If you’re considering a career in cybersecurity, you may be wondering what kind of salary you can expect. The good news is that the demand for cybersecurity professionals is high, and the salaries in this field reflect that demand.
In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at the world of cybersecurity salaries, including the factors that can influence your earning potential and the steps you can take to increase your value as a cybersecurity professional.
Factors that can influence your cybersecurity salary
There are several factors that can impact your salary as a cybersecurity professional. Some of the most important ones include:
- Your level of education and experience: As with any field, your education and experience can play a big role in your salary. A bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as computer science or engineering, is typically the minimum requirement for many cybersecurity jobs. In addition, having relevant experiences, such as internships or certifications, can increase your value to potential employers.
- Your job title and responsibilities: The specific job title and responsibilities you have can also impact your salary. For example, a cybersecurity analyst may earn a different salary than a cybersecurity manager or a cybersecurity engineer.
- The company or organization you work for: The size and type of company or organization you work for can also influence your salary. For example, a larger company may be able to offer a higher salary than a smaller
Let’s look at the six highest-paid cybersecurity jobs and their average cybersecurity salary ranges, so you have the salary insights you need to hire the expert talent you need.
Cybersecurity Salary by Position, Low & High
| Position | Low | High |
| Information Security Manager | $150,000 | $225,000 |
| Cyber Security Engineer | $126,000 | $213,000 |
| Application Security Engineer | $130,000 | $200,000 |
| Network Security Engineer | $120,000 | $208,000 |
| Cyber Security Analyst | $114,000 | $160,000 |
| Penetration Tester “Ethical Hacker” | $114,000 | $160,000 |
Information Security Manager Salary, Cyber Security
Information Security Managers top the list of highest-paid cybersecurity jobs with an average salary range of $150,000 to $225,000.
This position plays a key role in avoiding security disasters by identifying any areas that might make your information systems vulnerable. These are the professionals who are tasked with assessing current security measures and mitigating future attacks against your company’s computers, networks, and data.
Cyber Security Engineer Salary
The Cybersecurity Engineer position also nets one of the highest salaries, coming in #2 for the security industry, with average cybersecurity salaries ranging from $126,000 to $213,000.
Companies invest in these professionals for their skill sets and experience as they are primarily responsible for multiple security engineer functions, including designing, developing, and implementing secure network solutions to defend against advanced cyberattacks, hacking attempts, and persistent threats.
Application Security Engineer Salary
The 3rd highest-paid cybersecurity job, Application Security Engineers, make on average between $130,000 to $200,000.
If your company uses software solutions provided or hosted by third-party organizations like AWS or Microsoft’s Azure or even if you custom build your own solutions, hiring an Application security engineer is crucial.
These professionals will be tasked with securing all software and business applications used throughout your workforce and ensuring that all privacy and compliance constraints are built into the software and followed.
Cyber Security Analyst Salary
The average cybersecurity salary for this position falls between $114,000 and $160,000, and they are worth every penny.
These security professionals help create, plan, and carry out 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 bottom line and are specially equipped to identify vulnerabilities before hackers have a chance.
Penetration Tester “Ethical Hackers” Salary
Penetration Testers, commonly called Pen Testers or Ethical Hackers, on average, make between $80,000 to $130,000.
A McAfee survey showed that security managers believe hiring ethical hackers offers a company a valuable understanding of logic used by hackers and skills critical to cybersecurity. Does your company conduct quarterly, monthly, or daily security tests?
If so, then these are the professionals you need to invest in attracting and retaining. Penetration Testers complete various, in-depth tests across your computer systems, networks, and even web applications to identify vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cybercriminals.
Network Security Engineer Salary, Cyber Security
Rounding out this list of the highest-paid cybersecurity jobs, the average salary for the Network Security Engineer role now ranges between $120,000 to $208,000.
Much like the Cybersecurity Engineer position, this is a multifaceted position; tasked with maintaining your LAN, WAN, and server architecture while also maintaining and monitoring virtual networks, firewalls, email security and web protocols, security, and programs.
When it comes to a business’s computer network, you can never be too secure, and this role helps guarantee your company’s network is safe and secure.
We hope this exclusive guide to the highest-paid cybersecurity jobs is helpful so you can allocate the necessary funds to get the security hires you to need in the door.
