Latest stats by Global Knowledge show the 15 top-paying certifications in 2021. These are the skills that often lead to six-figure salaries.
The Global Knowledge list shows “the most in-demand skills and technology areas for organizations today and, crucially for employees, the average salaries associated with them”. Unsurprisingly, it reflects the current trends in the world of IT.
The most popular technology is the cloud. By far. Cloud-related certifications take the top 3 sports in the chart leading to highest annual salaries. They are:
Google Certified Professional Data Engineer — $171,749
This certification holder on average has 4 other certifications. These people are 39.1 years old on average and their most likely job role is Cloud Architect. Only 20% of them also hold a security certification so this might be a nice niche.
Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect — $169,029
The average certification-holder here is 40 years old and also has 4 other certifications. Their most likely job role is also Cloud Architect, but 24% of them have a cybersecurity certification.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate — $159,033
The average holder here is 40.7 years old and has 8 certifications. These people are also most likely cloud architects. On average 43% of them hold a cybersecurity certification , so the competition here is a bit more serious.
Right next to them are security certifications:
CRISC – Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control — $151,995
The average of these certification-holders is 48.1 years. These pros have 5 certifications on average and their most likely job role is CISO / CSO / ISO. Naturally all of them have at least one other cybersecurity certifications and 57% of them are in management.
CISSP – Certified Information Systems Security Professional — $151,853
People, who hold this certification, are 49.4 years old on average and hold 7 other skills. Most often their job role is in Information Security. 50% of them are in management.
More data
In the list of top 15 certifications we also see Microsoft products like Windows Server and Azure. There’s also VMware certifications, Cisco, Citrix and CompTIA security certifications.
The data comes from the Global Knowledge 2021 IT Skills and Salary Survey. It features the responses from more than 3700 US respondents. You can check out the full list here.
Naturally, you can expect that the interest from IT professionals towards those certifications. And courses for them will be in higher demand (not that that’s not already the case).
So, if you’re an IT instructor certified for those courses, you can expect more interest. You can join our Instructor Hub and increase the chances for more job opportunities with those and other courses.