Why Cyber Security Salaries Are Outpacing the Wider Tech Job Market

Cyber security pay is on a tear right now.

With the rest of the tech sector issuing layoffs and freezing salaries… cyber security experts are snatching up the largest paychecks of all.

You see the thing is…  This isn’t temporary. Businesses are spending whatever it takes to fix this because they have to.

In this article we will explore why and which positions are separating from the pack at the quickest rate.

Let’s jump in…

Here’s what’s inside:

1. Why Cyber Security Pay Is Pulling Away From Tech

2. The Numbers Behind The Salary Gap

3. Roles Earning The Biggest Premiums

4. What’s Driving The Demand

5. How To Position Yourself For A Cyber Salary

Why Cyber Security Pay Is Pulling Away From Tech

The simplest way to explain it? Demand is brutal and supply is broken.

Every company that interacts with the internet now requires a cybersecurity team. Banks have them. Hospitals have them. Even your local city council has them. But there aren’t enough people to go around.

Take any “general developer” position you like. Salaries have stagnated or declined over the past 24 months. Cyber security has skyrocketed.

A cyber threat analyst with years of experience working in a London SOC today is making more money than a mid-level full-stack developer with the same experience. A recent QAHE Limited study shows there are tens of thousands of open cyber security jobs just in the UK alone. Companies are paying top dollar for qualified cyber threat analyst candidates.

Why is this happening?

• Cyber attacks are increasing in volume and sophistication

• Regulators are forcing companies to take security seriously

• AI is creating brand new attack surfaces nobody understands yet

• The talent pipeline is not producing enough qualified people

It’s heaven right now.  Literally the best storm ever.  And everyone in this industry is benefiting in the best way possible.

The Numbers Behind The Salary Gap

Now for some hard numbers. The numbers paint the best picture of why cyber is the hot place to be.

The average cybersecurity salary in US is ~$120k in 2025 (vs IT roles $97k, US median $59k)

That’s almost double the national average for working in cyber.

This isn’t just happening in the US either. Average salaries for cyber jobs in the UK have also risen faster than inflation for three consecutive years. The report, from recruiters, said 45 percent of all technology professionals enjoyed salary increases in the 53 countries surveyed last year. Cyber remains ahead of the overall pay scales however.

Cyber security is one of the few areas in tech where if you change employers, you can consistently expect to earn a 15-25% higher salary.

Salary levels are rising too. Cyber security analysts can now command £30,000-£40,000 as a starting salary in the bigger UK cities. Six figures is commonplace for senior roles.

Roles That Are Earning The Biggest Premiums

Not every cyber security job is paying the same. Some roles are absolutely flying.

Here are the ones pulling the heaviest premiums right now:

Cloud Security Engineers

Everyone is going to the cloud.  Few know how to secure it.  Cloud security engineers make $130K-$175K in the US at mid/senior level.  AWS or Azure security expertise means you can write your own ticket.

Penetration Testers

Businesses want to know their weaknesses before criminals do. Pen testers (aka ethical hackers) are highly sought after. The job is fascinating, the pay is great, and the OSCP opens doors to elite salaries.

Cyber Threat Analyst Roles

The cyber threat analyst is the core member of any current security operation. They watch your systems, hunt down threats, and react to incidents. With ransomware attacks continuing to rise, threat analyst pay has too.

Security Architects & CISOs

These are the higher-ups that architect your entire security stack. Security architects make $150k-$200k USD with 7+ years experience. Enterprise level CISOs are hitting the $400k+ total comp regularly.

What’s Driving The Demand

To understand why this gap exists, look at what’s happening in the wider world.

Cyber attacks are skyrocketing.  Ransomware, phishing, supply chain attacks, AI-powered social engineering… you name it, the frequency is through the roof.  Businesses that wouldn’t have cared about security 5 years ago are now making it a boardroom priority.

The talent gap is massive.  There are currently 4.8 million unfilled cyber security jobs worldwide (ISC2).

Regulators are pushing hard on this front. GDPR. NIS2. Financial services and healthcare have their own sector-specific regulations. Every time legislators come up with a new regulation…more cyber security jobs are born.

AI is only going to make these jobs harder. AI technologies allow attackers to operate quicker and find more vulnerabilities than before. Defenders have to stay on pace.

Put it all together and you have an industry where salaries are only headed in one direction.

How To Position Yourself For A Cyber Salary

To get your slice of the pie you gotta play your cards right.

Get the right certifications.

Certs still matter in cyber. The big ones to focus on are:

• CompTIA Security+ (entry-level baseline)

• CISSP (mid-to-senior level standard)

• OSCP (for offensive security and pen testing)

• Cloud security certs (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Each adds a measurable bump to your earning potential.

Specialise where the money is.

Generalists make good money. Specialists make significantly more. Choose one of the high growth areas such as cloud security, AI security, or threat intelligence and learn how to really excel at it.

Switch employers strategically.

Loyalty is awesome. However, the statistics have proven that moving jobs every 2-4 years within cyber security will increase your rate of pay significantly higher than staying with one company.

Get hands-on experience.

What you know doesn’t pay. What you can do does. Build a home lab. Hack bug bounty programs. Get actual cyber threat analyst experience before walking into senior level interviews.

Cyber threat analyst is a fantastic entry level role due to the high demand and how the skills apply to almost any other security role.

Final Thoughts

Cyber security is one of the few areas of technology where traditional market conditions do not seem to apply at present. Developers and PMs battle budget cuts and stagnant salary increases. Meanwhile salaries for security professionals continue to rise annually.

To quickly recap:

• Cyber security pay is significantly outpacing wider tech roles

• The talent gap is enormous and getting bigger

• Cloud, threat intelligence, and AI security lead the salary growth

• Specialisation and certifications drive the biggest pay jumps

If you’re already out in the workforce, it’s time to negotiate aggressively and make a move.  If you’re thinking about entering the fray… now has been the best time in 10 years.

The numbers are speaking pretty loudly.