Pay perks for certification

Premium pay for IT certifications held steady between the second and third quarters of 2002, according to the results of a report from IT workforce research firm Foote Partners.

Based on data collected from more than 29,600 IT workers, the Quarterly Hot Technical Skills and Certifications Pay Index shows that IT certification holders commanded an average bonus of 8.1% of base salary.

Project management topped the list in terms of bonus percentages, reaping an average 15% of bonus pay in the third quarter of 2002. Databases, too, were popular, bringing in a pay premium of 10.7%, which was down from 11.3% in the second quarter of 2002.

Once again, security certifications were also stellar performers, commanding bonuses of 8.8% on average. In particular, the hottest security certifications included GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst (12%) and GIAC Certified Incident Handler and Certified Information Systems Security Professional, both at 10%. Coming in at 9% in bonus pay were GIAC Systems and Network Auditor, GIAC Certified Firewall Analyst, and Certified Information Systems Auditor.

General IT certifications maintained the status quo at 5.5% from the second to third quarter, while Webmaster/internetworking certifications held steady at 8.3% and systems/network operating system held tight at 7.5%.

Declining slightly was network management, from 9.0% down to 8.7%. Network management dropped to 8.7%, as compared to 9% in the second quarter. And application development/programming languages slipped to 6.9% from 7.1% in the previous quarter.

For more information about the report, go to Foote Partners’ Web site at http://www.footepartners.com