CISA Continues to Be the Highest Paying Tech Certification, According to New Foote Partners’ Study

Rolling Meadows, IL, USA (14 June 2005)—For the second time in a row, the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certification has been named the highest paying technical certification by a Foote Partners LLC study.

The study, part of the Foote Partners’ “Hot Technical Skills & Certifications Pay Index” research series, examined the market values for more than 170 skills; 48,000 IT professionals from 1,860 organizations in North America and Europe were surveyed from January to April 2005.

Overall pay for certified skills grew 0.6 percent in the first three months of 2005, according to the study.

“We projected this continued growth earlier this year due to several factors now in play,” said David Foote, the co-founder, president and chief research officer of Foote Partners, a management consultancy and IT research firm. “Probably the most obvious has been the economy and the return of hiring and concerns about retention of talent.”

A February 2005 study by the Foote Partners also named CISA the highest paying tech certification. A late 2004 study named CISA and the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) certification “hot” certifications to watch over the next 12 months.

Both CISA and CISM, developed by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), have seen an upsurge in demand in 2005. More than 19,000 professionals registered for the June 2005 CISA exam, a 40 percent increase from 2004 and a record high for the 12th straight year. More than 1,600 professionals registered for the CISM exam, a 125 percent increase from 2004. As a result, ISACA is offering a second exam in the same year for both certifications for the first time in the association’s history. The second exams will be administered 10 December 2005. Registration begins 1 July.

More than 40,000 professionals have earned the CISA designation since its inception in 1978, and more than 5,200 have earned the CISM designation since its introduction in 2002. For additional information on ISACA’s certifications, visit www.isaca.org/certification.

About ISACA
With more than 47,000 members in more than 140 countries, the Information Systems Audit and Control Association® (ISACA®) (www.isaca.org) is a recognized worldwide leader in IT governance, control, security and assurance. Founded in 1969, ISACA sponsors international conferences, publishes the Information Systems Control Journal®, develops international information systems auditing and control standards, and administers the globally respected Certified Information Systems Auditorâ„? (CISA®) designation, earned by more than 40,000 professionals since inception, and the Certified Information Security Manager® (CISM®) designation, a groundbreaking credential earned by 5,200 professionals in its first three years.