Security Consultant: Salaries

As automation looms, businesses are rewarding those that bring value and improve agility.

Cybersecurity experts are in high demand, but salaries have plateaued

Although demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals continues to rise across the globe, salaries across the industry have plateaued.

This is according to a new report from recruitment firm Harvey Nash, based on a poll of roughly 6,000 technologists, which states that that two-thirds (67 percent) of cybersecurity professionals didn’t get a pay rise this year, unlike other tech roles.

Ethical Hacker, CISO, Cyber Security Consultant, and Information Security Analyst are the roles in highest demand, yet CISOs or Security Specialists were ranked just 14th amongst technology roles worldwide for salary increases.

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For the past year, the report further claims, most businesses turned to rewarding professionals that build value and improve business agility. The top three position types with rising paychecks last year were Development Management/Team Leadership (59 percent), Design/UX/UI (50 percent), and Quality Assurance (50 percent).

The report hints that business leaders might be leaning towards automating some CISO and security roles in the next decade. CISO/Security Specialists were listed as the fifth top skills to be automated within 10 years, behind Testing, Quality Assurance, Database Administrating, and Business Intelligence.

“It is vital that organizations don’t score an own goal by under-rewarding their cyber teams – and then facing an exodus of talent looking for better remuneration elsewhere,” said Bev White, Chief Executive, Harvey Nash Group.

“There is a balance to be achieved, but the signs are that the reward strategies of many businesses have perhaps tipped too far in one direction.”

Field Engineer: High-tech job website

Some common career paths from other industries in the sector include people who have previously worked in penetration testing (ethical hacking); or as a compliance analyst; security consultant; security operations or threat intelligence analyst.

These paths range in core competencies. From very technical roles that are a natural fit for someone with an engineering background to roles that are more process, data and analytics oriented.

When considering which path is right for you," she says, "I would advise creating an inventory of the skills you are most energized using in your current role.

While the cybersecurity labor shortage isn't going to disappear any time soon, experts agree that broadening the candidate pool will be crucial in addressing the shortage.