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Security Engineer

Finds and closes the ways systems fail under attack. Adversarial work with a permanent supply of new problems.

Pay band (est.)
$125k–$230k
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.

  • Demand92th

    Durability and shortage, scored conservatively.

  • Pay96th

    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 load29th

    Care, craft and stewardship weight. Not a moral score.

  • Downside tolerance98th

    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.

Source note: BLS-style wage patterns; estimate. All figures are estimates for comparison.