Average Entry Level Cyber Salary: How much can I earn in my first cyber security role?
One of the many attractive elements about starting a career in cyber security is the high earning potential.
Although it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact average cyber security salary in the UK, various sources place it at around the £50k – £60k mark. This would be representative of a mid-level cyber position.
Whilst this is useful for those who are new to cyber to keep in mind for the future, what is the average entry level cyber salary in the UK? Read on to find out…
What kind of starting salary can someone expect for an entry level cyber role?
We asked Gary Billings, CAPSLOCK’s very own Head of Careers, for his thoughts:
“When looking at the UK’s cyber security industry as a whole, you can find entry-level cyber security salaries ranging from around £25,000 to around £30,000, depending on the role.
This is the typical range, but we have seen CAPSLOCK learners go on to earn £40,000+ in their first roles. Employers are more inclined to pay higher salaries to those who have transferable skills which relate to the type of roles that they are applying for within the industry.
There is a huge diversity of entry-level cyber security jobs out there, and once you get your foot in the door there’s a lot of scope for rapid career progression.”
Gary and the CAPSLOCK careers team are able to offer CAPSLOCK learners expert career guidance and interview preparation. They are also developing an ever-growing network of cyber security employer partners who are keen to interview and hire CAPSLOCK talent.
What’s the average starting salary of a CAPSLOCK learner?
At CAPSLOCK, we deliver award-winning cyber security bootcamps which help adults from any background reskill in cyber security in as little as 16 weeks, with the option to pay nothing up-front.
As of spring 2023, over 270 CAPSLOCK learners have been hired into their first cyber role.
Before joining the CAPSLOCK cyber bootcamp, the average salary of a CAPSLOCK learner is around £22,000.
After being hired into their first cyber role, the average salary of a CAPSLOCK learner is around £34,400.
That’s roughly a 54% increase in salary on average. It’s incredible to see how drastically someone’s earning potential can improve when switching careers to cyber security.
(Above data collected in May 2023)
At this point, it's important to note that while 61% of our hired learners begin their cyber careers in entry level roles, 33% have gone straight into mid-level roles and a small percentage have landed senior roles earning over £50K per year.
At CAPSLOCK, we’re combining the transferable skills people already have from other sectors with our ground-breaking curriculum and dedicated careers support, mentoring and coaching, meaning the sky is really the limit when finding that first cyber role.
What’s the highest first salary a CAPSLOCK learner has attained?
Currently, the highest salary attained by one of our learners in their first cyber role is £75,000.
Regardless of your prior work and life experience, it is entirely possible to land a high-paying first job in cyber. With the right support and education, you can reskill and become a cyber security professional. With your existing transferable skillset, the CAPSLOCK careers team can help you find and prepare for exciting new roles.
What kind of roles do CAPSLOCK learners land?
The field of cyber security is incredibly broad, covering a far greater spectrum of skills and roles than people might expect. There are roles which are very people-driven, roles which focus heavily on risk and compliance, roles which revolve around tech, and many others.
As of spring 2023, over 250 CAPSLOCK learners have started jobs in cyber security. Here are the most common areas they're working in:
In November 2022, an education charity advertised a job vacancy for an Information Security GRC Analyst role, and displayed "Cyber Bootcamps, such as CAPSLOCK" at the top of their desired 'Qualifications and Experience' list. This is one small example of the increasing demand for CAPSLOCK talent that we've seen over the past couple of years.
Who is hiring CAPSLOCK learners?
Our incredible learners have been landing jobs with a diverse range of employers, including some of the UK’s largest and most well-known companies such as ITV, BT, Jaguar Land Rover, PwC and Asda.
The combination of our holistic curriculum and careers-outcome focus is unlocking the type of cyber talent that is in such high demand in the industry. The feedback from those interviewing and hiring our learners has been outstanding.
Clearly, the UK has a large untapped pool of potential cyber talent in its general workforce. By allowing people from all backgrounds to retrain in cyber security, we are bringing fresh faces into the industry, all of whom have a wealth of transferable skills from other sectors.
For more information about reskilling in cyber with CAPSLOCK, visit: https://capslock.ac.
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