AI, cybersecurity skills top IT pay premiums

AI engineering, cybersecurity, governance, data architecture, and distributed systems skills are now commanding the highest cash pay premiums in IT, according to new research from Foote Partners, which reports that employers are placing “increasing value on certifications that validate strategic capability and enterprise-level thinking.” Employers are paying premium bonuses equal to 20% to 24% of based salary for noncertified IT skills, and leading certifications are earning premiums ranging from 11% to 18% of base salary, Foote Partners reported. The firm based its latest quarterly IT Skills and Certifications Pay Index on compensation data collected through April 1, 2026, from 5,112 North American employers. “Organizations are now looking for people who understand how to architect, govern, secure, and operationalize highly interconnected technology ecosystems,” David Foote, chief analyst and research officer of Foote Partners, said in a statement. “That is why certifications tied to governance, architecture, cloud security, AI engineering, and advanced cybersecurity are outperforming much of the broader certification market.” The highest-paying noncertified skills are focused on AI engineering, predictive analytics, governance, cybersecurity, distributed computing, and data architecture, according to the research. Skills topping the list include risk analytics/assessment, AI engineering, AIOps, AI agents, cryptography, data architecture, LLMOps, machine learning, predictive analytics, and threat detection and management. The report also found growing demand for AI-adjacent specialties, including prompt flow, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), AI model optimization, Azure AI/ML services, and hybrid reasoning in large language models. “Employers are no longer simply paying for technical proficiency—they are paying premiums for skills that help them operationalize AI securely, modernize infrastructure, manage cyber risk, and govern increasingly complex hybrid technology environments,” Foote said. “The market has emphatically shifted from experimentation to execution. Organizations now need people who can deploy AI systems at scale, secure them, govern them, and integrate them into mission-critical business operations. Foote Partners highlighted some key networking-related noncertified skills in its report: * Network architecture * Security architecture and models * Threat detection/modeling/management * Cyber threat intelligence * Identity access management * DevSecOps * Site reliability engineering * Microservices * Event-driven architecture * Splunk Risk analytics/assessment ranked as the single highest-paying noncertified IT skill, earning average cash pay premiums equal to 24% of base salary, according to Foote Partners. The report also found growing demand for AI-adjacent specialties, including prompt flow, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), AI model optimization, Azure AI/ML services, and hybrid reasoning in large language models. On the certification side, Foote Partners reported that the highest-paying credentials include Certified Artificial Intelligence Scientist (CAIS), MIT’s AI and machine learning certifications, GIAC security certifications, CGEIT, CISSP, CISA, and TOGAF 9 Certified. The top-paying certification overall was Certified Artificial Intelligence Scientist (CAIS), which earned average cash pay premiums equivalent to 18% of base salary, according to the report. Also among the certifications are several that are most relevant to networking and security professionals: * Cisco Certified Network Professional – Security * Cisco Certified Cybersecurity Professional * Microsoft Certified Azure Cybersecurity Architect Expert * Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) * Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) * Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) * Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK) * GIAC Security Expert (GSE) * GIAC Security Professional (GSP) * GIAC Cloud Architecture & Design “These are not isolated technical skills anymore,” Foote explained. “What employers are rewarding now are integrated skill combinations that connect AI engineering, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, governance, analytics, automation, and enterprise architecture into operational systems that can scale.”