2015 IT Skills & Salary Survey: Do IT Certifications Really Matter Anymore?

Bring up the topic of IT certifications, and there’s a good chance that it will incite some heated discussion. Are they worth the time and trouble? What’s the real value in terms of salary and career growth potential? Which ones matter most? Do any really matter when technology is changing more rapidly than ever before?

Based on the 2015 IT Skills & Salary Survey, certification does matter.

The 2015 IT Skills and Salary Survey was conducted online from Sept. 15 to Oct. 24, 2014. More than half a million survey invitations were sent to recipients from the databases of Global Knowledge, Windows IT Pro, and partner companies and organizations. More than 16,300 responses worldwide were returned, with 68 percent coming from the United States and Canada. This year’s survey is the eighth annual for Global Knowledge and the third in partnership with Windows IT Pro.

Three of four IT respondents reported that they had earned at least one certification in the last five years. Of this group, almost half (48 percent) had earned a certification in the last year.

CompTIA certifications are the most popular, with more than 38 percent of respondents saying they have one or more (with an average of two). Twenty-five percent hold a CompTIA A+ certification, 20 percent hold Network+, and 15 percent hold Security+.

Rounding out the top five most popular types of certification are:

·         Microsoft

·         Security

·         Cisco

·         ITIL

What certifications do you hold? What difference have they made in getting a job? Advancing in a job? Please let us know in the comments section below.