Cybersecurity engineer: CyberSeek

For many in the cybersecurity field and those considering cybersecurity as a career focus, the most coveted position is cybersecurity engineer. Cybersecurity engineers are responsible for implementing and maintaining information security systems within an IT network.

FREE role-guided training plans

Get 12 cybersecurity training plans — one for each of the most common roles requested by employers.

Download Now

But for many, the question remains: what does the career path of a cybersecurity engineer look like? One way to determine this is to use a career pathway tool, and the CyberSeek Career Pathway Tool is tailor-made for this task.

This article will delve into the career path of a cybersecurity engineer, using information available on the CyberSeek Career Pathway tool.

CyberSeek Career Pathway tool overview

CyberSeek’s Career Pathway tool helps job seekers and students plan their studies and career paths. This article will focus on job seekers.

Presented to you via an interactive user interface, CyberSeek helps you map the path to your chosen cybersecurity role. This pathway tool assigns roles to one of four categories: feeder role, entry-level, mid-level and advanced-level.

Scroll over any of the roles displayed, and you will see the roles that lead to your target role and those that your target role can lead to. A useful feature of this interface is that you can even see lateral moves available to you that will lead you to other jobs within your current role category.

Cybersecurity engineer

The role of cybersecurity engineer is one of the three core advanced-level cybersecurity roles presented in the CyberSeek cybersecurity positions. In the real world, this translates into a high-level cybersecurity role with a varied skill set for implementing and maintaining information security systems.

Average security engineer salary

According to CyberSeek, the average cybersecurity engineer salary you can expect is $117,510. It is important to understand that this figure is a national average, and the amount you will receive at your particular organization depends on different factors — including your experience level and the organization’s budget.

Common security engineer role titles

Like many different cybersecurity roles, there are different titles that organizations may use when referring to this role. Common role titles include security engineer, network security engineer and information security engineer. Despite the role title used, you will have essentially the same responsibilities; these will only differ if the organization’s specific business needs require so.

Your cybersecurity engineer education

How much formal education do you need to become a security engineer? There isn't a consensus as to how much is required. The most in-demand level of education for the cybersecurity engineer role is a bachelor’s degree, with 64% of employers using it as a prerequisite to employment.

The second most popular education level is a graduate degree, with 22% of employers requesting it. A sub-bachelor’s degree, such as an associate degree, is demanded by 14% of employers. Of course, having a higher education level than what is demanded will not necessarily hurt you, but you may find yourself with the high-class problem of being overqualified.

Top security engineer certifications

When you comb through cybersecurity engineer job openings, you will notice that certifications are often required for this role. However, not all employers require the same certifications. This may be because of simple oversight by the hiring manager who posted the job or because some certifications may not apply to the specific organization. CyberSeek has done the legwork for you and determined this role's most demanded information security certifications. These certifications are:

• CISSP
• GIAC
• CISM
• CISA
• Security+

Top security engineer skills

For many, cybersecurity engineering is their dream cybersecurity role. You must have amassed an impressive information security skill set to reach this role. According to CyberSeek, the top skills demanded are:

• Information security
• Network security
• Linux
• Information systems
• Python
• Cryptography
• Cisco
• Project management
• Authentication

Cybersecurity engineer openings

According to CyberSeek, there are 66,919 total job openings for the role of cybersecurity engineer and related role titles. This figure is based on the number of related roles posted in online job listings and is a general projection, as this number was based on jobs posted from October 2021 through September 2022.

NICE cybersecurity workforce categories

The cybersecurity field has an ever-changing job landscape. To help those in the industry and those looking to enter it, the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) has created a framework of jobs that neatly organizes them based on attributes, including job duties and technical competencies.

There are seven main categories of jobs, and cybersecurity engineer straddles three different categories. These categories are:

• Securely Provision: Conceptualizes, designs, procures and/or builds secure information technology systems, with responsibility for aspects of system and/or network development
• Operate and Maintain: Provides administration, support and maintenance needed to ensure effective and efficient information technology security and system performance
• Protect and Defend: Identifies, analyzes and mitigates threats to internal information technology systems and networks

Getting to cybersecurity engineer and where to go from there

Since the cybersecurity engineer role is categorized as advanced-level, you will need to have reached a mid-level position to be considered for this role. The good thing is that, according to CyberSeek, every job categorized as mid-level leads to cybersecurity engineer.

Once you are a cybersecurity engineer, you still have career options ahead of you. If you want to move on to another role from here, cybersecurity engineer gives you a direct route to the other two jobs in this category — cybersecurity architect and cybersecurity manager/administrator.

FREE role-guided training plans

Get 12 cybersecurity training plans — one for each of the most common roles requested by employers.

Download Now

CyberSeek makes your career pathway easier

When you are going somewhere, having a map helps. When your destination is a job in cybersecurity, you have a helpful map at your fingertips in CyberSeek cybersecurity career pathway. This career pathway tool has the itinerary mapped out for you, including projected job numbers and earning power. To learn more about this tool and use it yourself, look at the Cybersecurity career pathway.

Sources

1. National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework, NICE
2. Cybersecurity Career Pathway, CyberSeek