First things first: if the only reason you’re considering a career in infosec is the money, maybe infosec isn’t the right career choice for you.
Information security professionals are a passionate lot. If you don’t believe me, attend any infosec convention (Black Hat, DEFCON, ShmooCon, GrrCON, CanSecWest, DerbyCon… the list goes on and on) and attend a talk from someone who’s worked in the trenches for a few years. Better yet, strike up a hallway conversation with another con attendee. You’ll find out exactly how passionate infosec pros are about their jobs in no time.
Information security is a challenging, sometimes frustrating, often times thankless job. However, information security plays a critical role in the global economy, protecting the systems and networks that form the foundation of the Internet, not to mention the systems inside each organization’s network perimeter. The need for information security professionals continues to rise, with a projected 10-year job growth of 23%. This increase has resulted in a dramatically low unemployment rate for information security professionals.
In a field where the demand for qualified professionals is greater than the supply, salaries tend to be very competitive.
According to Salary.com, here are the median annual salaries (U.S. National Averages) for a few different information security job roles:
- Data Security Analyst: $74,334 (up to $95,220)
- Data Security Analyst Senior: $92,317 (up to $113,790)
- Data Security Manager: $108,982 (up to $136,758)
- Information Security Director: $143,107 (up to $177,126)
- Chief Information Security Officer: $168,545 (up to $238,099)
These are attractive salaries, to be sure, but don’t fool yourself into thinking they’ll come easy. These salaries come with experience, dedication, and hard work. Once you decide that you’re ready to pursue a career in information security, the next step is to learn the tools of the trade, and ultimately submit your infosec job application.
Happy job hunting!
Related articles
