Here’s a bit of good news for anyone contemplating a career in cybersecurity: Cybersecurity workers who started their careers in other fields tend to get paid more than career-long cybersecurity professionals, according to new research.
As reported by Security Boulevard, a survey conducted by Cynet, which makes breach detection tools, reveals that cybersecurity professionals with equivalent experience earn about the same regardless of whether they have a degree in computer science or a related engineering field. But those who started their careers outside of cybersecurity command higher salaries, a strong indication that employers – in the face of a skills shortage and 0% unemployment in the cybersecurity profession – are willing to open their wallets for recruits from other fields.
It’s vital for the industry that potential cybersecurity jobseekers see that a career change can be lucrative. And this data confirms what (ISC)2’s own research unearthed about the value of cross-training, career development and mentorship. The (ISC)2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study 2019 shows that companies that invest in these areas, as well as initiatives to attract professionals from other disciplines, see a return on investment by increasing their chances of retaining cybersecurity professionals.
More than half of cybersecurity workers, the study found, started their careers elsewhere. The Workforce Study also revealed that a solid majority of cybersecurity workers (65%) have no intention of abandoning the field once they are in it, in part due to the high demand for their skills.
Employers and recruiters should take note because these findings suggest a viable solution to the cybersecurity skills shortage, which (ISC)2 estimates at more than four million worldwide. Attracting recruits from other fields will not completely fill the gap, but it will help alleviate the problem.
Salary Levels
The Cynet study polled 1,324 cybersecurity professionals worldwide and found about half of the respondents (48%) earn less than $50,000 a year. Slightly more than a third (36%) have salaries exceeding $70,000 a year, and most of them are in North America.
Security analysts in North America command higher compensation than their peers in other regions, as more than 80% of them have salaries between $71,000 and $110,000. This aligns with the (ISC)2 research as well, which found an average salary level of $90,000 for North American cybersecurity professionals. The North America findings by Cynet are hardly surprising, considering that salaries as a whole are higher in the region regardless of occupation. In addition, North American organizations tend to be frequent targets of cyber attackers.
Banking and financial institutions are among the preferred targets of cybercriminals, placing an extra burden on them to build strong defenses. This helps explain why cybersecurity workers in the finance industry earn the highest salaries in their field.
Combined, the Cynet and (ISC)2 studies confirm that cybersecurity careers offer good compensation and job security. Perhaps most noteworthy at this point is the finding that switching from another profession is profitable, something both recruiters and jobseekers should keep in mind going forward.