Non-Certified A.I. Skills Continue To Earn Substantially Higher Cash Pay Premiums Than A.I. Certifications, Similar To Pay Trends For All 1,371 IT Skills And Certifications In The Itscpi.
Foote Partners, Monday, August 4th, 2025
As AI begins to shift from experimental to operational for many employers, paying IT talent is fast becoming a new ballgame. The list of AI-related skills and certifications generating cash pay premiums reported in Foote Partners' IT Skills and Certifications Pay IndexTM (ITSCPI) is averaging the equivalent of 14% of base salary.
Extra pay awarded by employers for 112 artificial intelligence-related skills and certifications - also known as cash pay premiums - has risen more than 3 percent in market value in the year ending July 1, 2025, according to Foote Partners' long-running IT Skills and Certifications Pay Index (ITSCPI).
Twenty-three non-certified A.I. skills are averaging pay premium bonuses ranging from the equivalent of 19 percent to 23 percent of base salary. Conversely, A.I. certifications are earning substantially lower pay premiums, with the ten highest paying certifications earning average pay premiums ranging only 9 percent to 11 percent.