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Here’s an exclusive profile of North American IT pros who hold a CompTIA’s Security+ certification. The data is from our global IT Skills and Salary Report so you won't find it anywhere else.
If you're not familiar with the certification, here's a Security+ overview.
Job functions and job titles that commonly hold the Security+ certification
- Cybersecurity Job Role
- Security Engineer or Analyst
- Information Security
- Security Manager or Director
- Infrastructure, Networking and Telecommunications
- Network Engineer / Analyst / Technician
- Network Administrator
- Technical Services Manager
- Service Desk and IT Support
- System Administrator
- Technical Support
- Desktop / PC Support
How many years of experience do you have in your career?
| Years of experience | % of respondents |
| <1 year | 2% |
| 1-5 years | 16% |
| 6-10 years | 20% |
| 11-15 years | 21% |
| 16-20 years | 16% |
| 21-25 years | 10% |
| 26+ years | 14% |
Average salary of a professionals who hold a Security+ certification
- 2020
- $101,769
- 2019
- $95,629
Average bonus
- $7,454.89
What are some of the primary factors that led to an increase in your base salary?
| Primary factors that led to a salary increase (select all that apply) | % of respondents |
| Performance in current job | 35% |
| Standard company increase | 27% |
| Obtained industry certification | 18% |
| Cost of living increase | 17% |
| Developed new skills that were of added value | 16% |
| Promotion and transfer to another company | 14% |
| Promotion within company | 12% |
| Lateral move to another company | 11% |
| Additional responsibilities in current position | 9% |
| New assignment in current company | 6% |
| Other (please specify): | 3% |
Job Security
- 50% feel “extremely good”
- 35% feel “somewhat good”
Job satisfaction
- 31% are extremely satisfied
- 42% are somewhat satisfied
Workplace challenges Security+ certified holders experience
| Challenges in the workplace (select all that apply) | % of respondents |
| Access to resources (i.e., budget, people) to help the organization achieve its goals | 35% |
| Unclear job roles and responsibilities | 35% |
| Workload | 35% |
| Lack of career development and growth opportunities | 33% |
| Employee morale | 31% |
| Developing team skills | 23% |
| Communication and working with supervisors | 23% |
| Executing with urgency and excellence | 22% |
| None | 10% |
| Other (please specify): | 7% |
What other certifications do Security+ certified professionals hold?
Time since last certification earned
- 0-6 months: 48%
- 7-12 months: 23%
- 1-2 years: 18%
- 3-5 years: 8%
- More than 5 years: 4%
Here are the top certification areas and certifications that CompTIA Security+ certified professionals hold
- Cisco
- CCNA Routing and Switching (now CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate)
- CCENT – Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician (now CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate)
- CCNA Security (now CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate)
- CCNP Routing and Switching (now CCNP Enterprise)
- ISACA
- CISM – Certified Information Security Manager
- CISA – Certified Information Systems Auditor
- CRISC – Certified in Risk and Information Systems
- Microsoft
- MCSA, MCSE, MCSD which have transitioned to job-role based certifications
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
- ITIL and IT Service Management
- ITIL Foundation
- ITIL Service Lifecycle: Service Operation
- (ISC)2
- CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional
- CCSP - Certified Cloud Security Professional
- EC-Council
- CEH – Certified Ethical Hacker
Certifications they are pursuing or plan to pursue
-
- 65% are actively pursuing a certification
- 35% plan to pursue one in the next 12 months
- 83% are pursuing a cybersecurity-related certification
Most popular certs being pursued
- CompTIA
- Network+
- A+
- Cisco
- CCNA Routing and Switching (now CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate)
- CCNA Security (now CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate)
- CCNP Routing and Switching (now CCNP Enterprise)
- Microsoft
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert
- Microsoft 365: Microsoft 365 Fundamentals
- AWS
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
- AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
- (ISC)2
- CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional