We all have certain financial commitments, and while we all want to do a job that fulfills us, we also have to make a living. This is why I always like to keep an eye on salary surveys, such as the latest one carried out by Global Knowledge.

Please note that they have excluded some exclusive certifications, such as Cisco CCIE and VMware expert exams, so don’t let the fact that the top paying certs appear to be non-technical put you off. Expert certifications, such as the CCIE, can command huge salaries, so please bear this in mind when reading the results. Things like geography and experience will also affect salaries, as well as security clearance, etc.

It’s very interesting to note the emergence of auditing and compliance certifications. Bear in mind that many of these require you to show you have been carrying out this role for several years and may not even offer an exam certification route (you need to demonstrate competence instead).

I’m really pleased to see the Cisco CCDA high up. I actually did a blog post about that wonderful certification recently.

1) Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC): $119k. This certification is aimed at project managers with several years experience in managing risks.

2) Certified Information Security Manager (CISM): $118k. This certification is aimed more at managers than engineers and looks at policies over implementation.

3) Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP): $110k. The exam covers 10 core areas and requires you to have five or more years full-time experience.

4) Project Management Professional (PMP®): $109k. To take this certification, you need a degree and over 4,500 hours experience or no degree and 7,500 hours experience .

5) Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA): $106k. This certification is for those with five or more years IS auditing experience.

6) Certified ScrumMaster: $101k. This is another project management certification, but you have to attend an approved course to become qualified.

7) Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA): $99k. This is one of my favorite certifications, and yet few people seem to take it, which explains the high salary.

8) Citrix Certified Professional – Virtualization (CCP-V): $98k. This certification requires you to pass other exams first and is a replacement for the Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer (CCEE).

9) Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Routing and Switching: $97,038. This is a very highly respected technical exam from Cisco. You can nail this with around 6 months hard work.

10) Juniper Networks Certified Internet Associate – Junos (JNCIA-Junos): $96,734. Juniper is a strong contender to Cisco systems, but few people have heard of it, which gives you leverage if you plan to certify.

11) Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE): $96,198. The MCSE has been around for many years now and is still highly regarded.

12) ITIL v3 Foundation: $95,434. I also posted about this recently. Understanding ITIL gives you a massive benefit in the workplace.

13) Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH): $95k. One of the top hacking certifications.

14) VMware Certified Professional – Data Center Virtualization (VCP-DCV): $94k. This entry level virtualization certification is considered the benchmark.

15) Certified Novell Engineer (CNE): $93k. I have no idea how this made it onto the list!

Bear in mind that not all certifications have been covered in the survey. Global Knowledge included many non-technical certifications, and some could be on the dry side if you are a hands on sort of person (I don’t think I could personally be an auditor).

Here is the full article if you want to check it out:

http://snip.ly/6Dpb

Have Fun.

Paul Browning

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