3. Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Average Annual Salary, 2016: $118,179

Administering Organization: (ISC)² Inc.

The vendor-neutral certification exam tests competencies in eight domains of security, such as: security and risk management; asset security; communications and network security; assessment and testing; operations; and software development security.

There are nearly 111,000 CISSP holders worldwide, with approximately two-thirds of them in the U.S., according to Global Knowledge.

Grillo, of Atrion Communication Resources, said there are two CISSP holders at his company, and customers are warm to it.