Talk About Your (Gasp!) Salary

They say that it's not polite to ask people pointed questions about how much money they earn, or what they do to earn it. So for a couple of weeks every autumn, the team at Certification Magazine might as well be running around yelling in people's face, tipping over potted flowers, throwing raw eggs at the walls, and generally doing just about everything you can think of that uncouth rascals with no upbringing or manners like to get up to.

If you agree with "their" opinion about the civil conduct of sensible individuals, then it would probably behoove us to point out that the CertMag hooligans are on the loose again, stirring up an almighty ruckus, smashing respectable social norms, and metaphorically punching Miss Manners in the nose. It must all be highly embarrassing to the people responsible for keeping the gears of the magazine spinning.

You see, this is the time of year when the Certification Magazine team of pencil-necks and wonks, probably with pocket protectors and horn-rimmed eyeglasses at the ready, goes around asking people pointed questions about how much money they earn, and what they do to earn it. There, there. It probably made you tut and cluck, and possibly pat your brow with a damp cloth, just to hear us declare those grim tidings openly.

If we've already offended your sensibilities, then you may need to click the 'X' that closes your browser window or tab, because we're just getting warmed up. We here at the IT Insights Blog actually endorse the reprobate and despicable shenanigans that the CertMag fellas are up to. Collecting salary information just to make people of breeding uncomfortable might indeed be a brazen and reprehensibly rowdy piece of work.

The good people at Certification Magazine, however, are not just out to disrupt cordial and amiable society. The method to their madness is to correlate salaries and IT certifications, drawing the sorts of lines that provide all manner of useful information to IT professionals weighing career options or contemplating certification. It's an act of service that we both respect and endorse.

So first maybe untuck a shirttail, or loosen your necktie and undo that top button. And then go do something a little bit wild, crazy, and reckless: Take the Salary Survey. There are rewards offered to people who complete the survey, your participation is anonymous, and you'll get to enjoy both the warm glow of doing something selfless for others, and shivery thrill of thumbing your nose at convention and good breeding.