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, at no up-front cost to learners.
As of November 2022, over 200 CAPSLOCK learners have been hired into their first cyber role, out of 302 graduates to date.
Our first cohort has an employment rate of 81%, our second cohort has an employment rate of 75%, our third cohort has an employment rate of 71%, and as time moves on these numbers should continue to rise as more of our graduates find roles with our help.
Before joining the CAPSLOCK cyber bootcamp, the average salary of a CAPSLOCK learner is around £20,000.
After being hired into their first cyber role, the average salary of a CAPSLOCK learner is around £33,000.
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That’s a 66.8% increase in salary, on average. It’s incredible to see how drastically someone’s earning potential can improve when switching careers to cyber security.
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.
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 £73,000.
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 into 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 lots of technological work, and many others.
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.
As of autumn 2022, 200 CAPSLOCK learners have started jobs in cyber security. Here's just a handful of their new job roles:
• Cyber Security Consultant
• InfoSec Training & Awareness Officer
• Junior Penetration Tester
• Assurance Officer
• GRC Consultant
• SIEM Engineer
• Data Project Manager
• SOC Analyst
• Junior Offensive Security Consultant
• Business Development Manager
• Vulnerability Analyst
• Cyber Security Analyst
• Insider Threat Analyst
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 the BBC, Dyson and ITV.
Here’s just a small selection of businesses who have offered CAPSLOCK learners their first roles in cyber security:
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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