The digital world is advancing day by day. Technology is another natural asset to the world today. It has advanced to such a level, that robots or Instagram bloggers are posing as humans! With such advancements, everything is exchanged with the help of the internet. Be it the operations of businesses or government agencies. Name any firm or organization, they are serving its businesses online with the help of technology.
With such heavy tasks, comes heavy risks. This is when data security becomes one of the priorities of organizations. Hacking is common. There are an infinite number of hackers who just want to get into a system and hack data. Nowadays, people opt for ethical hacking certification training to cope with illegal hacking.
Organizations and government agencies are looking for ethical hackers to protect their databases and other software frameworks to make things smooth. Ethical hacking is authentic hacking that identifies all the vulnerabilities.
They will stop penetration and sensitive information acquisition. Ethical hackers have the best future scope today. With such demand comes an ample amount of salary packages. The average salary of an ethical hacker in the United States of America goes up to hundred thousand dollars a year.
Although this figure can vary depending on the location, job titles, and other job descriptions of the individuals. Ethical hacking has high competition and the rate can vary.
Influencing factors include certification, experience, educational knowledge and other soft skills. Some are natural hackers and some learn these hacking skills. A natural hacker will get better opportunities than a learned one!
Hacking is a type of sport that only passionate players can conquer. As everyone can play cricket but it takes natural talent to conquer the match, the same applies to ethical hackers. It is a passion that one has and works on the same with the help of certifications and education. Let us look at some of the factors that can influence the salary packages of ethical hackers.
Experience
Experience is very important to gain good salary packages in any field and organization. The same applies to the ethical hacker‘s salary. Most jobs in the field of ethical hacking do not require any degree but experience in the work/job. As per the research done by PayScale, if you have less than a year of experience you may earn around $67,000 a year but if you have more than one year of experience you can expect a salary of $81,000 per year.
People with advanced experience of more than five years can earn up to $100,000 annually. The salary package increases as you gain more expertise. Your salary is going to rise annually as you will be able to learn novel methods & skills. Technology advances every day, hence ethical hackers get good salary pay due to their dedicated learning and skill development skills. They always solve and find methods to secure data. They also add value to your capabilities and persona.
Location
Location plays an important role in the salary packages of ethical hackers. For example, the United States of America can have salary packages varying from city to city. A New Yorker can earn 10.7% higher than the national average salary. If someone is working in Texas they learn 23.7% less than the national average. The average salary in the United States of America is around $112,637(Ref). New York will provide you with much more than this figure whereas San Antonio or Texas will provide less.
California is a separate city from the whole USA, still, the salary packages can vary in California regions. San Jose can give you a 23% higher rate than the average national salary whereas Los Angeles can give 2%.
Job Title
Ethical hacking has various roles and shop titles. You will be responsible for many roles and responsibilities. All ethical hackers are not categorized under one roof but as per various jobs or titles. The title you possess can affect the annual payments you receive. Let us explore some of the designations and their average salary packages in the United States Of America [Ref.]-
- Penetration Tester: $50,000 – $127,000
- Security Engineer: $56,000 – $132,500
- Network Security Analyst: $41,000 – $107,000
- Cyber Security Analyst: $48,000 – $119,000
- Forensics Computer Analyst: $42,500 – $118,500
- Information Security Analyst: $48,500 – $107,000
- Information Security Manager: $73,000 – $153,000
Based on your skill sets and education, you may be designated in one of the following sectors. Your salary may also be influenced by the experience and location of your job. These are some of the major roles and responsibilities of an ethical hacker. There is no higher or lower position, everyone plays their role.
Education
Education is important to becoming an ethical hacker. Each company and organization has its skillset and criteria to choose ethical hackers. Some may require certification and some may not. Some may only look for experience and expertise while others may want you to be from the computer science field and have apt certifications.
Competition is fierce in the computer science field and hence to stand apart from others you should gain the following certifications based on your skills and interests-
- Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
- Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
- GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC)
These will help you in the job interview and get a higher salary package. With the knowledge and ample amount of experience, you will be able to enhance your CV/Resume and impress the employers with your skill sets. The certification may also qualify you as an expert in ethical hacking and other technical skills. Software and languages like JS, HTML, Bash, Python, Ruby & SQL are also important for an ethical hacker. These will be qualified with the help of certification courses.
To Sum Up
Ethical hacking is a ladder that one needs to climb. The first step is to know about cyber security and technicalities in the computer science field. You can learn Python, SQL, and JavaScript languages to know better. Your experience and skill sets will be developed along with the certification courses and will automatically boost your salary packages.
Ethical hacking is an ever-learning journey. One may never stop! As technology advances, the skills also need to advance. Make sure you A are a keen enthusiast of internet hacking before you opt for the certification.
