Most in-demand cyber security jobs in the UK

Cybersecurity skills are still very much in-demand. We look at the top job openings for this year

Christina Mercer September 12, 2018

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Cybersecurity jobs remain in high demand in the UK and that number is only set to grow, with the skills gap still very much a reality for employers.

Figures from the Global information security workforce study, which show there could be around 100,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the UK by 2022.

The good news is that it's an employees' market to an extent: if you have the right skills then you are in demand.

This is demonstrated by an increase in salaries - with infosec specialists seeing the highest salary increases at seven percent among IT professionals, according to the Robert Walters 2018 salary survey.

Over 58,000 people now work in cyber security-related roles in the UK, according to Tech Partnership's recent cyber security factsheet, a 160 percent rise since 2011.

But what roles are the most in-demand? What cyber security job pays the most? Read on to find out which cyber security jobs are most in demand in the UK in 2018.

All salary data has been collected from IT Jobs Watch.

Read next: Top IT job hiring trends for 2018

Additional reporting by Hannah Williams.

1. Data protection officer

A data protection officer (DPO) is a relatively new job role that is gaining in popularity following the implementation of the GDPR, the Europe-wide regulation that threatens businesses with tough fines if they fail to meet data compliance and reporting standards.

DPOs are most likely to be responsible for overseeing data protection strategies and ensuring on an ongoing basis that an organisation complies with all GDPR requirements.

According to Article 37 of the GDPR, the role is mandatory for all companies that collect or process EU citizens’ personal data, hence the high demand since GDPR came into effect in May 2018.

Some of the responsibilities of a DPO may include training staff involved in data processing, being the point of contact between the company and GDPR supervisory authorities and interfacing with data subjects.

The average annual salary advertised for a DPO in the UK is £55,000.

2. Chief Security Officer

Many CIOs know now that they cannot go at it alone when it comes to security, and so the demand for a chief security officer/chief information security officer (CSO/CISO) is increasing - especially with the explosion in data with IoT and ever-more sophisticated threats from attackers.

A CSO can be responsible for information security, corporate security or both. This may include the physical security of the organisation and its technologies, as well as its IT systems, people and processes.

CSO’s are also expected to oversee all standards for hardware and data. They are expected to have knowledge of protecting the internal corporate systems as well as cloud services and managing third parties too.

The average annual salary advertised in the UK is £50,000.

3. Security analysts

A security analyst will prepare, plan and carry out tests to ensure an organisation's network and system are able to protect itself against malicious attacks.

Security analysts are expected to protect the organisation the best they can either through consulting or carrying out system testing or combing over code.

They will be responsible for a range of activities including keeping up to date with the latest security and technology developments and planning disaster recovery in case of a data breach.

The average annual rate of pay advertised in the UK is £49,000.

4. Security consultants

Security consultants aim to design security solutions depending on particular business needs.

Security consultants will have to think of every eventuality, ensuring that the best security software is in place.

Under the 'security consultant' umbrella, information security consultant was the most sought after role by UK businesses.

According to figures from Dice job market report 2017, consulting was one of the highest job areas amongst IT professionals with 16 percent working as a consultant.

In addition, there were 90 advertised job openings for network security consultants resulting in a growth of 120 percent over the past five years.

The average annual rate of pay advertised in the UK is £65,000.

5. Security engineers

Security engineers focus on the design of security systems, ensuring that they are designed to block or react quickly to disruption such as cyber attacks or other malicious activities.

The security engineer title houses numerous job roles, including one of the most sought after by UK employers. Infrastructure engineers have undergone a massive growth period with demand for this role increasing by 617 percent over the past five years.

Network (security) engineers also received a boost in job openings with 590 job listings in each quarter over the last year with demand increasing by 139 percent in five years.

The average annual rate of pay advertised in the UK is £55,000.

6. Security managers

Security managers aim to provide secure procedures, from policy-led best practised to supervising security tests and software installations.

Over the past six years, security management positions have increased by 138 percent, with project management roles within the security management bracket increasing by 231 percent since 2011.

In terms of actual job advertisements, the role of information (security) manager was the most advertised, with 330 job openings during each quarter over the past year.

The average annual rate of pay advertised in the UK is £65,000.

7. Security architects

A security architect is responsible for updating and maintaining an organisation's security programs and/or infrastructure, as well as anticipating potential threats by keeping up to date with current trends.

The role of information security architect has increased by 269 percent over the past five years, with enterprise architect following a similar path with a reported growth of 137 percent since 2011.

The annual rate of pay advertised in the UK is £77,500.

8. Security officers and administrators

An entry-level security officer will provide support for the security procedures and software in place and tackle its day to day running.

Over the past year, 150 information security officer jobs were advertised in each quarter.

The average annual rate of pay advertised in the UK is £45,000.

9. Security tester and penetration tester

Penetration testers are responsible for locating flaws in code and security software through robust testing, usually mimicking the tools actual hackers would use to breach a perimeter. Exposing these vulnerabilities will help organisation future-proof their businesses and patch up any security holes.

Since 2011, penetration tester job openings have increased 123 percent in five years with the general security tester role has grown by 120 percent since 2011.

The annual rate of pay advertised in the UK is £60,000.

Most in-demand cyber security jobs in the UK

Cybersecurity skills are still very much in-demand. We look at the top job openings for this year

Christina Mercer

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Read next: Top IT job hiring trends for 2018