🚀 How to Get Into Cyber Security
📋 Career Paths & Salaries
Salaries based on UK market data (2025-2026). Ranges depend on location, experience, and certifications.
Digital Forensics Analyst
Examine digital devices, recover deleted/encrypted data, trace cybercriminal activity. Work with law enforcement on cases from fraud to serious crime. Skills: file systems, memory forensics, evidence handling, chain of custody.
Mid: £35,000 - £55,000
Senior: £55,000 - £75,000+
SOC Analyst (Security Operations Center)
Front-line defence. Monitor security alerts, triage incidents, escalate threats. The entry point for most cyber careers. Skills: SIEM tools (Splunk, Sentinel), log analysis, incident response, threat hunting.
Mid: £30,000 - £45,000
Senior: £45,000 - £65,000+
Ethical Hacker / Penetration Tester
Authorised hacking to find vulnerabilities before criminals do. Web apps, networks, cloud, mobile, social engineering. The most hands-on offensive role in cyber. Skills: Kali Linux, Burp Suite, Metasploit, Python, web app security.
Mid: £45,000 - £70,000
Senior: £70,000 - £100,000+
Cyber Security Analyst
Broad security role covering risk assessment, security monitoring, policy enforcement, and user training. The Swiss Army knife of cyber. Skills: risk frameworks, vulnerability management, security awareness, reporting.
Mid: £38,000 - £52,000
Senior: £52,000 - £70,000+
Incident Responder
First responder when a breach happens. Contain, eradicate, recover. High-pressure, high-impact work. Skills: digital forensics, malware analysis, memory analysis, network forensics, EDR tools.
Mid: £45,000 - £65,000
Senior: £65,000 - £85,000+
Security Architect
Design and build secure systems from the ground up. Cloud security architecture, network segmentation, zero-trust, identity management. Skills: AWS/Azure, threat modelling, PKI, IAM, Zero Trust.
Mid: £70,000 - £90,000
Senior: £90,000 - £110,000+
Cyber Security Consultant
Help organisations assess and improve their security posture. Gap analysis, compliance audits, strategy development. Client-facing, varied work. Skills: risk management, compliance (GDPR, ISO 27001), auditing.
Mid: £45,000 - £70,000
Senior: £70,000 - £90,000+
Threat Intelligence Analyst (CTI)
Track cybercriminal groups, analyse TTPs, produce intelligence reports. OSINT, dark web monitoring, threat actor profiling. Skills: OSINT frameworks, dark web tools, CTI platforms (MISP, ThreatConnect), analytical writing.
Mid: £40,000 - £60,000
Senior: £60,000 - £80,000+
Security Engineer
Build and maintain security infrastructure. Firewalls, WAFs, EDR, SIEM, IAM. The technical backbone of any security team. Skills: network security, cloud security, scripting (Python, Bash), infrastructure automation.
Mid: £50,000 - £70,000
Senior: £70,000 - £90,000+
Malware Analyst
Reverse-engineer malicious software to understand how it works. Static and dynamic analysis, unpacking, decompilation. Deep technical work. Skills: IDA Pro, Ghidra, x86/x64 assembly, debugging, Python, C/C++.
Mid: £45,000 - £65,000
Senior: £65,000 - £90,000+
Security Auditor
Audit organisations against security standards. Compliance checks, penetration test reviews, control assessments. Skills: audit frameworks (ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS), risk assessment, report writing.
Mid: £42,000 - £58,000
Senior: £58,000 - £75,000+
Cloud Security Specialist
Secure cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP). Cloud security posture management, container security, serverless security. Fastest-growing cyber role. Skills: cloud platforms (AWS/Azure), Terraform, Kubernetes, CSPM tools.
Mid: £60,000 - £85,000
Senior: £85,000 - £110,000+
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