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Salaries for security tech professionals can greatly exceed the baseline for IT professional salaries, according to a report from Dice, the IT jobs portal.
Lead software security engineers, directors of security, security consultants and others tasked with repelling cyber-threats can expect to earn six-figure salaries per year, so long as their skills, experience and certifications prove to be a match for demanding roles that are continuously evolving, the report noted.
The average salary for a lead software security engineer was $233,333– depending on the specific job. A person in this role might be tasked with doing everything from maintaining and deploying training programs for employees to developing security-related aspects of application programs.
The second most lucrative position was chief security officer, with an average salary of $225,000, followed by global information security director, which pays $200,000 a year on average.
“Today, security continues to serve as one of the hottest skillsets that companies are looking for, in large part a result of the high-profile security breaches that have taken place in recent years,” Shravan Goli, president of Dice, told eWEEK. “Companies want to be certain that they are protected from both internal and external threats. With that said, they want to make sure they are hiring top security talent and are comfortable offering higher salaries to ensure they’re protected.”
In the third spot was security consultants, who generally work with clients to devise a strategy for effective cyber-security, and are paid an average salary of $198,909 for their efforts.
Following in fourth place was the position of chief information security officer (CISO) a role similar in many ways to that of the chief security officer, but with a more intensive focus on protecting an organization’s database and other information-related assets. The average CISO salary is $192,500.
Rounding out the top five positions was director of security, a role centered on minimizing attacks and guiding internal teams in maintaining proper security procedures. The average salary for a professional in this role is $178,333 a year.
“In general we continue to see security roles in high demand with a shortage of candidates with those skills – which will likely lead to continued increase in overall compensation and benefits,” Goli said. “Companies will always be concerned with protecting their assets, thus making security professionals a constant need.”
The report also noted that while all of the listed IT security roles generally offer excellent salaries and benefits, other security-related jobs pay below the baseline average for tech pro salaries.
A security analyst, for example, may expect to earn $59,880 this year—significantly below the average tech professional’s salary.