Cyber Security Salaries Rise As IT Breaches Increase
The British technology industry surged in 2019 and many cyber security experts have received large pay increases.
This attributed to the threat of online attacks sent demand soaring and new figures have explained the significant changes. A new payscale report from Reed Specialist Recruitment reveals that technology was the fastest growing sector last year after a 13.8% hike in jobs posted and a 4.7% increase in the average salary.
Its Salary Guide, which analysed 7.5 million jobs posted since the start of 2016, showed the new data protection rules and the rising threat of cyber-crime in particular has seen demand for some roles rocket, which is pushing up salaries. A network security analyst has seen a 34% rise in average salary since 2017, to £63,000, it found.
All IT-related roles are the fastest-growing sector last year after a 13.8 per cent hike in jobs posted and a 4.7 per cent increase in the average salary. With the number of data breaches increasing and massive fines levied against firms who are deemed not to have secured their data effectively enough, demand for cyber-security experts is at an all-time high.
The report said the cyber-security market is “extremely active” and that it is now worth £3.5bn and growing - a marked increase from the £2.4bn valuation in 2010.
New data protection rules and the rising threat of cyber-crime in particular has seen rocketing demand for some roles, pushing up salaries in turn.
There have been significant pay increases across the board, for example, a network security analyst has seen a 34 per cent rise in average salary, up to £63,000, since 2017. Other IT roles that saw significant salary hikes over the £40,000 mark include an 11.5 per cent increase for infrastructure security engineers and 7.5 per cent jump for user interface designers. eed also conducted a survey of 5,000 people, 337 respondents of which were from the IT sector. It found that employees are increasingly opting for multiple jobs and the flexibility of temporary contracts in order to improve their work-life balance, as well as the variety of work and challenges.
The survey found that a fifth (19 per cent) held more than one contract role, while 13 per cent have three or more contract roles simultaneously.
Aside from lucrative tech roles, the report showed that engineering jobs were also in high demand, with a 0.9 per cent rise in jobs advertised last year. However, engineering wages only edged 2.1 per cent higher, compared with the national average of 3.4 per cent. Tom Lovell, global managing director at Reed Specialist Recruitment, said: “With continued record levels of employment, salaries are rising in response to skills shortages....This is particularly acute in the technology sector as digital transformation continues to be an area of significant investment.
On the other hand , some roles suffered hefty wage declines last year, with the study revealing a 5% fall for recruitment managers and 4.1% drop for digital marketing managers. Lovell said the trend for higher wages in lower level roles looks set to continue throughout 2020, while employers are expected to take a more flexible approach and look to “highly skilled temporary or interim workers to meet customer demands”.
A separate report from Morgan McKinley has shown impact of Brexit on the UK recruitment market. Its London employment monitor revealed a 42% plunge in jobs available year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2019. The figures also showed a 31% drop in City job seekers year-on-year in the final three months of 2019.
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