Getting into specifics, of the many certification types and focuses, security certifications are the most lucrative, with an average annual salary of $153,154. For cloud certifications, the average salary is $150,961. AWS certifications — despite having the top paying certification as mentioned above — are just a tad lower on average overall with the annual salary sitting around $149,371. It’s all good news for many technical professionals looking to grow their careers and capitalize on their certifications and experience to increase their incomes. Tech professionals with one or more certifications continue to see strong demand in the job market. For instance, LinkedIn’s job listings shows a combined 117,000 open cybersecurity jobs today seeking candidates who hold at least one of the four security certifications on the top 15 list below. There are also 88,200 open jobs on listed on the platform for candidates who hold at least one of the six cloud architect certifications below. 
Cybersecurity and cloud certifications comprise 10 of the top 15 IT certifications of 2022, reflecting how in-demand these skills are in all organizations. Source: Skillsoft’s 15 Top-Paying IT Certifications for 2022
The avg. salary across all 15 certs is $148,278 in 2022, up from 2021
The highest-paying cybersecurity certification in 2022 is paying an average salary of $168,080 for AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional expertise — which is far above the average salary of all five AWS certifications combined. The top five AWS certifications pay an average salary of $149,371. More than 14,000 open positions listed on LinkedIn today list one or more of the five AWS certifications as a requirement.
Google certs are the best-paying
The average salary of technical professionals with Google certifications averages $152,039 this year, leading all cloud platforms in pay. It leads with a $3,000 margin over AWS and $10,000 above Microsoft. In contrast, Amazon AWS certifications pay an average of $149,371, and Microsoft’s certifications pay $142,975. The GCP – Professional Cloud Architect is one of the most lucrative from a platform perspective, paying around $161,371, or 8.8% higher than the average salary of all certifications.
The increase in the importance of Google Cloud and multicloud certifications – not just AWS and Azure – speaks to the growing fraction of enterprises that now rely on more than one cloud computing platform,” said Michael Yoo, customer market leader at Skillsoft. “Sometimes, that’s driven by a desire for technical and commercial flexibility. Other times, it is a result of M&A activity.”
85% of IT leaders in the U.S. say certified professionals add $10,000+ in economic value to their orgs
What’s more? Skillsoft’s findings found that 21% actually say the value may be more than $30,000 with a certification. IT leaders cite higher productivity as the leading benefit of certified staff, but also note competitive advantage and turnover reduction.