Extra pay awarded by employers to talented tech professionals for 723 non-certified IT skills---also known as cash pay premiums---which has increased on average over five of the last seven calendar quarters—decreased slightly overall in the second quarter of 2025. This is according to Foote Partners' long-running IT Skills and Certifications Pay IndexTM (ITSCPI) of cash pay premiums for 1,371 certified and non-certified IT skills. For 648 IT certifications, the story was just the opposite: a small gain in Q2 2025 following overall declines in three of the previous five calendar quarters.
Headlining this quarter’s results are 29 IT skills earning lucky IT professionals an average 20% to 23% cash pay premium according to the 4,722 employers who share their pay information with Foote Partners. Also, the 44 highest-paying IT certifications that are currently being rewarded with 10% to 13% cash premiums.