ComputerWorld: Certifications pay finally succumbs to IT economy

Overall certification pay the first half of 2003 was down 4.1% in the first six months of 2003, and nearly 6% over the previous 12 month. Foote Partners LLC tracks 35,000 IT professionals in 66 North American cities and nine European countries.

Leading the decline in certifications premium pay in 2003 were webmaster/Internet certifications, down 13% in the first six months of 2003 and 21% in the past 12 months; database certifications, down 6.5% in 2003 and 14.7% from mid-2002; and beginner certifications such as Microsoft Certified Professional, Certified Computing Professional and A+, down 13.6% so far this year and 14% in the past 12 months. Still strong in 2003 are popular project management, security and systems administrations/engineering and network operating systems certs, which have on average increased in value 6.7%, 2.3% and 1.5% respectively in the past 12 months.