10 Most Popular Certifications For 2015
Certifications Most Popular Among Network Engineers
Three out of four North American IT professionals have earned at least one certification in the past five years, with 45 percent of those earning a certification within the past year.
These findings come from a survey of 11,000 people conducted by Global Knowledge, a Cary, N.C.-based business training company.
The popularity of certifications ranges from 58 percent for participants working in network engineering to just 18 percent for those involved in business application development.
Demand for certifications is expected to persist, with 27 percent of respondents indicating they plan to pursue certifications in the coming year. Certifications are most popular among early career professionals, particularly those on the IT help desk.
10. Internet/Web Development
Internet/Web Development certifications are held by 288 of the 11,000 respondents, Global Knowledge found, and offer an average annual salary of $74,884.
Almost all of the certifications within this category were put together by the Certified Internet Web Professional, an education program dating back to the late 1990s.
The most popular certifications are Web Design Specialist, earned by 131 respondents with an average salary of $71,468; Web Foundations Associate, earned by 130 respondents with an average salary of $74,048; and JavaScript Specialist, earned by 107 respondents with an average salary of $74,521.
9. Non-Cisco Networking
Non-Cisco networking certifications resulted in an average salary of $82,488 for the 345 survey respondents that hold them, according to the survey.
The most popular certification in this category is the Wireshark Certified Network Analyst (WCNA), which is held by 86 respondents and earns an average salary of $87,218.
The WCNA is designed to test a candidate's ability to troubleshoot, optimize and secure a network based on the evidence found from analyzing traffic.
8. Citrix
Citrix certifications are held by 487 respondents with an average salary of $90,591.
Citrix Certified Administrator (CCA) certifications -- which are designed for IT associates and focus on validating core implementation skills -- remain the most popular.
In particular, the CCA for XenApp 6 -- which certifies knowledge of this desktop solution -- is held by 278 people with an average salary of $91,069. And the CCA for XenDesktop 6 is held by 142 people with an average salary of $92,411.
7. VMware
VMware certifications are held by 539 respondents with an average salary of $91,162.
The most popular certification in this category is the VMware Certified Professional for Data Center Virtualization (VCP-DCV), which is held by 267 people with an average salary of $94,181. The certification confirms that people can install, deploy, scale and manage vSphere environments.
After that comes the VMware Certified Associate for Data Center Virtualization (VCA-DCV), which is held by 144 people with an average salary of $82,342. The certification ensures graduates can define data center virtualization and provide use case scenarios of how vSphere can provide cost and operational benefits.
6. Project Management
Some 739 respondents have received project management certifications, earning an average salary of $97,787. The two most popular certifications by far in this category fall at opposite ends of the income spectrum.
At the upper end is the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, which is held by 387 people at an average salary of $109,405. Candidates with bachelor's degrees must have at least three years of project management experience and 4,500 hours leading and directing projects.
At the lower end is the CompTIA Project+ certification, which is held by 242 people at an average salary of $80,412. This certification has no prerequisites, and validates that people can complete projects on time and within budget.
5. ITIL and ITSM
IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and IT Service Management (ITSM) certifications are held by 1,114 respondents, according to the survey.
Salaries for this category average $95,150, or 10 percent above the $86,250 norm for certified respondents.
ITIL focuses on aligning IT services with the needs of businesses, while ITSM focuses on services rather than systems and has adopted a process approach toward management.
4. Cisco
Cisco certifications are held by 1,396 respondents and offer an average annual salary of $82,243, according to the Global Knowledge survey.
Of the nearly 1,400 respondents who answered yes, they on average held two Cisco certifications.
Salaries range from $70,680 for a Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician (CCENT) to more than $118,000 for a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Routing and Switching.
Salaries for Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)-level certifications are in the mid-$80,000s.
3. Security
Security certifications are held by 1,835 respondents with an average annual salary of $94,004, according to the survey.
These certifications are highly in demand, with IT decision-makers telling Global Knowledge that security is the top area of talent recruitment in 2015. In fact, the three top-paying certifications of 2015 -- Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), Certified Information Security Manager and Certified Information Systems Security Professional -- are all oriented around security.
IT security salaries range from $79,730 for CompTIA Security+ to more than $119,000 for ISACA's CRISC certification.
2. Microsoft
Microsoft certifications are held by 2,173 respondents with an average salary of $83,440, according to the survey.
The average salary for Microsoft certifications, though, is nearly $3,000 less than the average salary of all certified IT respondents. Microsoft certification salaries range from $71,367 for the Microsoft Office Specialist to $108,910 for the Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA).
Two versions of the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer -- one covering everything up to Windows 2003 and the other covering everything since then -- certification made the top 10 in the highest-paying salaries list.
1. CompTIA
CompTIA certifications are held by 2,314 respondents with an average salary of $73,963, according to Global Knowledge.
More than 38 percent of the certified survey respondents hold a CompTIA certification, with the average respondent holding two. Some 25 percent hold a CompTIA A+ certification (a broad-based foundational certificate), while 20 percent hold a Network+ certification and 15 percent hold a Security+ certification.
The average salary tends to be lower than other providers' certifications since most CompTIA certification are targeted toward introductory-level employees.
However, two CompTIA certifications – Cloud Essentially and CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) – trend above the average at $101,307 and $91,237, respectively.