Top Cyber Security Highest Paying Jobs & Careers in 2020

Why do we need security? 

Security is essential in all aspects of life, one never knows when someone will try to break into their home, or at any place trying to steal their belongings. In the age of computers, data is the most valuable asset. Many advertising companies pay a good sum to obtain data from relevant users or future probable customers. This data being sold is legitimate as users sign forms and accept conditions online regarding any platform. But users or companies don't want anybody to view some private data, this can be bank details or other personal and financial information.

Malicious attempts on online data are continuously happening all over the world. The people who carry out such cyberattacks are called hackers. These hackers try to exploit the security of applications or software to get data, steal money or destroy the data on any system. Luckily organizations have a way of fighting these hackers. There are various ways to integrate security in software systems, it can be done on application level by writing code with keeping security in mind, implementing firewalls on the storage mediums, and by monitoring daily network activities of interconnected systems.

Why is CyberSecurity necessary?

Cybersecurity is related to the online security of assets. As mentioned earlier data is the most valuable digital asset and it needs to be protected at all costs. Companies can face legal action if their user's data is leaked or tweaked, that is the reason why companies tend to pay extra to hire more experienced and certified cybersecurity experts. Cybersecurity is a very serious matter for large organizations as their reputation is on the line, users trust larger organizations with their valuable data. If and when this trust is broken, the whole organization's credibility is at stake.

Today most of our data is stored on the cloud, we can sync our data through various devices and on various platforms (cellphone, PC, tablet, etc). Every single one of these devices is developed on different technologies. Some of these technologies might not be as secure as others, that is why a single data storage medium is preferred for data that needs to be synced. In this case, if there are some security issues in that single data storage medium (cloud) then the security of all such interconnected devices is at risk. For the devices and platforms that are not interconnected the security concerns at least double in number, because now each security concern is device or platform-specific and has to be separately handled.

Top 5 highest paying Jobs in CyberSecurity

Chief information security officer

 Usually, companies appoint only one Chief information security officer, and all the security staff falls under his/her command. Their job role is to look after any security concerns that are happening inside the company, be it internal infrastructure wise, application-level security or security of networks. Every single security team in an organization reports to this position.

Average Salary:

Medium to small ranged companies pays an average of $120,000 annually for this position. Whereas larger organizations with fifty-plus people pay around $250,000.

Bounty hunter

This job’s nature is more towards the freelance side. A bounty hunter is typically an expert security analyst and engineer who focuses on finding and reporting security issues of large organizations. Organizations in return grant these bounty hunters a small or large sum depending on the level of a security breach that they have found. Along with this organizations usually give these bounty hunters a certificate of gratitude as well, in rare cases when a bounty hunter finds a huge security loophole, the company can offer them a full-time job as well.

Average Salary:

Experienced bounty hunters who are also called white hat hackers are reported to earn an average of $300,000 annually. Mid to junior level bounty hunters earn less than this depending on the number of bounties they avail each month.

Lead security engineer

 Organizations typically have several security engineers working for them as a team, this team is lead by a lead security engineer. The lead security engineer looks after the whole security team and is the most experienced and skillful security person in the team. He/she guides the whole team in security assessments and setting up the right security structure for projects.

 Average Salary:

The average salary of a Lead security engineer is $127,000.

Security engineer

 A security engineer is a person who has developed enough cybersecurity skills over time that now he/she is capable of fighting off common malicious attacks with ease. They are also responsible for building security strategy from ground up of any organization or project at hand. All the security engineers in an organization report to the lead security engineer and in case there is only one security engineer in an organization then he is automatically termed as the lead security engineer.

Average Salary:

The average salary of a security engineer is $107,000

Security analyst

 A security analyst’s job role is to monitor and report security issues that are faced during the development phase or after the release of any build as well. It is also their responsibility to analyze the probable security issues that might arise due to the implementation of some feature or due to use of some off the shelf component. A security analyst can be termed as the human part of an organization’s firewall.

Average Salary:

The average salary of a security analyst is $85,000

How to land these Jobs in 2020

Landing these jobs is easy, given that you have the expertise for the required position and can learn more as well. Nobody starts with a great pay scale in IT, 

unless they are exceptionally talented and god-gifted. For the rest of us, we can climb the ladder one step at a time, gaining more and more skills and mastering the ones we already possess.

Certification in terms of cybersecurity jobs does help a lot, as you get to learn more skills in a shorter amount of time. And can quickly evaluate the skills that you have learned by taking the quizzes in those certifications. Usually while hiring for these upper-level jobs, companies tend to focus on the mindset of the individual, is this person a real problem solver? Does this person have an eagerness to learn more and increase their skill set? And most importantly can this person withstand the pressure created in the fast-paced development environment?

 If an interviewer sees that the interviewee poses these habits and skills, and checks all the right boxes then they make an offer. Every company has different hiring policies, hence better to look out for required minimum experience before applying, most of the time companies are willing to oversee one or two years for required minimum as long as the person is skilled.