New Research Reveals Large Salary Rises for Cybersecurity Workers

New insights into the salaries of UK cybersecurity workers have been published by recruitment firm Via Resource.

The salary guide provided the median salaries across 10 major job roles in the sector according to experience. This highlighted notable wage increases in the past year, including by 45.6% in one category. According to the data, CISOs with entry or mid-level experience saw their wages rise by 22.2% and 25%, respectively, in 2022 compared to 2021.

The findings highlights the growing need to retain and hire cybersecurity professionals amid the well publicized cyber skills gap.

The figures were provided for the following roles:

Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)

• 1-2 years’ experience: median salary of £43,700 (45.6% increase)
• 3-5 years’ experience: median salary of £56,500 (13% increase)
• 5+ years’ experience: median salary of £85,000 (6.25% increase)

Information Security Management

• 1-2 years’ experience: median salary of £71,500 (6.7% increase)
• 3-5 years’ experience: median salary of £90,500 (5.9% increase)
• 5+ years’ experience: median salary of £120,000 (9% increase)

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

• Entry-level experience: median salary of £110,000 (22.2% increase)
• Mid-level experience: median salary of £150,000 (25% increase)
• Senior level experience: median salary of £200,000 (11.1% increase)

Security Operations Centre (SOC) Analyst

• 1-2 years’ experience: median salary of £45,000 (28.6% increase)
• 3-5 years’ experience: median salary of £65,000 (30% increase)
• 5+ years’ experience: median salary of £90,000 (5.9% increase)

Security Engineering

• 1-2 years’ experience: median salary of £45,000 (7% increase)
• 3-5 years’ experience: median salary of £65,000 (3.2% increase)
• 5+ years’ experience: median salary of £90,000 (2.3% increase)

Security Architecture

• 1-2 years’ experience: median salary of £70,000 (2.9% increase)
• 3-5 years’ experience: median salary of £84,000 (2.4% increase)
• 5+ years’ experience: median salary of £97,000 (3.1% increase)

Cloud Security

• 1-2 years’ experience: median salary of £55,000 (1.9% increase)
• 3-5 years’ experience: median salary of £66,000 (1.5% increase)
• 5+ years’ experience: median salary of £81,000 (3.8% increase)

Application Security 

• 1-2 years’ experience: median salary of £31,000 (3.3% increase)
• 3-5 years’ experience: median salary of £82,000 (2.5% increase)
• 5+ years’ experience: median salary of £122,000 (1.7% increase)

DevSecOps

• 1-2 years’ experience: median salary of £76,000 (15% increase)
• 3-5 years’ experience: median salary of £89,000 (14% increase)
• 5+ years’ experience: median salary of £115,000 (10.6% increase)

Penetration Tester

• 1-2 years’ experience: median salary of £30,000 (3.4% increase)
• 2-3 years’ experience: median salary of £47,500 (1% increase)
• 3-5 years’ experience: median salary of £80,000 (2.6% increase)
• 6+ years’ experience: median salary of £105,000 (1% increase)

Torquil Macleod, founder and director of Via Resource, commented: “Our report is the perfect UK salary benchmarking tools for both employers looking to attract the best employees and workers looking for a new job. We have included 10 of the most common cybersecurity job titles and want to ensure clients and candidates receive the best experience possible with quality support, advice and guidance.”

The study also revealed the results of a recent survey displaying the areas cybersecurity candidates consider most important when looking for a new role. These were ranked as salary, job title, job benefits, career progression, job responsibilities, skills and training.