Tech professionals need to carefully consider a number of factors before attaining a new certification or re-certifying an existing certification, based on data reported in the latest IT Skills and Certifications Pay Index from Foote Partners, LLC.
That’s because the average market value for 479 tech certifications declined 1.2 percent overall during the first quarter of 2019. Worse, the premium that employers are willing to pay for specific certified skills is near its lowest overall average cash-value point in five years, noted David Foote, Foote Partners’ chief analyst.
“Many older certifications are still paying premiums, but we are learning that the value of certifications—especially those supporting vendor-specific technologies—have ‘expiration dates,’” Foote explained.
Conversely, the cash premiums (or guaranteed bonus above base salary) that employers are willing to pay for the 554 non-certified skills tracked by the firm is now near a 19-year high.
Here’s a look at the non-certified tech skills that have gained the most in market value through the first part of 2019, and the certified skills that are still commanding above average pay.
Non-Certified Winners
If your paycheck could use a boost, consider adding one or more of the following skills to your technical toolkit. These non-certified skills not only logged steep gains in market value over the six-month period ending April 1—they are garnering premium pay of 16 percent or more of base salary.
Big Data Analytics
Although the marketplace for the entire category of Big Data skills has been surprisingly volatile, with 38 skills changing value in the first quarter, Big Data analytics skills and certifications have increased in value every quarter for the past two years.
Apache Pig
Market Value Increase: 21.4 percent
Average Pay Premium: 17 percent of base salary
Scala
Market Value Increase: 13.3 percent
Average Pay Premium: 17 percent of base salary
Metadata Design and Development
Security Architecture and Model
Market Value Increase: 6.3 percent
Average Pay Premium: 17 percent of base salary
Master Data Management
Market Value Increase: 14.3 percent
Average Pay Premium: 16 percent of base salary
Smart Contract
Blockchain
Blockchain has gained traction over the past few years, with major firms such as IBM, Microsoft, HP and SAP making significant investments (and rolling out blockchain-as-as-service solutions).
Apache Hive
Market Value Increase: 6.7 percent
Average Pay Premium: 16 percent of base salary
Risk Analytics/Assessment
Market Value Increase: 6.7 percent
Average Pay Premium: 16 percent of base salary
Tech Certifications Bucking the Trend
Another reason why certifications lost 3.3 percent of their value in the last twelve months: Employers are finding that simply passing a test doesn’t always translate to on-the-job success.
To protect your certification investment, select programs that include hands-on activities and labs, skills assessments and so forth, Foote advised. Also, make sure to confer your expertise by offering employers examples of your work, code samples and portfolios. “Think carefully before re-certifying older certs that could be retired soon,” he added.
Also, as more tech professionals become certified, there is an increase in supply, so the value of a popular certification may actually drop.
The following certifications (listed by category) are bucking the trend, having increased between 10 percent and 33 percent in cash market value in the last six months (and continuing to earn premium pay):
Project Management:
PMI Program Management Professional (PgMP)
Average Premium Pay: 16 percent of base salary
Applications Development:
Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP)
Average Premium Pay: 15 percent of base salary
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer-Professional
Average Premium Pay: 11 percent of base salary
Info/Cyber Security:
Information Systems Security Engineering Professional (ISSEP/CISSP)
Information Systems Security Management Professional (ISSMP/CISSP)
Average Pay Premium: 15 percent of base salary
Certified Forensic Computer Examiner (CFCE)
Average Pay Premium: 15 percent of base salary
EC-Council Certified Incident Handler (ECIH)
Average Pay Premium: 14 percent of base salary
GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst (GCIA)
Average Pay Premium: 12 percent of base salary
GIAC Exploit Researcher and Advanced Penetration Tester (GXPN)
Average Pay Premium: 12 percent of base salary
Business Analysis:
Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)
Average Pay Premium: 12 percent of base salary
Biggest Tech Certification Losers
The following certs recorded the largest market value losses (ranging from 22.5 to 42.9 percent) in the six months ending April 1, 2019, and are currently paying average-to-below average premiums of 4 percent to 9 percent of base salary.
HP ATP - Cloud Administrator V1
HP ASE - Vertica Big Data Solutions Administrator V1
HP ATP - Big Data Vertica Solutions V1
EMC Information Storage Associate
CWNP/Certified Wireless Network Administrator
CSX Cybersecurity Practitioner
Open Group Certified Architect
EC-Council Certified Security Analyst
Oracle Certified Associate - Java SE Programmer
EMC Technology Architect - Specialist
HDI Customer Service Representative
NetApp Certified Data Administrator, ONTAP
SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9
Certified Healthcare Information Security and Privacy Practitioner (ISC2)
SolarWinds Certified Professional
VMware Certified Advanced Professional – Network
VMware Certified Professional 6.5 - Data Center Virtualization
Cisco Certified Network Associate – CyberOps
EMC Technology Architect - Expert
SAS Certified Advanced Programmer for SAS 9
