Certification Makes Big Difference In Pay

	DUAL CERTIFICATION OFTEN MEANS BIGGER BONUSES (Median value of bonuses)
	Certification(s)	1999	1998	%change
	MCP and A	$11,600	$6,000	93.3
	MCSE and CNE	$6,700	$5,000	34.0
	MCP only	$6,500	$4,600	41.3
	MCSE only	$6,200	$4,600	34.7
	MCSE and CCNA	$6,100	$4,800	27.1
	CNE only	$5,500	$4,200	30.9
	A++only	$5,500	$4,500	22.2
	BASE: 70 TO 80 REPONDENTS IN EACH CATEGORY SOURCE: 2000 CRN SALARY SURVEY

In addition, most of the technical staff surveyed, regardless of the level of certification, saw significant increases in compensation last year, considerably higher than the 2.4 percent rate of inflation.

To specifically address the questions of whether certifications still matter in light of ongoing labor shortages, and how much additional certifications mean in terms of additional compensation, CRN surveyed technical staff on the basis of the certifications they hold.

This is a marked change from previous versions of the CRN Salary Survey, where technical staff were surveyed on the basis of job description, such as systems engineer or senior support technician.

Seven different combinations of certifications were surveyed, chosen because they are the ones most likely to be encountered in the field or are the ones most heavily promoted by vendors.

At the single certification levels, these include individuals with the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) rating, the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) rating, the Certified Novell Engineer (CNE) rating and the CompTIA PC Technician certification (A ) rating.

Three different combinations of certifications also were surveyed. These include the MCP and A++together, the MCSE and CNE together, and the MCSE and Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) together.

"Candidates that have certifications have a tremendous advantage over those that don't," said Debbie Waters, director of operations at Foreshock Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based Web integrator.

Looking collectively at the 562 technical personnel CRN surveyed, the median level of total compensation reached $58,000 in 1999, compared with $54,000 in 1998, an increase of 7.4 percent.

The highest median level of compensation last year, $66,750, was among technical staff with MCP and the A++certifications. These individuals also realized a solid 7.7 percent increase in the median compensation level, more than three times the rate of inflation.

Technical personnel with MCSE and CCNA certifications were next, with a median compensation of $65,000 in 1999. This was up 12.1 percent from the previous year, the second largest percentage gain in compensation among the levels CRN surveyed.

Personnel with CNE and MCSE certifications followed, with a median compensation level of $60,500 last year. These individuals saw a much smaller gain in compensation in 1999, compared with the other two multiple certification categories.

Although the dollar value of their compensation levels was lower, technical personnel with only one certification also saw significant increases in compensation last year, again far outstripping the rate of inflation in most cases. Those with an MCSE certification have the highest level of compensation, $58,700 in 1999, among four single-certification categories CRN surveyed. Moreover, compensation increased 4.8 percent last year, double the rate of inflation.

Individuals with an A++certification saw their median level of compensation jump from $47,000 in 1998 to $50,000 in 1999, a healthy 6.4 percent increase.

The largest percentage gain among any of the technical staff surveyed was reserved for those with the MCP rating. Median compensation jumped from $45,000 in 1998 to $52,500 in 1999, an increase of 16.6 percent.

The fact that the dollar value of total compensation is higher for individuals with two certifications compared with those with a single certification is not surprising. What is interesting, however, is just how significant the differences in compensation can be.

A prime example is the case where a technical staff person with an existing A++certification decides to add the MCP certification. As the accompanying chart shows, the median level of compensation for an individual with both certifications is $66,750, while for the A++certification alone median compensation is $50,000. This represents an additional $16,750, or a whopping 33.5 percent increase, in compensation for adding this MCP certification.

The results are similar for the case where an individual with an existing MCP certification adds the A++certification. For those technical staff with the MCP certification, the median level of compensation is $52,000. But for those with both the MCP and A++certifications, median compensation leaps to $66,750, a difference of $14,750, or 28.3 percent.

Adding the CCNA certification to an existing MCSE certification adds $6,300, or about 11 percent, to the value of total compensation, according to the survey's data. With the combination of the two, a technician not only can work on a company's internal network, he or she can now integrate this network into the Internet, which opens up big new service opportunities for solution providers, especially among their small-business clients.

Adding the MCSE certification to an existing CNE certification adds $4,500, or 8 percent, to the total compensation. Once again, the ability to service Microsoft-based as well as Novell-based systems gives technicians and their employers an advantage over technical staff with only one of these certifications, an edge that solution providers find worth paying for.

Of course, these results cover only a few of the combinations of certifications that can be put together.

These trends apply not only to total compensation, but to its components as well

Bonuses, for example, are an important factor in keeping qualified technical personnel from jumping to a competitor. The survey results show that not only did the value of bonuses increase sharply last year, but that for the most part the largest bonuses (in dollar terms) went to individuals with more than one certification.

Those with both MCP and A++certifications, for example, saw the median value of their bonus reach $11,600 last year, well above the figure for any of the other combinations. These individuals also received by far the largest percentage increase in their bonus. Technicians with both MCSE and CNE certifications received the second highest bonus last year, a median figure of $6,700.

The survey data also lay rest to the notion in some circles that certifications no longer matter in today's world of technology, where 16-year-old "propeller heads" can be found doing technical work. Experience is one thing, but certification validates experience.

More importantly, using a certified technician means the work, whether installation or service, will be done to industry standards, not haphazardly or with "just what works." This is an important fact for businesses of all sizes to consider when it comes time for their increasingly complex IT systems to be expanded or for service work to be done.

The survey data reveal that most technical staff interviewed by CRN were satisfied with their overall total compensation package in 1999, despite the wide variation in compensation levels and increases.

Among all 526 individuals surveyed, 55 percent said they were either completely satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their compensation last year, while another 27 percent were neutral on the subject. The remaining 18 percent were either somewhat or completely dissatisfied, slightly higher than for managers but lower than for salespeople.

This trend extended to the seven different combinations CRN surveyed. It should be noted, however, that the level of satisfaction was higher among technicians with two certifications rather than one (especially those with the MCSE and CNE ratings, and with the MCP and A++ratings), which also tend to be the people that receive the highest levels of compensation.

Another reason for this result is suggested by a CRN spot survey of 150 solution providers conducted in February. The data show that in many cases the solution providers themselves are footing the bill for the additional training their technical staff needs to get these additional certifications.

Why are solution providers doing this? It is not only to expand the capabilities of their personnel as their businesses grow, but as an incentive to keep experienced and qualified technical people from jumping ship. Such an incentive has almost become a necessity under current market conditions, where the demand for qualified personnel continues to outpace supply.

According to the February survey, 70 percent of solution providers are paying at least part of the cost of additional training for their technical staff. And in many cases, this training is not cheap. For example, a CNE certification might cost in the range of $12,000, with a similar figure for the MCSE certification.

Certification training can be costly, but it is a "necessary evil," said John Beagle, chief executive of integrator Computer Service Now, Middletown, Ohio.

"It is not really a good strategy since we lose maybe 50 percent of the people that go through the [certification] process to other employers," Beagle said. "But without it, we would have no basis to decide if an individual had the right core competencies."

Cisco-certified technicians are the most difficult to keep, Beagle said.

Not only are solution providers paying the cost of training, they also are offering other incentives to keep their technical staff on board. Sixty-two percent of those responding to the February survey are offering periodic bonuses, and more than a third are offering additional vacation time or personal days.

"People who get their certifications from us also get the higher raise and bonuses during the year," said Pete Melomo, senior vice president of research at TIS Worldwide, a New York-based Web integrator. "They are the people we want to keep. Also, they get the opportunities to work on the best projects, the ones that push the technology envelope," Melomo said.

It is worth emphasizing once again, however, that these escalating employee costs are negatively impacting the bottom line for integrators and solution providers.

"Salaries are choking us, squeezing our margins and making it more difficult for us to hire qualified people," said Computer Service Now's Beagle. CRN