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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.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 world needs more computer workers, but it doesn't need more computers. Thanks to virtualization, we can have as many computers as we need inside the computers that we already have. There's more to it than that, but that nutshell analysis explains why mastery of virtualization can get you a very solid six-figure IT salary.

VMware has a dominating position in the virtualization marketplace and its widely respected certifications are highly attractive to employers. One of those credentials, VMware Certified Professional Data Center Virtualization 2019 landed in a strong position, No. 20, on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list.

Here's what the salary picture looks like for Data Center Virtualization 2019 holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $126,140
Median Annual Salary: $125,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 9.1 percent
Very Satisfied: 18.2 percent
Satisfied: 50 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 18.2 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 4.5 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $41,150
Median Annual Salary: $25,000
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 7.1 percent
Very Satisfied: [No responses]
Satisfied: 50 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 35.7 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 7.2 percent

The largest single body of Data Center Virtualization 2019 holders to participate in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (61.1 percent), but we also heard from credential holders in 11 other countries: Australia, China, Dominican Republic, Hungary, India, Italy, Malaysia, Maldives, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Turkey.

All but a bare handful of the Data Center Virtualization 2019 holders who responded to the survey are men — just 2.8 percent of those surveyed are women. In terms of age, those same certified professionals are a relatively youthful group: More than 60 percent of respondents are either between the ages of 25 and 34 (22.2 percent) or between the ages of 35 and 44 (38.9 percent), with an additional 30.6 percent who could be called "youth adjacent" between the ages of 45 and 54. The outliers are the 5.5 percent of those surveyed between the ages of 55 and 64, and the 2.8 percent between the ages of 65 and 74.

Somewhat contrary to the norm, just 64 percent of those surveyed have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of education completed by most Data Center Virtualization 2019 holders is either a bachelor's degree (41.7 percent), master's degree (16.7 percent), associate's degree (2.8 percent), or professional degree (2.7 percent). A notable 27.8 percent of those surveyed went no further up the formal education ladder than to complete some level of post-high school technical training, while the remaining 8.3 percent departed the realm of formal education after completing high school.

A rare 100 percent of Data Center Virtualization 2019 holders who responded to the survey are employed full-time — no one is out-of-work or employed part-time. For most survey respondents, full-time employment means either putting in the standard 40 hours per week (41.7 percent of those surveyed) or working between 41 and 50 hours per week (36.1 percent). The outliers are the 23 percent of respondents who put in either more than 50 hours per week (19.4 percent of those surveyed) or between 31 and 39 hours per week (2.8 percent).

About 67 percent of Data Center Virtualization 2019 holders are spending most of those hours in a traditional workplace, working either 10 or fewer hours per week from home (52.8 percent) or between 10 and 20 per week from home (13.9 percent). There are certainly some survey respondents, however, whose "office" is more virtual than real: those working from home either between 21 and 30 hours per week (2.8 percent of those surveyed), between 31 and 39 hours per week (also 2.8 percent), 40 hours per week (8.6 percent) or more than 40 hours per week (8 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Data Center Virtualization 2019 holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (60 percent of those surveyed). The rest, in descending order, are either managers (15.6 percent), specialists (11.1 percent), senior managers (8.9 percent), or rank-and-file employees (4.4 percent).

An impressive 62.2 percent of Data Center Virtualization 2019 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 months) and 2 years (4.4 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years ( 13.3 percent), between 6 and 8 years (also 13.3 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (6.8 percent).

Finally, here's the view of Data Center Virtualization 2019 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: 37.8 percent
Several times a week: 35.6 percent
Several times a month: 15.5 percent
Occasionally: 8.9 percent
Rarely: 2.2 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 31.1 percent
Agree: 40 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 20 percent
Disagree: 6.7 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 15.6 percent
Agree: 53.3 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 15.5 percent
Disagree: 8.9 percent
Strongly Disagree: 6.7 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 15.5 percent
Agree: 46.7 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 22.2 percent
Disagree: 8.9 percent
Strongly Disagree: 6.7 percent