It’s never too late to improve your skills and attain a higher cybersecurity salary – here’s how to do it.
Introduction
Many have a goal of obtaining a higher cybersecurity salary. With the world saying that the cybersecurity world is wide open for everyone, it’s no surprise that every year, more and more fresh graduates are entering the workforce. Many consider a high cybersecurity salary a goal from the start – and with that being the case, you’re not only competing with 20-year-old CTF wizards but also those who have been in the industry for a while. So, how exactly do you obtain a higher cybersecurity salary?
Steps to Take for a Higher Cybersecurity Salary
Obtain a Degree
The first step to take to obtain a higher cybersecurity salary is to get qualified (i.e. obtain any kind of a degree – a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or even a PhD.) This is often the first step in your professional career – a degree in any field doesn’t guarantee you success or even admission to a position, however, it may be a requirement for those working in government jobs.
Gain Experience
“Gain experience” – this is probably the most vague thing you can say to a person who aims to get a higher cybersecurity salary. Regardless, it is true – ask anyone in the cybersecurity world and they will tell you that experience is often more valuable than a degree itself. Gain experience by:
- Completing projects – the fastest way to learn anything is to build or get acquainted with a cybersecurity project. It doesn’t have to be anything nearly as big as a data breach search engine offered by BreachDirectory – a simple firewall that uses a loop to block requests will do.
- Being active on GitHub – being active on coding platforms such as GitHub will show employers that you know how to use Git as well as enable them to see your coding style. This is an important step to obtain a higher cybersecurity salary.
- Reading books and applying the advice in practical use cases – this has a lot to do with the first point of completing projects. Books like Hacking MySQL: Breaking, Optimizing, and Securing MySQL for Your Use Case will not only walk you through how software (in this case MySQL) works but also tell you what could you be doing wrong to “break” it (make SQL queries run slow, etc.) and how to optimize everything you do as well as how to ensure that all of your data is secure.
Gaining experience has multiple caveats and all of them cannot be covered in one post – we suggest searching for “unusual” ways to showcase your expertise (e.g. running a YouTube channel, being a technical reviewer for a book, attending or speaking at conferences) and applying to jobs after the fact.
Choose an In-Demand Sector
Cybersecurity is big and to obtain a higher cybersecurity salary you also have to ensure to choose a sector that has a lot of potential. Being a cybersecurity analyst at a manufacturing job isn’t likely to net you a high cybersecurity salary, while a healthcare cybersecurity role will help your wallet a lot.
Speak at Conferences
Another way to showcase your skills and obtain a higher cybersecurity salary is to be active in speaking at conferences. Conferences like defCamp, Build Stuff, or others are a great place to start and many of such conferences take first-time speakers and if you speak at a conference once, chances are that you will get accepted to a conference again – conferences are also a good way to showcase your skills if you want to write something in print (a book, etc.)
Earn Cybersecurity Certifications
Another way to increase your cybersecurity salary is to go after cybersecurity certifications such as CREST, CEH, OSCP, or others. Other certifications like a certified MySQL DBA certificate or a certified Oracle DBA certificate will be very useful for database administrators, while certificates like ITIL will be useful for project managers.
Target Higher-Paying Companies
Last but not least, if you want a higher cybersecurity salary, target higher-paying companies. Some of such companies will be “elite” in the sense of Netflix, Meta, or Google, but not all higher-paying cybersecurity salary jobs are from those companies. Look at Glassdoor company reviews as well as salaries, then choose and apply to a position of interest.
Beyond a Cybersecurity Salary: Protect Yourself Online
Also, don’t forget to adequately protect yourself on the web. No matter how high of a cybersecurity salary you’re aiming to obtain (keep in mind that a cybersecurity salary is also location-dependent), not protecting yourself on the web is one of the first steps toward trouble.
The usage of data breach search engines is a good first step towards protection – data breach search engines will not only inform you whether your data is at risk but also tell you what actions you should take to lessen your exposure and protect yourself from identity theft.
The BreachDirectory API is also of interest to those who want to implement the data inside BreachDirectory into their applications to assist their use case. The BreachDirectory API can also be used in bulk to scan through and receive responses whether multiple accounts are at risk at once.
Summary
While there is no one way to obtain a higher cybersecurity salary, experts recommend obtaining a degree, completing cybersecurity projects, obtaining certifications, speaking at conferences, and targeting higher-paying companies in the first place. Additionally, keeping yourself up to date by reading books is also beneficial.
FAQ
How to Obtain a Higher Cybersecurity Salary?
To obtain a higher cybersecurity salary, obtain a degree, complete cybersecurity projects, get certified, consider speaking at conferences, and target higher-paying companies.
Is a Higher Cybersecurity Salary Possible without a Degree?
Yes, certainly. There are a lot of people who don’t have a degree but get a high cybersecurity salary.
Aside From a Higher Cybersecurity Salary, How to Protect Myself on the Web?
To protect yourself on the web, consider using data breach search engines like BreachDirectory or the BreachDirectory API as well as subscribing for data breach notifications to be notified whenever your account is at risk of identity theft.