Cyber Security Salary
Gone are the days where an airtight seal around you and your company’s private information was maintained by a security guard, a card key, and your dog’s name as your password. Technology is rapidly advancing, and with it has come an onslaught of cybercrime. As a result, cybersecurity experts with experience safeguarding digital data are in high demand.
The FBI estimates that cybercrime is a dangerous problem that is growing external link: open in new as the lead federal agency for investigating cyberattacks. One of the agency’s main issues is computer and network intrusions.
“The cumulative effect is enormous. Every year, billions of dollars are spent repairing systems that have been harmed by such attacks. According to the FBI website, “some take down vital systems, disrupting and sometimes disabling the work of hospitals, banks, and 911 services across the country.”
Cybersecurity is now a top-of-mind problem for businesses, and no scenario is off the table when it comes to cyberattacks.
Since leaving the National Security Agency, which he oversaw for almost four years, retired Admiral Michael Rogers told CNBC in 2018.
“It has the potential to bring your business to its knees,” Rogers said.
Careers in cybersecurity are on the rise as a result of this trend.
Companies require cybersecurity professionals who can protect their financial information and intellectual property, combat online fraud, and create hack-proof client records, among other things. Many companies are willing to pay top dollar for experienced cybersecurity experts.
According to the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies, demand for cybersecurity experts is rising at a rate 12 times faster than the current job market in the United States.
According to the US Department of Commerce, there are more than 300,000 cybersecurity positions available in 2019 — External link: open in new — and the sector is expected to continue to develop. By 2021, there will be 3.5 million unfilled vacancies in the sector (PDF, 751 KB) Cybersecurity Ventures, a company that offers cyber economic market data, insights, and forecasts to professionals in the field, predicted this.
Top Jobs in Cybersecurity
- Organizations are looking to fill positions such as cybersecurity engineers, researchers, professionals, consultants, and architects. Senior cybersecurity executives, particularly those who work in major cities or specialty fields such as the military, can receive six-figure salaries on an annual basis;
- this is especially true for chief information security officers (CISOs) External link: open in new1, who is usually the company’s highest-ranking cybersecurity workers. Per state now has a chief information security officer (CISO).
- To ensure that statewide security management systems keep government information secure, use the external link: open in new or the equivalent.
- However, the CISO isn’t the only spot in the sector that pays well. The following are several other cybersecurity positions with competitive pay:
- Architect for computer networks. Architects of computer networks external link: open in new are in charge of developing and implementing data communication networks, such as local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and intranets, for their organizations.
- They’re often charged with maintaining these networks as well. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a computer network architect’s median annual salary is $109,020. open in new (external link)Programmer for computers.
- There are plenty of cybersecurity positions that don’t involve programming external links: open in new, but knowing how to code is a skill that can be applied to any place in the field. Source code auditors, for example, go through the source code line by line looking for flaws.
- You’ll need to be familiar with the coding language used by your organization, whether it’s C, C++, Java, or another language. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual median wage for a computer programmer in any profession is $84,280. open in new (external link)
- Analyst for information security. A bachelor’s degree in a computer-related field is required for most information security analyst positions. Employers in the computer, corporate,
- financial, and consulting industries are more likely to hire analysts who have worked in a similar field and learned how to prepare and implement security measures to protect a company’s computer networks and systems.
- The average annual salary for an information security analyst is $98,350. According to the BLS, external links: open in new. Those in management positions will earn more than $120,000 a year. open in new (external link)
Top Jobs & Salary in Cybersecurity
Information Security Manager
According to our 2019 Tech & Digital Marketing Salary Guide, this position tops the list of highest-paid cybersecurity positions with an estimated salary range of $125,000 to $215,000. Information Security Managers play a key role in avoiding security disasters by identifying any areas that might make your information systems vulnerable. These are the experts in charge of evaluating your company’s current security measures and preventing future attacks on its computers, networks, and data.
When do you recruit someone? Want to secure customer data and stop the penalties and fines that come with having the personal information compromised or stolen? Do yourself a favor and recruit for this position before your bottom line suffers as a result of hefty fines for failing to protect customer data, as Uber did when it was fined $148 million for breaching state data breach notification laws.
Cybersecurity Engineer
The Cybersecurity Engineer job also nets one of the highest salaries in the security industry, with average cybersecurity salaries ranging from $120,000 to $200,000. Companies hire security engineers for their skill sets and expertise, since they are mainly responsible for designing, creating, and implementing stable network solutions to protect against sophisticated cyberattacks, hacking attempts, and persistent threats.
When to hire? Because of the in-depth expertise and experience that professionals in this position bring to the table, hiring a Cybersecurity Engineer would improve the cybersecurity team. When looking to take your team to the next level, this is the position you should prioritize recruiting for first.
Application Security Engineer
Application Security Engineers, another of the highest-paid cybersecurity workers, earn an average of $120,000 to $180,000. If your company uses software solutions supported or hosted by third parties such as Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure, or if you custom creates your own solutions, hiring an Application security engineer is important. These experts will be in charge of protecting all apps and business applications used by your employees, as well as ensuring that all privacy and security requirements are incorporated into the software and adhered to.
When do you recruit someone? This position is critical for any company that wants to integrate software such as AWS or Azure into its daily operations. What is the reason for this? Application Security Engineers have the expertise and skillsets required to ensure the security and reliability of your internal and external applications, preventing hackers and malicious systems from attempting to compromise your infrastructure’s integrity.
Cybersecurity Analyst
The average cybersecurity salary for this job ranges between $90,000 and $160,000, and they are worth every cent. These security experts assist in the development, planning, and implementation of security measures to keep your infrastructure secure. They have the knowledge and experience to work with Penetration Testers and Information Security Managers to mitigate and avoid cyberattacks that could cripple your business, and they are especially well-equipped to identify vulnerabilities before hackers have a chance to exploit them.
When do you recruit someone? If your business has been the victim of a data breach or has been infected with a ransomware virus, the next move is to recruit a Cybersecurity Analyst to help minimize the damage and keep you safe from potential attacks.
Penetration Tester
Penetration testers, also known as pen testers or ethical hackers, earn an average of $80,000 to $130,000 a year. A McAfee survey found that security managers believe recruiting ethical hackers gives an organization a valuable understanding of logic used by hackers and skills vital to cybersecurity. Does your business perform quarterly, weekly, or regular security tests? If that’s the case, these are the experts you can focus on attracting and keeping. Penetration testers run a variety of in-depth checks on your operating systems, networks, and even web apps in order to find bugs that cybercriminals may exploit.
When do you recruit someone? How safe is your company against high-level cyberattacks? This is the person who can answer the question and ensure you stay on top of the new hacking techniques. Though it might seem counterintuitive to recruit hackers for your security positions, it will open up a new pool of applicants with insider expertise to help protect your properties.
Network Security Engineer
The average salary for the Network Security Engineer position now ranges between $125,000 and $185,000, rounding out this list of the highest-paid cybersecurity employees. This is a multifaceted position, similar to the Cybersecurity Engineer position, in that it is responsible for managing and controlling the LAN, WAN, and server architecture, as well as virtual networks, firewalls, email protection, and web protocols, security, and programs. You can never be too secure when it comes to a company’s computer network, and this position helps ensure that the network is safe and secure.
When do you recruit someone? If your business is having network problems or finding bugs that you weren’t aware of, it’s time to hire a Network Security Engineer to help clean and secure your networks.
Consider this your insider’s guide to the highest-paying cybersecurity positions as you move through 2020, so you can set aside the funds you’ll need to bring in the security hires you’ll need. With analysts predicting that cybercrime would cost the global economy $6 trillion a year by 2021, it’s critical that you recruit cybersecurity talent now to make sure you’re paying competitively so you don’t lose out on the top talent you need.
How to Increase the Value of Your Cybersecurity Salary?
Cybersecurity is a relatively young area, and those who work in it come from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds. A bachelor’s degree in engineering or computer science is often (but not always) required, and a master’s degree in cybersecurity can help a job candidate stand out. Cybersecurity leadership, cryptology, government and national security, network security, privacy engineering, and problem-solving skills are among the subjects covered in the classes.
According to Pete Metzger, a C-suite cybersecurity recruiter with consulting company DHR International, companies are also searching for employees with project management experience, analytics, and data science backgrounds, technical writing skills, and expertise in law, policy, and physical security, such as law enforcement and military experience. Metzger began his career in the Marine Corps and later worked as a foreign intelligence officer for the CIA. Organizations are looking for people with problem-solving experience that can help them “reshape” how they think about security. He said, “External link: open in new.” It’s never too late to advance your education and achieve a competitive advantage in the job market, even if you don’t have a cybersecurity degree.
