Salary Survey Extra is a series of dispatches that give added insight into the findings of our annual Salary Survey. These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

Sometimes we expend a fair amount of words attempting to illuminate or clarify whatever raw data we have to share in these Salary Survey deep dives. And sometimes it's simpler or more, ahem, satisfying (for you and us both) when we stand aside and let the focus be on long columns of numbers.

We used this space last week to expand on the initial and limited findings about salary satisfaction that appeared in our January print edition. This week, we're taking a page from the "Are you certain about that, professor" annals by examining whether certified IT professionals who responded to our most recent Salary Survey express greater salary satisfaction on account of having, er, greater salary.

Put more simply, are people who have a relatively high annual income figure more likely to be satisfied with that amount than people who earn smaller salaries? Most people's immediate reaction would be that of course people who earn big money are going to happier with their paychecks than people who earn less.

On the other hand, one should never underestimate the basic human capacity for wanting more of a good thing. It's true that certified IT professionals with low salaries are generally more likely to express dissatisfaction than their higher-paid peers. As you'll see, however, that's not all there is to it. Once we get past the entry-level salary ranges, people have feelings across the spectrum.

What we've done below is cross reference salary and salary satisfaction. At the far right of the table from each listed salary range is the percentage of all survey respondents whose income falls within that range. The percentage figure under each salary satisfaction column is the number of individuals who a) are in that salary bracket, and b) expressed that level of salary satisfaction, as a percentage of all survey respondents in that salary bracket.

You'll also notice that this is just a reckoning of U.S.-based certified IT professionals. We'll probably circle back at some point to paint the same picture of non-U.S. respondents.
‍

‍