Mapped to BLS 15-1211 (no governance-specific code). Banking/financial services pays at the top of the range; Payscale's small sample skews low.
Experience to get here
Entry level1-3 years
Typical title3-5 years; senior postings ask 5+
Bachelor's in information systems, CS, data science or business; master's preferred in some bank postings. Regulated-industry experience (banking, healthcare) often substitutes for formal credentials.
Typical prior roles
Data AnalystBusiness AnalystData Quality AnalystData StewardCompliance / Risk Analyst
Must have
Data profiling, lineage and data quality monitoring
Knowledge of governance frameworks (DAMA-DMBOK) and regulatory drivers
Data catalog / governance tooling: Collibra, Informatica, Alation, Purview
SQL and basic scripting to validate rules and build metrics
Stakeholder facilitation and clear business/technical writing
Milestones people hit first
Defined and got sign-off on critical data elements and their business definitions
Stood up or administered a data catalog domain with owners and stewards assigned
Wrote a data classification or retention policy adopted across teams
Ran a data quality working group that remediated a recurring issue
$2,095 package (CIMP Data Governance); $3,055 for CIMP Ex
Time: 3-6 months self-paced Prerequisites: none; courses plus exams per track
Course-based alternative to CDMP; named alongside IQCP as preferred in some senior governance postings.
Training & learning
Collibra University self-paced coursesFREECollibra · learning path · free (200+ courses) · a few hours per courseHands-on catalog, glossary and workflow practice on the tool most postings name.
CDMP exam guide and free practice examFREEDAMA International (cdmp.info) · learning path · free to read; practice exam free with exam purchase · 1 hour to plan; months to studyLays out the DMBOK knowledge areas that structure most governance job descriptions.
CDMP enrolment policy and exam rulesFREEDAMA International · community · free · 20 minutesFees, pass marks and retake rules so you can budget the certification path.
CIMP Data Governance packageeLearningCurve · course · $2,095 · 3-6 months self-pacedStructured online coursework in governance, metadata and quality for people without a mentor.
CDMP is 'sometimes' not 'often': of three governance postings reviewed, two list it as preferred and one (Citi) lists no certification. Collibra and Informatica exam prices are not published on their pages (Collibra's Credly badge says 'paid'); CDMP annual maintenance fee amount and DMBOK book price are not published by the vendor. Collibra University certification page does not publish prices. Glassdoor and Payscale disagree sharply ($132k vs $68k); median set near the BLS figure between them.
Figures are US, from the sources listed, and change often; verify before deciding.