Dive Brief:
- Project managers are, on average, attaining project management professional (PMP) certifications later in their careers when compared to other, more technical, certifications, according to Skillsoft’s 2022 top-paying IT certifications data which surveyed 2,557 IT professionals. They also tend to hold fewer certifications than those with technology-oriented accreditations.
- By comparison, AWS certification holders have more certifications and are attaining them earlier in their careers. AWS Certified Big Data - Specialty holders, which have 14 certifications on average, earn them at the average age of 32.
- While two-thirds of PMP holders are managers, it's not the only way to reach upper-level roles. Nearly 9 in 10 of those with the AWS data certification are in management jobs, according to the report.
Technical certification holders are in management, too
Dive Insight:
Certifications are not only used by aspiring IT professionals to break into the field. Last year, more than 9 in 10 tech workers had at least one certification, according to the 2021 Skillsoft Global Knowledge IT skills and salary report.
Cloud and security certifications still reign supreme as the highest-paid certifications, a trend that’s solidified in recent years. AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional, Certified Information Security Managers and Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architects — the three highest-paid certifications — all earn yearly salaries of $160,000 on average.
PMP holders are the No. 7 highest-paid certifications holders, with average salaries of more than $148,000.
Individuals holding PMP certifications on average are 47-years-old. More than half earned the certification in the last year, according to the report.
“Although I cannot prove this, I suspect the ages among the top 15 [highest-paid certifications] certainly reflect[s] a few things,” Michael Yoo, customer market leader at Skillsoft, said in an email. “These are reasonably advanced skills and certifications that you would expect to be used by mid-level experienced technologists.”
Older IT pros don’t necessarily have the largest number of certs
Out of the top five, three translate to cloud architect roles, and the other two are used in security manager positions.
“Many current networking, infrastructure and operations professionals are making the transition from on-premise to cloud computing environments,” Yoo said.
