“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.
