ISACA certifications are surging in market value as employers clamor for well-qualified technology professionals, according to new certification pay trend data. CRISC, CGEIT certifications show particularly strong momentum
ISACA’s Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) certification commanded a median pay premium equivalent to 13 percent of base salary in the third quarter of 2016, gaining 18.2 percent in market value for the same period, according to the IT Skills and Certifications Pay Index, which has been published and updated quarterly since 1999 by Foote Partners, LLC. The CRISC certification demonstrates an ability to understand business risk and the technical knowledge to implement appropriate information system controls.
ISACA’s Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT) also garnered higher pay premiums than past quarters. The pay index shows 20 percent market value growth in the past three months for CGEIT, which recognizes professionals for their knowledge and application of enterprise IT governance principles and practices.
Many employers are willing to pay cash premiums to tech workers who possess high-value tech certifications, according to David Foote, chief analyst at Foote Partners. The premiums are one way employers are coping with tech labor market volatility. Certification pay premiums provide built-in flexibility to react quickly to sudden changes in local market pay levels for hot areas like information security.
“ISACA certifications are doing extremely well right now,” Foote said. “As a group they have gained 15.3 percent in cash market value in the last six months compared to nearly 8 percent growth in pay across all security-related certifications. Top performers most recently are the CRISC and CGEIT certifications.”
Security certifications posted the highest gains among all certifications categories in the latest survey report, which is based on data from 3,000 US and Canadian employers. The CSX Practitioner (CSXP) certification, a vendor-neutral, performance-based certification for cybersecurity professionals, was recognized as the top professional certification program in the 2016 SC Magazine Awards.
“ISACA’s CSXP certification just appeared for the first time in our research results, earning between 9 percent and 14 percent of base salary in cash premium – very strong numbers for a relatively new certification,” Foote said. “Demand is very strong in general right now for cybersecurity-related certifications, and ISACA’s entrant reflects this trend.”
ISACA’s Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and CISM certifications were named top certification program finalists last week in the 2017 SC Magazine Awards.
