IT bonuses reward network, security skills that can’t be automated

The market for networking and security skills is shifting as AI implementations move from experimental to operational and enterprise organizations deploy more sophisticated IT architectures.

So, which skills are commanding the highest premiums? And which skills are no longer in great demand? Foote Partners’ latest IT Skills and Certifications Pay Index shows a clear pattern: Premium pay is moving away from execution-level work and monitoring tasks toward**** higher-level engineering, architecture, and risk ownership roles that require judgement and critical thinking.

“Companies will no longer pay premiums for what technology can do, but they’ll pay for who can control it,” says David Foote, chief analyst at Foote Partners. “The interest, the demand, and the pay are going to flow to professionals who can control intelligent systems operationally, economically, and legally, rather than simply build them.”

The IT Skills and Certifications Pay Index is based on compensation data from 491,050 technology professionals at 5,012 U.S. and Canadian employers. Across the board, average cash pay premiums have been declining for two years for the 746 noncertified IT skills and 650 IT certifications that Foote Partners tracks. Yet, there are 100 noncertified IT skills that still earn workers bonuses equivalent to between 17% and 24% of base pay, and 44 IT certifications are averaging 10% to 15% cash bonuses.

IT jobs that involve assessing risks and identifying cybersecurity threats are among those that garner the biggest bonuses. On the flip side, roles that are vulnerable to automation, such as network operations center (NOC) monitoring or firewall administration, are losing ground.

Security architecture and risk skills lead the pack

Security architecture and risk management skills dominate the top tier, with cash bonuses ranging from 19% to 24% of base salary.

At the very top are risk analytics/assessment skills, which command a 24% premium—meaning employees with these skills say they’re earning cash bonuses equivalent to 24% of their base salary. Since the last Foote Partners pay index was published, the value of bonuses for these skills has climbed significantly (up 26.3% in the past six months).

Smart contracts skills rank next, with cash bonuses worth 23% of base salaries (up 21.1% in the past six months), followed by security architecture and models with cash bonuses worth 21% of base salaries (up 10.5%). Threat detection/modeling/management skills earn 20% premiums, according to Foote Partners.

Other high-value security skills include cyber threat intelligence (19% premium), security testing (19% premium), and security auditing (19% premium). Cryptography and e-discovery both command 17% premiums.

“Employers are paying a premium for skills that involve judgment, risk ownership, and architectural thinking,” Foote explains. “The market has shifted dramatically away from execution-level work that can be automated.”

AI operations reshape the landscape

Foote Partners now tracks 144 certified and noncertified AI-related skills, up from 57 just eighteen months ago. Twenty-four AI certifications are outperforming their 100 noncertified counterparts: Certification premiums rose nearly 6% in the past year, while noncertified AI skills declined 1%, according to Foote Partners. Noncertified AI skills still earn higher bonuses, averaging 14.5% of base salary compared to 8.3% for AI certifications.

Top AI and automation skills include Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps) at 23% premium, AI engineering at 23% premium, and AI productivity at 22% premium. Azure AI/ML services pay a 20% premium, as do Large Language Model Optimization (LLMOps), machine learning, MLOps, neural networks, and prompt engineering.

Platform engineering and observability skills also command significant premiums. Dynatrace platform (20% premium), Splunk (20% premium), Event-Driven Architecture (20% premium), and PagerDuty (18% premium) reflect the shift toward intelligent operations and automated incident response, according to Foote Partners.

Network skills evolve beyond traditional admin

Traditional network administration roles are seeing declining premiums as automation takes hold, but architectural and engineering skills remain in high demand, the research reveals. Network architecture commands an 18% premium, while skills involving network design, security architecture, and cloud migration strategy continue to show strong value.

Certain data management and engineering skills also perform well, including data strategy (21% premium), data architecture (20% premium), DataOps (20% premium), and data modeling (18% premium). Apache Iceberg commands a 19% premium, reflecting growing demand for modern data lake architectures.

The systems/networking category showed a 1.9% decline in average premiums this quarter, with the steepest drops in monitoring and operations roles being automated by AIOps platforms. Level-1 NOC monitoring, basic network configuration, and manual security monitoring are all seeing reduced demand as intelligent automation takes over routine tasks, Foote says.

Top-paying security certifications

Among certifications, security credentials dominate, with premiums ranging from 10% to 15% of base salary. The Certified Artificial Intelligence Scientist (CAIS) leads at 15% premium (up 50% in six months), followed by Artificial Intelligence Engineer certifications at 13% premium (up 18.2% in the past six months).

Check Point certifications showed dramatic gains: Certified Security Master (CCSM) earns an 11% premium (up 40% in the past six months), while Certified Security Expert (CCSE) pays an 11% premium (up 37.5% in the past six months). Check Point Certified Security Administrator (CCSA) earns a 10% premium (up 11.1% in the past six months).

Other top-paying certifications include Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) at 10% premiums, Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) at 10% premiums, Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) at 10% premium, and GIAC Experienced Cyber Security (GX-CS) at 10% premium. Project management certifications also retain strong value, with PMI Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP) and Program Management Professional (PgMP) both earning 10% premiums, according to Foote Partners.

Skills pay volatility continues at elevated levels, with 386 of 1,396 skills and certifications (28%) changing in market value during Q4 2025, representing a 25% increase from one year ago. This heightened volatility reflects the rapid pace of technology adoption and shifting employer priorities. Categories experiencing the most volatility include data/database skills (56.3% changed value), management/methodology/process (46.9% changed value), applications development (43.6% changed value), and operating systems (33.3% changed value). Noncertified IT skills showed significantly higher volatility (36.8% changed value) than certifications (17.9% changed value).

“We’re seeing unprecedented churn in skills valuations,” Foote says. “As AI shifts from experimental to operational, employers are thinking about jobs more as tasks mapped to specific skill combinations that are constantly changing.”

Skills losing ground to automation

Several traditional networking and operations roles are seeing declining premiums as automation takes hold. Level-1 NOC monitoring roles are being replaced by observability platforms and AIOps that reduce the need to monitor dashboards. Foote also explains that basic network configuration work is being automated through infrastructure as code and software-defined networking.

The research also found that manual security monitoring is declining as security information and event management (SIEM) platforms incorporate AI correlation and automated response. Traditional firewall administration is facing pressure from cloud-native security architectures and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) approaches that reduce hands-on security configuration work.

Foote says there is a consistent pattern across categories: Execution-level work is being automated, while premium pay migrates to roles involving architecture, engineering, risk assessment, and strategic decision-making. The data reveals several strategic implications for networking and security professionals:

• Architectural thinking pays: Skills involving system design, risk assessment, and strategic planning command 18% to 24% premiums.
• AI augmentation is essential : High-tech pros must learn to work alongside AI tools rather than resist them.
• Platform expertise matters: Deep knowledge of key platforms (Splunk, Dynatrace, PagerDuty) carries significant value.
• Advanced certifications retain value : Entry-level credentials see declining premiums.
• Cross-skilling is critical: Combining networking with security, cloud, or automation increases market value.

“The professionals thriving in this market combine deep technical expertise with architectural thinking and the ability to work with AI tools,” Foote observes. “It’s not enough to know how to configure a firewall—you need to understand how it fits into an overall security architecture and risk framework.”

High-tech skills going forward

The gap between certified and noncertified IT skills premiums has widened to its largest margin in nearly two decades, Foote says, with noncertified skills earning an average 3% of base salary more than certifications. This reflects the market’s growing emphasis on demonstrated ability to handle complex, ambiguous problems over credentials alone.

For professionals looking to maximize market value, the path is clear: move up the value chain from execution to engineering to architecture, embrace AI augmentation, and develop expertise in risk assessment and strategic decision-making. As organizations continue their AI transformation and security threats grow more sophisticated, those who make this transition successfully will find themselves well-positioned in a market where top skills can command premiums of 20% or more above base salary.

“Over the next few years, everyone in tech will have to decide: Stay and evolve with AI, move into a different part of the field, or leave it altogether,” Foote says.