Think about cybersecurity. How much cybersecurity make for a year? Well, it’s common for employees in this field to command much higher average salaries.
In fact, most often, the IT industry’s median wage is twice as high as in the U.S. national average wage. But how much exactly does cybersecurity make?
Contributing Factors to Higher Salary
Education
Education is an essential part of a cybersecurity specialist’s resume. Why? That’s because their role is crucial to an organization.
They deal with a lot such as data loss prevention and data protection in general. They also handle security incidents, risk assessments, and fend off digital threats.
Experience
Experience is another contributing thing. Your starting pay would be smaller if you don’t have much experience. However, the more you improve your abilities and knowledge, the more likely it is that your boss will give you a raise.
Revenue and Company Size
Estimated average salaries are often influenced by the company’s size and profitability. Since smaller cybersecurity firms hire fewer people, wages are likely to be higher.
However, they can never accumulate as much profit as a global corporation. Still, salaries are way higher compared to other industries.
Location of the Company
The size of your income may also depend on where your company is located. For example, a tech job in Washington, DC will not earn the same wage as the same type of job in San Francisco, CA.
In fact, In 2019, the average salary of a tech worker per year was:
- $145k per year in San Francisco
- $138k in Seattle, WA
- $133k in New York, NY,
- $117k in Denver, CO
- And ‘only’ $113k in San Diego, CA.
Average IT Security Salaries
Salaries may also depend on what cybersecurity position you hold. Consider the following median salaries of the most common job titles below.
Computer Forensics Analyst
This position is cool and represents a dynamic work environment. Though it’s one of the lowest-paid. According to Glassdoor, this position earns a yearly salary of $57,755. But, according to Payscale, it’s $73,892.
Cybersecurity Specialist
This position is considered entry-level. However, average annual wages for this work in the United States range from $69,123 to $76,336.
Information Security Analyst
The pay for this role is usually higher than that of a cybersecurity professional. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, this job pays an average of $99,730 a year ($47.95 per hour).
Penetration Tester (Pentester)
According to Payscale, a pentester’s salary ranges from $52k to 137k. Additionally, cybersecurity and data engineers earn an average of $99,834 per year, according to Glassdoor. Also, Payscale lists the average annual salary of a security engineer as $91,598.
A network security engineer title seems to be earning less. Because it’s $79,686 per year on average. On the other hand, security architects are ranking in six-figure salaries. According to Glassdoor, it’s $106,362, while Payscale reports it as $124,051.
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
It’s a job for a senior executive. As a result, the annual base salary is $179,763.
