The job of a cyber security engineer is one of the more clearly defined ones within the overall orbit of cyber security jobs..
Allowing for this, there is still a lot of scope for different aspects of the work, and a high degree of overlap with cyber security analysts, and other roles.
A cyber security engineer is likely to have responsibility for developing, maintaining and overseeing an organisation’s entire network system.
They may do this on their own, or with other cyber security professionals depending upon the size of the organisation. However, they are likely to have primary responsibility for this work.
Such work normally involves performing assessments of how effective the company network is, various scenarios of penetration testing and the development and implementation of secure network solutions.
Cyber security engineers may also be known as IT security engineers, application security engineers, web security engineers or data security engineers.
Whatever their title, their primary responsibility will be the network integrity of the organisation they are working for.
This work will have numerous aspects, some very technical, which the cyber security engineer will be expected to have the necessary qualifications and experience to deal with.
Cyber Security Engineer Salary
According to industry experts, the average salary for a cyber security engineer is around US$98,000. A quick look at job listings online confirms this, with many jobs being advertised with salaries around this figure.
It is important to remember the any salary is in theory negotiable, and may vary depending upon whether the job is remote or on-site.
In addition, job salaries may vary depending upon other benefits that are offered, including bonuses, profit share, re-location expenses and other standard industry inducements.
It is worth noting that salaries in the military services for cyber security engineers are normally lower than in the commercial sector.
This in part it is the nature of public service, but is also likely to reflect the fact that the military are in a position to provide some, if not all, of the training required, which may be an attractive proposition for some people unable to afford or get a university degree.
Cyber security engineer qualifications
A cyber security engineer will definitely need some formal qualifications, most commonly a degree in computer science and / or electrical engineering and proficiency in a number of programming languages such as Java, Python, C++/etc. There are a number of qualifications which Cisco provide which can often be extremely useful.
Some universities offer specific degrees in cyber security engineering, which will combine elements of computer science with electrical engineering, and may include some practical placements as well.
In addition to formal qualifications, cyber security engineers will be expected to have considerable experience in understanding networks, how they work and the various protocols need to function properly.
The engineer will also need to demonstrate a willingness to quickly adapt to new trends, threats and understandings within the world of cyber security and cyberspace.
