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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

In the realm of IT networking, if Cisco is the king, then Juniper Networks is maybe sort of like a rising duke or baron. A figure of elevated importance and prominence, if not yet the unchallenged face of the industry. Since its founding in 1996, Juniper has built a reputation based on the reliability of its products and strong customer support.

Juniper also has a thriving certification program, including the baseline credential that landed at No. 54 on this year's Salary Survey 75 list, Juniper Networks Certified Associate (JNCIA-Junos) Junos. The largest single block of survey respondents who hold the credential are from the United States: 37.1 percent of all JNCIA-Junos holders in the survey. We also heard from credential holders in 17 other countries: Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Romania, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

Among JNCIA-Junos holders in the United States, the average annual salary in 2016 was $111,420, with a median annual salary of $115,000. For those in all other nations, the average annual salary was $67,440, with a median annual salary of $55,000.

All but a handful of those surveyed are men (97.1 percent), so women pursuing JNCIA-Junos certification can expect to be pioneers, of a sort. We heard from almost no JNCIA-Junos holders either embarking into you adulthood (just 2.6 percent between the ages of 19 and 24) or approaching retirement (3 percent between the ages of 55 and 64). The "youngsters" of the group are between the ages of 25 and 34 (31.4 percent of those surveyed), while the largest segment are creeping up on the midlife crisis years between the ages of 35 and 44 (40.1 percent). The rest — 22.9 percent — are between the ages of 45 and 54.

The highest level of education attained by most JNCIA-Junos holders in the survey is either a bachelor's degree (42.8 percent) or master's degree (28.7 percent). Among the rest of the population, it's most common either to have stopped at a high school diploma (8.6 percent of respondents), or to have completed some level of technical training (also 8.6 percent).

A striking 94.3 percent of the JNCIA-Junos holders we surveyed are employed full-time, versus just 3.2 percent who are unemployed, and 2.5 percent who are employed part-time. Among those who hold full-time jobs, most have either a standard 40-hour work week (45.5 percent of those surveyed), or put in between 41 and 50 hours per week (33.3 percent). The outliers either work between 31 and 39 hours per week (15.2 percent) or more than 50 hours per week (6 percent).

When it comes to the company org chart, JNCIA-Junos holders are most likely to be found at the senior specialist level (60 percent of those surveyed), with an additional 20 percent one rung down as specialists, but just 3.7 percent below that who are rank-and-file employees. We did hear from a handful of JNCIA-Junos holders in leadership roles, most notably as either managers (8.7 percent of those surveyed) or senior managers (5.7 percent).

More than half (54.3 percent) of JNCIA-Junos holders are seasoned veterans, having worked in a role that directly utilizes their certified skills for more than 10 years, while an additional 25 percent have been in the game for either between 9 and 10 years (2.8 percent of those surveyed) or between 6 and 8 years (22.9 percent). Most of the rest are just settling in, with between 3 and 5 years of networking employment (14.1 percent).

Finally, here's the view of JNCIA-Junos 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: 62.8 percent
Several times a week: 28.6 percent
Several times a month: 8.6 percent
Occasionally: [No responses]
Rarely: [No responses]

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 40 percent
Agree: 45.7 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 11.4 percent
Disagree: 2.9 percent
Strongly Disagree: [No responses]

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 34.3 percent
Agree: 57.1 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 3.2 percent
Disagree: 3.2 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.2 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 31.4 percent
Agree: 48.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 11.4 percent
Disagree: 5.8 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.8 percent