Survey Reveals 15 Top-Paying IT Certifications For 2015

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

A report from Global Knowledge highlights the top-paying IT certifications. IT security, networking, and systems management are at the top of the certification pay scale, while business-related certifications are still holding their own on this year's list. The rankings are based on the 2015 IT Skills and Salary Survey conducted by Global Knowledge and Windows IT Pro in the fall of 2014.

According to Global Knowledge, the rankings were “derived from certifications that received the minimum number of responses to be statistically relevant.” Although there are certifications that pay more, they might not be represented because of the low numbers of certificate holders. 

Here is the list of the top 15 certificates, with the average salary:

1. Certified in Risk and information System Control (CRISC), $119,227
2. Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), $118, 348
3. Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP),  $110,603
4. Project Management Professional (PMP), $109,405
5. Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA),  $106,181
6. Certified ScrumMaster, $101,729
7. Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA), $99,701
8. Citrix Certified Professional —Virtualization (CCP-V),  $97,998
9. Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Routing and Switching, $97,038
10. Juniper Networks Certified Internet Associate — Junos (JNCIA-Junos),  $96,734
11. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), $96,198
12. ITIL v3 Foundation, $95,434
13. Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), $95,155
14. VMware Certified Professional – Data Center Virtualization (VCP-DCV), $94,181
15. Certified Novell Engineer (CNE), $93,856

Global Knowledge also listed the next certifications on the top-paying list, which just missed the Top 15 due to a low total number of responses or an average (mean) pay just outside the threshold. They are Citrix Certified Advanced Administrator (CCAA) for XenApp6, $93,831; Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer (CCEE), $93,662; Citrix Certified Associate – Virtualization (CCA-V), $93,437; Citrix Certified Administrator (CCA) for Citrix XenServer6, $92,695; CCA for Citrix XenDesktop 6, $92,411; Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP): Enterprise Administrator,  $92,252; CCA for Citrix XenApp6, $91,069; Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA), $89,427; Certified Novell Administrator (CAN), $89,018; and Microsoft Certified Administrator (MCSA), $87,667.

Global Knowledge also awarded an “honorable mention” to the AWS Certified Solutions Architect — Associate Certificate, with an average salary of $114,935, a relatively new certification that debuted in mid-2013. Although the certificate did not garner enough responses to qualify for the Top 15 list, the salaries of those who did respond make it a reputable certificate worthy of attention.

Visit the Global Knowledge site to read more about each of the 15 Top-Paying Certificates.

To compare 2015’s results to 2014’s see “Top-Paying Certifications In IT.”