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More Salary Survey

Base Income and Bonuses CCNA Numbers Work Perks CCNP Numbers Picking up the Tab and Making It Pay What Cisco Professionals Think of Their Prospects The Price and Means of Certification Satisfaction A Hiring Manager Talks about Cisco Skills and Salaries Future Prospects Demographics CCDA Numbers CCDP Numbers CCIE, Routing & Switching Numbers Cisco Security Specialist Numbers Cisco IP Telephony Specialist Numbers Are You Self-Employed? SNA/IP Content Networking Internet Solutions Cable Specialist CCIP Cisco-related Compensation Tempered by the Times Methodology CCIE Communications & Services CCIE Security Certification Credentials

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2004 Salary Survey

2002 Salary Survey

2001 Salary Survey

International Cisco Salaries

One could easily predict that salaries would go down if only because of the dismal economic climate. That's been exacerbated by Cisco's success with its certification program. Two years ago thousands of technical professionals expressed their desire to learn Cisco technologies and achieve certification as the next step in their career development. As those people worked their way through the process, more premium titleholders -- CCNPs, CCDPs and CCIEs -- came into the market.

At the same time, the power and vibrancy of telecommunications and service provider industries began to diminish dramatically. Less work called for fewer experts on the plumbing of internetworking. Supply finally exceeded demand -- good news for hiring managers, lousy news for employees and job candidates.

But we need to keep it in perspective. Cisco-related wages aren't unlivable by any means. You might consider them generous when you compare them to the average household income of Americans in 2001: $49,252 (as reported by Market Statistics, 2001, Demographics, U.S.A.) The average salary earned by Cisco certified professionals in our survey is $64,000.

And there are some bright spots in the whole business that may give you some direction in the coming year, particularly in the area of specialization. Let's look at the details.

Continued...

Dian Schaffhauser is Editorial Director of TCPmag.com and Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine. You can contact Dian about "Second Annual TCPmag.com Cisco Salary Survey" at editor@tcpmag.com.