In a provocatively headlined blog, TechRepublic Executive Editor Jason Hiner writes that "Cisco's CCIE is no longer the biggest cash cow of IT certification." According to the Web site's 2008 IT Skills and Salary Report conducted in association with training firm Global Knowledge, Cisco's highest accolade for network engineers is the fifth highest-earning certification for IT professionals, following PMI Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI Certified Associate in Project Management, ITIL v. 2 - Foundation, and (ISC)2's Certified Information Systems Security Professional.

It's difficult to say how much of a slip this is for the Cisco Certified Internet Expert certification as the survey, which you can download here (registration required), doesn't provide comparisons to previous years. But the results appear to gel with what we've been reporting in recent pasts - that employers are seeking IT pros with business-oriented certifications in such areas as project management and Six Sigma. According to the survey, PMPs command an average salary of $101,695, compared to $93,500 for a CCIE Routing & Switching expert. The Cisco Certified Voice Professional followed in sixth place, with an average salary of $88,600, while the highest paying Microsoft certification is the Microsoft Certified Solution Developer ($84,522), according to the survey.

Despite the many articles written about whether certifications are worth the time and investment given that bonus pay for non-certified skills are overtaking that of certified skills, 87% of the 7,193 IT professionals surveyed agreed that certifications are a worthwhile endeavor. This validates the top concern of IT professionals of keeping up with skills and quantifying their knowledge to employers, say the report's authors.

Other key findings from the report include:

* The average salary for 2008 was up 3.25% from the 2007 survey to $73,963. The average salary increase reported by the respondents slipped to 4% compared to 5% last year.

* The majority (47.1%) of respondents rated job stability as the No. 1 job satisfaction factor, followed by higher base compensation (44.9%), challenging job role (32.9%), and considerations of personal/family needs (31.6%). The least important factors for job satisfaction were stock options (cited by 2.2% as a satisfaction factor), profit sharing (4.5%), and the company having an entrepreneurial environment (6.3%).

Jon Brodkin is senior writer at Network World.