Cyber Security Engineer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Cyber Security Engineer designs systems that protect the security of large databases, including databases with customer information and patient files. Examines client computer systems, identifies weak points in security, develops and implements new systems, monitors and responds to security issues.
Job Outlook
There were 1319 Cyber Security Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 44127 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Cyber / Information Security Engineer / Analyst industry, which includes the Cyber Security Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Cyber Security Engineer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $110,742.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $112,664.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Cyber Security Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $89,801.
Education and Experience
Posted Cyber Security Engineer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 67.93% |
| Master's Degree | 21.03% |
| Doctoral Degree | 4.35% |
| Other | 5.37% |
Posted Cyber Security Engineer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 8.36% |
| 3 to 5 years | 49.58% |
| 6 to 8 years | 26.15% |
| 9+ years | 15.91% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Cyber Security Engineer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Management (37.2%)
- Communication (36.26%)
- Operations (26.29%)
- Problem Solving (24.02%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (21.93%)
- Information Technology (20.26%)
- Leadership (19.46%)
- Research (18%)
- Security Policies (15.85%)
- Planning (14%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Endpoint Detection And Response (8.36%)
- Cyber Threat Intelligence (13.36%)
- Cyber Engineering (22.22%)
- Endpoint Security (9.55%)
- Infrastructure Security (7.97%)
- IT Security Architecture (11.86%)
- Application Security (13.94%)
- Basic Military Training (0%)
- Penetration Testing (15.4%)
- Microsoft Azure (23.49%)
- Cloud Security (17.18%)
- Computer Science (41.59%)
- Automation (27.72%)
- Security Engineering (24.29%)
- Amazon Web Services (26.47%)
- Security Controls (21.9%)
- Cryptography (9.62%)
- Security Information And Event Management (SIEM) (18.1%)
- Vulnerability Assessments (10.2%)
- Vulnerability Management (12.4%)
- Firewall (24.84%)
- Vulnerability (41.81%)
- Threat Modeling (11.08%)
- Identity And Access Management (12.99%)
- Intrusion Detection And Prevention (7.9%)
- Cyber Security (51.3%)
- Python (Programming Language) (31.92%)
- Network Security (22.51%)
- Vulnerability Scanning (9.42%)
- Scripting (24.23%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Workflow Management (8.5%)
- Application Programming Interface (API) (10.2%)
- Agile Methodology (12.53%)
- Cloud Services (4.93%)
- JavaScript (Programming Language) (7.72%)
- Authentications (13.18%)
- Active Directory (8.44%)
- Change Management (5.2%)
- Bash (Scripting Language) (8.12%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (4.64%)
- Encryption (11.54%)
- Operating Systems (16.86%)
- Information Systems (14.88%)
- Software As A Service (SaaS) (5.64%)
- Cloud Computing (4.22%)
- Incident Response (21.52%)
- Linux (19.01%)
- Risk Management (11.61%)
- Information Assurance (7.65%)
- Systems Engineering (10.62%)
- Virtual Private Networks (VPN) (7.52%)
- Access Controls (8.24%)
- Java (Programming Language) (12.07%)
- System Administration (5.56%)
- Auditing (18.96%)
- Software Development (10.58%)
- Risk Analysis (15.91%)
- C++ (Programming Language) (6.95%)
- Security Requirements Analysis (13.7%)
- Cloud Infrastructure (5.4%)
- TCP/IP (6.88%)
- Splunk (10.97%)
- Mitigation (11.15%)
- CI/CD (10.25%)
- Kubernetes (8.08%)
- Network Routing (7.89%)
- Project Management (10.25%)
- Windows PowerShell (14.61%)
- Public Cloud (4.9%)
- Software Engineering (8.78%)
- Security Systems (8.97%)
- Process Improvement (4.46%)
- Authorization (Computing) (10.41%)
- Tooling (7.38%)
- Terraform (7.07%)
- Industry Standards (6.17%)
- IT Security (10.35%)
- Programming Languages (7.15%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Plan Of Action And Milestones (POA&M) (3.79%)
- Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (3.74%)
- Cyber Operations (4.57%)
- Cyber Defense (3.4%)
- Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (4%)
- Assessment And Authorization (3.26%)
- MITRE ATT&CK Framework (4.15%)
- DevSecOps (6.83%)
- Cyber Threat Hunting (3.63%)
- Cloud Access Security Broker Tools (CASBs) (2.78%)
- Information Systems Security (6.35%)
- Threat Detection (4.05%)
- NIST 800-53 (5.29%)
- Proxy Servers (3.32%)
- Enterprise Security (4.91%)
- Public Key Infrastructure (6.49%)
- Data Loss Prevention (4.14%)
- ISO/IEC 27001 (6.87%)
- Product Security (5.13%)
- Intrusion Detection Systems (3.35%)
- Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) (6.17%)
- Risk Management Framework (7.44%)
- Security Testing (6.06%)
- Hardening (6.39%)
- Security Strategies (4.1%)
- Nessus (4.77%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- CyberArk (4.42%)
- MITRE ATT&CK Framework (6.01%)
- Cyber Operations (6.62%)
- Cyber Threat Intelligence (19.36%)
- Threat Detection (5.87%)
- Automation (40.16%)
- Microsoft Azure (34.03%)
- Cryptography (13.93%)
- Python (Programming Language) (46.25%)
- Security Testing (8.78%)
- Scripting (35.1%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Cyber Security Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Cybersecurity Engineer
- Security Engineer
- Information Security Engineer
- Network Security Engineer
- Application Security Engineer
- Cloud Security Engineer
- Lead Cybersecurity Engineer
- Information Systems Security Engineer
- Product Security Engineer
- Cybersecurity Systems Engineer
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Cyber Security Architect
- Cyber Security Manager / Administrator
- Vulnerability Analyst / Penetration Tester
- Incident Analyst / Responder
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Cyber Security Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Marriott International (1000)
- Amazon (890)
- Booz Allen Hamilton (574)
- Leidos (541)
- Meta (499)
- Motion Recruitment (493)
- SAIC (435)
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group (420)
- Insight Global (415)
- Lumen Technologies (400)
North Carolina
- Truist Financial (65)
- Wells Fargo (63)
- Motion Recruitment (44)
- Allegis Group (36)
- The Judge Group (28)
- TEKsystems (28)
- Cisco (22)
- Collabera (19)
- Actalent (18)
- Regions Financial (18)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.