Salary Survey Extra: Deep Focus on CompTIA Project+
Posted on
December 6, 2019
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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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

It doesn't have the same profile as some project management certs, but CompTIA's Project+ will get you in the field.

The world of IT project management certification is dominated by the PMI's Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. There is, however, a hardy David to PMP's hulking Goliath — the Project+ certification (No. 57 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list) managed by tech industry association CompTIA is a rising star in the project management arena.

Here's what the salary picture looks like for Project+ holders who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $92,930
Median Annual Salary: $87,500
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 9 percent
Very Satisfied: 17.9 percent
Satisfied: 42.3 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 21.8 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 9 percent

CompTIA's certification program does have global reach, but all but a handful of the Project+ holders that we heard from live and work in the United States. Most of them are also men (92.4 percent of those surveyed), though we did hear from a small number female credential holders.

There's a fairly even distribution of the Salary Survey's Project+ holders across the age spectrum, with nearly 40 percent of all survey participants on the leading edge of the curve, either between the ages of 25 and 34 (11.5 percent of respondents) or between the ages of 35 and 44 (28.2 percent). The biggest single group of Project+ holders are between the ages of 45 and 54 (37.2 percent of those surveyed), with 20.5 percent between the ages of 55 and 64, and the rest (2.6 percent) between the ages of 65 and 74.

Nearly 85 percent of the Project+ holders who responded to the survey have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of education completed by most Project+ holders is either a bachelor's degree (39.7 percent of respondents), master's degree (29.5 percent), associate's degree (11.5 percent), professional degree (2.6 percent), or doctorate (1.3 percent). The outliers are the 7.7 percent of respondents who completed some level of technical training after high school and the identically sized (7.7 percent) group who are currently in school.

A remarkable 98.8 percent of Project+ holders who participated in the survey are employed full-time, with the remaining 1.2 percent holding part-time jobs. Among those who have full-time jobs, most are punching the clock either for the standard 40 hours per week (50 percent of those surveyed) or for between 41 and 50 hours per week (41.1 percent). The rest are at the office for either more than 50 hours per week (5.1 percent of respondents) or between 31 and 39 hours per week (3.8 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Project+ holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (39.2 percent of respondents). The rest, in descending order, are either specialists (17.7 percent of those surveyed), managers (16.5 percent), rank-and-file employees (10.1 percent), senior managers (also 10.1 percent), or directors (6.4 percent).

A notable 59.4 percent of the Project+ holders who responded to the survey are IT veterans, having worked in a role the directly utilizes one or more of their certified skills for more than a decade. The rest have been plying their certified skills for either between zero years (1 to 11 months) and 2 years (11.4 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (12.7 percent), between 6 and 8 years (15.2 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (1.3 percent).

Finally, here's the view of Project+ holders on key questions from the survey about how certification impacts job performance:

At my current job I use skills learned or enhanced through certification:
Several times a day: 51.9 percent
Several times a week: 30.5 percent
Several times a month: 5.1 percent
Occasionally: 6.3 percent
Rarely: 6.3 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 41.8 percent
Agree: 30.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 22.8 percent
Disagree: 1.2 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.8 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 31.6 percent
Agree: 41.8 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21.5 percent
Disagree: 1.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.8 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 29.1 percent
Agree: 38 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 24 percent
Disagree: 3.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 5.1 percent

PAST PROJECT+ DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2017

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