As more of our daily lives migrate to the internet, cybersecurity becomes a larger concern for consumers and businesses. Data breaches are costly incidents that account for significant losses in large enterprises, can send small companies off the rails, and make consumers’ lives miserable—and they happen too often.
Security is a big business, and online cybersecurity courses can help you pursue a rewarding career in this in-demand field.
This article shows you where to find the best cybersecurity salaries, including breakdowns based on states, positions, industries, and experience levels. We’ll also show you how to increase your cybersecurity salary and offer projections for cybersecurity jobs in the future.
But before we launch into what an excellent cybersecurity job salary looks like, let’s establish what we mean by a cybersecurity professional.
What’s a Cybersecurity Professional?
Cybersecurity, also called information technology security or computer security, is a collection of methods, technologies, and processes to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of computer systems, data, and networks against cyber-attacks and unauthorized access. So, a cybersecurity professional is someone who works in that field. But that’s not quite enough information.
Picture this: you ask someone what they do for a living. They respond, “I work at a restaurant,” and leave it at that. That really doesn’t tell you much, does it? After all, they could be a waiter, a host, a cook, a cashier, a manager, or anything really. In the same way, saying that you work in cybersecurity doesn’t tell the whole story. Plenty of cybersecurity positions are available, each with its own responsibilities, roles, and salary offerings.
So let’s take a look at various cybersecurity positions and what they pay. You will eventually see how a cybersecurity analyst salary differs from a cybersecurity engineer salary.
Also Read: What is Incident Response in Cybersecurity?
The Top Positions and Salaries in Cybersecurity
According to Mondo.com, these are the top jobs in the cybersecurity field and their average salaries as of 2024:
- Application Security Engineer: Average annual salary: $170,000. These professionals secure a company’s software and business applications, ensuring that all software has the proper privacy and compliance constraints and that they are followed.
- Cybersecurity Analyst: Average annual salary: $140,000. These cybersecurity professionals assist in creating, planning, and enforcing security measures to keep an organization’s infrastructure secure.
- Cybersecurity Engineer: Average annual salary: $175,000. These professionals secure all software and business applications and ensure that all privacy and compliance limits are built into the software and complied with.
- Information Security Manager: Average annual salary: $195,000. Information security managers identify information systems vulnerabilities. In addition, these professionals assess the current security measures and mitigate future cyberattacks.
- Network Security Engineer: Average annual salary: $170,000. This position covers maintaining the organization’s LAN, WAN, and server architecture while simultaneously maintaining and monitoring the company’s firewalls, virtual networks, e-mail security protocols, web protocols, security, and other programs.
- Penetration Tester (“Ethical Hacker”): Average annual salary: $140,000. Also called “white hat hackers,” penetration testers conduct in-depth testing across the organization’s computer systems, networks, and even their web applications to spot vulnerabilities that hackers and cybercriminals can potentially exploit.
Now, let’s see what variables can dictate differences in a cybersecurity salary.
The Factors That Affect Cybersecurity Job Salaries
Here are the different factors that can affect a cybersecurity salary:
- Education: A bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, or any other field that relates to cybersecurity will improve your salary prospects.
- Experience: While education is a great asset, nothing beats hands-on experience. Most companies recognize the value of on-the-job experience and will pay more for cybersecurity professionals who have “seen it all” and know what they’re doing.
- Location: Salaries vary according to geographical location, no matter what industry we’re discussing. Different parts of the United States have varying costs of living, so businesses typically adjust their starting offers accordingly.
- Company Type: Large companies have more computing resources that require protection, so they typically offer a more generous compensation package. Company size can also affect a cybersecurity job salary.
- Economic Conditions: Strong economies mean prosperity and more job opportunities, while weaker economies can lead to layoffs, budget cuts, and smaller salaries.
- Demand: A company may need more cybersecurity analysts and consequently will offer a cybersecurity analyst salary that’s unusually higher than the salaries for other cybersecurity positions. It all comes down to a question of supply and demand.
Also Read: Best Online Cybersecurity Certificate Programs
Cybersecurity Salaries by State
Now we’ll examine the average cybersecurity salary determined by the state, courtesy of ZipRecruiter.com. Here are the top ten best-paying states for 2024:
- New York: $130,000 per year
- California: $125,000 per year
- Washington: $123,000 per year
- New Jersey: $120,000 per year
- Massachusetts: $118,000 per year
- Maryland: $116,000 per year
- Virginia: $115,000 per year
- Colorado: $112,000 per year
- Texas: $110,000 per year
- Georgia: $108,000 per year
Cybersecurity Salaries by U.S. City
Sometimes, breaking down cybersecurity salaries by state only tells part of the story. Here is a sampling of the top-paying cities for cybersecurity positions:
- San Francisco, CA: $145,000 per year
- San Jose, CA: $142,000 per year
- Santa Clara, CA: $140,000 per year
- Seattle, WA: $135,000 per year
- Washington, D.C.: $130,000 per year
- New York, NY: $128,000 per year
- Boston, MA: $125,000 per year
- Austin, TX: $120,000 per year
- Los Angeles, CA: $118,000 per year
- Denver, CO: $115,000 per year
Also Read: What Is Cybersecurity Compliance? Definition, Importance, Types, and More
Cybersecurity Salaries by Experience Level
As we mentioned, experience plays a part in determining the typical cybersecurity job salary. Here’s a breakdown of wages based on experience level, as determined by Glassdoor.com:
- Entry-level: $78,000 per year
- 1-3 Years: $82,000 per year
- 4-6 Years: $90,000 per year
- 7-9 Years: $98,000 per year
- 10-14 Years: $110,000 per year
- 15+ Years: $125,000 per year
Cybersecurity Salaries by Industry
Not every industry offers the same cybersecurity engineer salary, or any other cybersecurity position, for that matter. Here are the top-paying industries, according to Glassdoor.com:
- Information Technology: $140,000 per year. This rate is higher than other industries.
- Financial Services: $130,000 per year. This rate is also higher than other industries.
- Insurance: $125,000 per year. This rate is higher than other industries.
- Telecommunications: $120,000 per year. This rate is higher than other industries.
- Healthcare: $115,000 per year. This rate is higher than other industries.
Also Read: Top 10 Cybersecurity Trends for 2024
How to Boost Your Cybersecurity Salary
After you secure a cybersecurity position and are earning a respectable salary, you may wonder how to increase that pay. Here are some useful ideas to help you boost your wages:
- Further Education: An undergraduate degree is great for getting your foot in the door, but a master’s degree in cybersecurity or a closely related field can increase your salary accordingly.
- Market Research: Check out online job sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, and ZipRecruiter to see the going rate for cybersecurity professionals. These facts can help bolster your case to your manager.
- Experience: The more experience you have, the better you become. And the better you become, the more valuable your time and skills are, which should be reflected in your compensation.
- Certification: Gaining a relevant cybersecurity certification provides a verifiable means of showing an employer that you have the knowledge, training, skills, and experience to fulfill your cybersecurity duties at a high level.
What’s the Demand for Cybersecurity Experts and Professionals?
Cybercrime Magazine predicts that there will be 3.5 million job openings in the field of cybersecurity by 2025! The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that job openings for information security analysts will grow by 33 percent between 2020 and 2030. This rate is significantly higher than the average nationwide employment growth rate.
So, regarding job security and outlook, a cybersecurity career is a solid choice that offers many opportunities and excellent compensation. Security and privacy are hot-button topics, and that will always be the case. As more of our professional and personal lives move to the digital world, especially with technologies such as the cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT), security concerns will only increase, leading to a high demand for cybersecurity professionals.
It also doesn’t hurt that cybercrime continues to increase. The digital world needs its defenders, and that translates into career opportunities (and a high cybersecurity salary).
Also Read: The Essential Guide to Endpoint Security and Protections
Do You Want to Help Defend the Digital World?
Cybercriminals have thrown down the gauntlet. Are you ready to answer their challenge? Today’s IT industry needs more cybersecurity professionals and is willing to pay well for them. If this career interests you, check out this online cybersecurity bootcamp.
You can fast-track your career with this complete cybersecurity bootcamp by acquiring expertise in fields like offensive and defensive cybersecurity, digital forensics, network security, and more, so you can enter one of today’s fastest-growing worldwide industries.
The IT world is waiting. Answer the call, sign up for this fantastic cybersecurity program, defend the digital world against cybercrime, and make an amazing living in the process. Sign up now!
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