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Do you know how much you should be making? If you are certified or considering a certification in IT, you may be wondering what kind of return you can expect on your investment. Although it is difficult to pin down exact figures, there are several resources available that will give you a good idea of how much you should (or could) be earning. Salary surveys on the web abound as professionals scramble to keep on top of the current events in technology.

Facts and Figures

One thing that stands out in all of the surveys I have encountered is that despite the economic pounding that everyone is taking, certified IT professionals still command an impressive price.

While the formerly soaring IT industry has been hit hard by the recession and MCSE's can expect to earn as much as 20% less, they still bring in a commendable average of $57,300, according to MCPmag. Likewise, based on the 2002 CRN Salary Survey, "certified technicians earn more than their non-certified counterparts, with double-digit percentage differences being the rule." TCPmag asserts that the average household income is $49,252 while the average Cisco certificant pulls in $64,000.

Based on CRN's survey, the difference in compensation between certified and non-certified professionals is significant. For example:

• A CCIE Earns $26,000 more than the non-certified counterpart.
  
• A Sun Developer for Java earns $22,550 more than a non-certified developer.
• IBM Websphere certifications command $22,500 more in salary.

Two other factors in how much your salary will increase as a result of a certification are the size of your organization and your location. Larger solution providers pay an average of 8% more and if you live on the west coast, add another 2.9%.

So What Are You Worth?

The following salary estimates are taken from several surveys and offer information gleaned from last year and projected for this year. Check out the individual surveys for more information on how the numbers were calculated.

Cisco	Microsoft	Oracle
CCIE - $99,000	MCSA - $46,000	OCP - $77,480
CCNA - $67,000	MCSE (NT) - $59,800	Oracle DBA - $74,400 (MCPmag)
CCDP - $85,000	MCDBA - $69,300	Oracle 8.i Administration - $69,563
CCNP - $77,000	MCT - $70,600
(taken from TCPmag.com)	(taken from MCPmag)
IBM Lotus (2001)	CompTIA	Java
CLS - $68,000	Linux+ - $72,300	Sun Certified Programmer for Java - $74,100 MCPmag
CLP - $85,000	Network+ - $50,400
PCLP - $87,000	Server+ - $59,500
CLI - $92,000
(taken from IBM)	(taken from MCPmag)

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