holders than we almost ever see. Also bucking the norm, most respondents are much younger than we've come to expect, with more than 60 percent of those surveyed younger than 35, either between the ages of 19 and 24 (14.7 percent) or between the ages of 25 and 34 (46.5 percent). Of the remaining roughly 40 percent of respondents, 25 percent are between the ages of 35 and 44, leaving just 14 percent for whom retirement is even on the radar, either between the ages of 45 and 54 (7.8 percent) or between the ages of 55 and 64 (6 percent).

More than 90 percent of the Teradata 14 Database Certified Associate holders who responded to the survey have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of formal education completed by most Teradata 14 Database Certified Associate holders is either a bachelor's degree (57.8 percent of those surveyed), master's degree (30.2 percent), associate's degree (2.6 percent), professional degree (1.7 percent) or doctorate (0.8 percent). That leaves just a bare handful of those surveyed who either topped out at some level of post-high school technical training (1.7 percent of respondents) or exited the realm of formal education after completing high school (5.2 percent).

Almost all of the Teradata 14 Database Certified Associate holders are employed full-time (97.5 percent of those surveyed), with just a tiny amount who are either out of work (1.7 percent) or on sabbatical (0.8 percent). Among those who have full-time jobs, most are at work either for the standard 40 hours per week (63 percent of respondents) or put in between 41 and 50 hours per week (31.1 percent). The outliers are the 3.4 percent of those surveyed who are on the clock for more than 50 hours per week, and the 2.5 percent who put in between 31 and 39 hours per week.

IT employment often permits the flexibility of working from home, though that trend doesn't show up very strongly here. More than 82 percent of Teradata 14 Database Certified Associate holders who responded to the survey work from either fewer than 10 hours per week (64.7 percent), or between 10 and 20 hours per week (18.5 percent). Among the roughly 17 percent of respondents who spend half or more of there working hours at home are 3.4 percent who put in between 21 and 30 hours per week from home, 1.7 percent who are at home for between 31 and 39 hours per week, 7.5 percent who work from home 40 hours per week, and 4.2 percent put in more than 40 hours per week from home.

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Teradata 14 Database Certified Associate holders we heard from, 39.5 percent of those surveyed, are at the senior specialist level. The rest, in descending order, are either rank-and-file employees (30.2 percent of respondents), specialists (20.9 percent), managers (7.8 percent), senior managers (0.8 percent) or directors (also 0.8 percent).

A little more than one-third (34.1 percent) of the Teradata 14 Database Certified Associate holders who responded to the survey are IT journeymen, having worked in a role the directly utilizes one or more of 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 (24 percent), between 6 and 8 years (18.6 percent), between 9 and 10 years (4.7 percent), or for more than 10 years (18.6 percent).

Finally, here's the view of Teradata 14 Database Certified Associate 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: 39.6 percent
Several times a week: 20.9 percent
Several times a month: 15.5 percent
Occasionally: 21.7 percent
Rarely: 2.3 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 14.7 percent
Agree: 52.7 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21.7 percent
Disagree: 7.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.1 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 20.9 percent
Agree: 51.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 17.1 percent
Disagree: 7.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.3 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 22.5 percent
Agree: 50.5 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 18.6 percent
Disagree: 6.2 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.3 percent