Certifications matter

Do you want a salary increase? Be better at what you do. IT professionals earned an average of $ 5,000 more in 2019 compared to 2018. The main reason? Workplace performance. The development of skills and their transposition into work has led to salary increases. Professional development makes the difference that helps increase your earnings.

–  85% of IT professionals worldwide have at least one certification, and over half of them have been obtained in the last 12 months;

 – 66% intend to obtain a new certification this year. Technical professionals still see the value in certifications and pursue them in various categories and technologies, according to ANIS.

Nearly 250 IT professionals explained in the open-field section of the survey why they received a salary increase, according to the ANIS study “2019 IT Skills and Salary Report Salary and Certifications”

Here are some of their comments:

• “I wanted to go to another company, but I received another offer from the one I was working for”;

• “I got a new certification”;

• “Change of salary to be in line with the competitive market”;

• “Graduation of a master”;

• “My company was bought”;

• “I moved from a permanent position to a contracted position in another company”;

• “I asked for it” etc.

In addition to executives, the highest salaries globally are in cloud computing ($ 115,889 / year), IT architecture and design ($ 98,580 / year), project and program management ($ 98,344 / year) and cybersecurity ($ 97,322 / year).

Switzerland dominates in terms of European salaries, with an average of $ 136,301 / year. Norway has the second highest salary ($ 97,525 / year), followed by Germany ($ 95,456 / year), the United Kingdom ($ 88,575 / year), Ireland ($ 86,663 / year) and France ($ 85,475 / year). Romania has an average salary of 34,006 dollars / year.

Certification, one of the most important criteria for obtaining a salary increase

The global average of IT specialists who hold at least one certification is 85%.

96% of IT professionals in the Asia-Pacific region have at least one certification, 93% in Latin America and 87% in EMEA. North America (81%) is the only region below the global average.

Of the 85%, more than half have obtained the most recent certification in the last 12 months, while 66% are already preparing to obtain another or intend to do so at some point this year. Certifications require an investment of time and money, but a large part of IT professionals do not hesitate to obtain them because they understand how much they represent and what benefits they bring.

Certifications – an asset for both employee & employer

IT professionals claim that a new certification comes with better efficiency and productivity at work, not just a higher salary.

– 52% claim that they are more often asked for expertise within the company;

– 45% implemented more efficient working methods;

– 43% are faster at work;

– 23% claim that the development of products or services has been faster.

Specifically, certified professionals manage to learn new skills, to meet customer requirements, being more productive, to reduce the time to complete a task and to complete projects faster.

In which areas can you obtain certifications

The highest salaries are in the field of cloud computing, AWS and Google Cloud, regardless of the region. Business architecture (eg TOGAF) is also associated with top salaries, ranking first in the EMEA and the Asia-Pacific regions, and second worldwide. The most popular certifications are in the fields of cybersecurity, governance, compliance and policy.