Security Engineer
Finds and closes the ways systems fail under attack. Adversarial work with a permanent supply of new problems.
- Pay band (est.)
- $125k–$186k
- Time to competence
- 5 years
- Licence
- None
- Setting
- desk
- Leverage
- high
- Place constraint
- low
- Physical demand
- 8/100
- Hours burden
- 60/100
Factor percentiles
Percentile against the whole curated set. Higher is better on that factor only.
- Play68th
Absorbing rather than merely paid.
- Specific knowledge66th
A combination of skills that is hard to copy.
- Leverage86th
Output that scales through code, media, capital or crew.
- Demand96th
Durability and shortage, scored conservatively.
- Pay84th
Mid-career floor and the range above it.
- Body89th
Inverse of physical demand and hours.
- Autonomy92th
Control of methods and time.
- People fit89th
Distance from your preferred people level.
- Place flexibility91th
Remote fit and freedom from specific metros.
- Time to skill63th
Inverse of years to competence.
- Meaning load50th
Closeness to the families you marked as meaningful. Your mapping, not ours.
- Downside tolerance99th
Inverse of named risk to body, market or platform.
Downside
Incident on-call; blame concentrates when something is breached.
Examine this against your weights
The percentiles above use the default weights. Set your own on the ranking and this vocation moves with them.
- Place constraint is low. Where you live is analysed at locationistics.com.
- Hours burden is 60/100 and people intensity 50/100. Who you are with is analysed at relationistics.com.
Source note: BLS OEWS May 2024, Information Security Analysts (15-1212): median $124,910, 90th percentile $186,420. Outlook from BLS 2025-35 projections, +21.0%. Other scores editorial. All figures are estimates for comparison.