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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

There are a number of different project management certifications that have a hand-in-glove fit with various IT careers. CompTIA Project+ (No. 62 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list) is not the best known of those options, but it does have a strong reputation and can prepare you to join the rapidly expanding ranks of IT project managers worldwide.

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

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $82,040
Median Annual Salary: $76,880
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 6.7 percent
Very Satisfied: 16.9 percent
Satisfied: 30.3 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 32.6 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 13.5 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 (85.1 percent of those surveyed), though we did hear from a largish contingent of female credential holders. Generally speaking, the pool of credential holders is somewhat youthful, with 15.7 percent of respondents between the ages of 25 and 34 and 49.4 percent between the ages of 35 and 44. That leaves about a third of those surveyed cruising toward retirement, either between the ages of 45 and 54 (25.8 percent), between the ages of 55 and 64 (5.6 percent) or between the ages of 65 and 74 (3.4 percent).

More than 70 percent of 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 (39.3 percent of those surveyed), master's degree (13.5 percent), associate's degree (15.7 percent), or doctorate (2.2 percent). The outliers are the 7.9 percent of respondents who rounded out their formal education by completing some level of technical training after high school, the 4.5 percent who exited the realm of formal education after getting a high school diploma, and the 16.9 percent who are currently students engaged at some level in furthering their educational pursuits.

There's a strongly positive employment outlook for Project+ holders: 94.7 percent of survey respondents are employed full-time, 2.1 percent have part-time jobs, 2.1 percent are full-time students, and the remaining 1.1 percent are currently enjoying some form of sabbatical. Among those who have full-time jobs, most are at work either between 41 and 50 hours per week (39.3 percent of those surveyed) or for the standard 40 hours per week (50.7 percent). The rest are punching the clock for either more than 50 hours per week (5.6 percent of respondents), between 31 and 39 hours per week (2.2 percent), between 20 and 30 hours per week (1.1 percent), or for fewer than 20 hours per week (1.1 percent).

More than 80 percent of those surveyed are (or were, pre-COVID 19) spending most of those hours in a traditional workplace, working at home either 10 or fewer hours per week (68.6 percent) or between 10 and 20 hours (12.4 percent). After that, there's a little bit of everything: 2.2 percent work between 21 and 30 hours per week from home, 4.4 percent work between 31 and 39 hours per week from home, and 12.4 percent work 40 hours per week from home.

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of Project+ holders we heard from are employed at the senior specialist level (33 percent of those surveyed). The rest, in descending order, are either specialists (23.4 percent of respondents), managers (20.2 percent), rank-and-file employees (15.9 percent), directors (4.3 percent), senior managers (2.1 percent), or executives (1.1 percent).

A core 39.4 percent of the Project+ holders who responded to the survey are IT veterans, having worked in a role the directly utilizes 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 (20.2 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (19.1 percent), between 6 and 8 years (11.7 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (9.6 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: 44.7 percent
Several times a week: 23.4 percent
Several times a month: 12.8 percent
Occasionally: 10.6 percent
Rarely: 8.5 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 21.3 percent
Agree: 38.3 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 27.7 percent
Disagree: 7.4 percent
Strongly Disagree: 5.3 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 22.3 percent
Agree: 40.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21.3 percent
Disagree: 12.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 20.2 percent
Agree: 39.4 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 26.6 percent
Disagree: 8.5 percent
Strongly Disagree: 5.3 percent

PAST COMPTIA PROJECT+ DEEP FOCUS FEATURES

2019

2017