Pay premiums for non-certified technological skills rose to the highest level in 14 years, while IT certifications continued to decline in value.
The average premium paid for non-certified skills increased by 1.6% in the quarter. This represents an increase in the pay premium for a skill from approximately 9.35% to approximately 9.5% of the base salary.
Although the amount of the premiums paid varied widely according to qualifications, the first quarter of 2022 was predominantly for management, methodology, and process skills.
The skills include Alops, Azure Key Vault, big data analytics, complex event processing/event correlation, deep learning, DevSecOps, Google TensorFlow, MLOps, prescriptive analytics, PyTorch, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), security architecture and models, and site reliability engineering (SRE).
Architecture, project management, process, and information security remain the most valuable certification skills. However, certification skills are declining in the long-term.
Cisco Certified Architect remains the most lucrative certification, followed by Certified ScrumMaster, Zachman Certified Enterprise Architect and some cybersecurity qualifications such as Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP), EC-Council Certified Encryption Specialist (ECES), GIAC Security Expert (GSE), and GIAC Security Leadership (GSLC).