Does being below the range mean I am underpaid?

No, and the tool says so on screen. A reported range covers every experience level, employer and location at once. Sitting below it is a reason to ask a question, not proof of anything.

Why does it not calculate my market rate?

Because it cannot. The previous version multiplied a hand-written premium per certification by an invented experience coefficient and an invented cost-of-living coefficient, then printed the product as a market rate. All three inputs were made up. What replaces them is a comparison against a published range that carries its source.

Can I use this in a conversation with my manager?

That is what it is for. Take the range and the named source rather than the conclusion. A published range for holders of your certification is much harder to wave away than an opinion.

Am I Underpaid? Certification Salary Range Checker | McQuizzy

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Are you paid what holders are paid?

Your salary, plotted against the published range for the certification you hold, with the named source underneath. Take it into the conversation.

What you earn now

The certification you are negotiating on

Pick the one you hold, or the one you are about to pass.

Where you sit

−$17,000

You are $17,000 under the reported average for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner holders

Source: Your salary figure, and Global Knowledge, Robert Half, Payscale 2024 for the reported figures

Your salary against the reported range

$60,000$110,000

Marker: your $85,000, which is inside the reported range

Source: Global Knowledge, Robert Half, Payscale 2024

Premium over non-certified

20%

Source: Global Knowledge, Robert Half, Payscale 2024

Job demand growth

+22% YoY

Source: Global Knowledge, Robert Half, Payscale 2024

A reported range covers every experience level, employer and location at once, so sitting below it is a reason to ask a question, not proof that you are underpaid. Take the range and the source line into the conversation rather than the conclusion: "this is the published range for holders, here is where I sit" is a much harder sentence to wave away.

Keep this

Want this as something you can put in front of a manager?

The reported range, the reported average, where your salary sits against it, the premium figure, and the named source for each, so the conversation is about published data rather than your opinion.

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Where these numbers come from

This is a comparison, not a valuation. It plots the salary you entered against the reported range for one certification and prints that certification's own named, dated source beneath it. A position on a cited range is something you can defend in a pay conversation. A calculated "market rate" is not.

Three invented inputs were removed from the previous version: a hand-written salary premium per certification, a per-year experience multiplier, and a cost-of-living multiplier per city. None of them had a source.

A range spans every seniority and every employer at once. Read your position on it as a prompt to ask, not as a verdict.

Keep going

What does this certification pay?

The reported average, the full range and every job it leads to.

Is it worth what it costs?

Your money against the reported salary premium.

Which certification should I start with?

Five questions, one certification, and the order after it.

What is between me and the job?

Pick the role, see exactly which certifications you are missing.

Knowing the number is not the same as passing the exam

McQuizzy is exam practice for the certification you just picked: real exam-style questions, a study plan built around what you keep getting wrong, and interview prep for after you pass.

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