In its Cybersecurity Jobs Report 2015, Burning Glass Technologies reported that DC boasted the highest number of cybersecurity job postings of any city in the country between 2010 and 2014. The number of available cybersecurity jobs in DC totaled more than 27,000 during this period.
Burning Glass Technologies also reported a 30% increase in the number of cybersecurity jobs that became available in DC between 2010 and 2014. While IT positions are typically lucrative, this analysis reported that cybersecurity jobs tend to pay 9% more than other positions in the IT field.
- Grand Canyon University - B.S. and M.S. in Cyber Security
- SNHU - B.S and M.S. in Cybersecurity
- Purdue Global - Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity
- Arizona State University - Online Master of Arts in Global Security
DC Inno published an article called How Cybersecurity Came to Dominate DC Tech in 2015 that quoted SurfWatch Labs’ CIO, Adam Meyer, as saying “cybersecurity is definitely hot right now, and we will continue to see more cyber security tech built out of this area.”
In 2015, The Hoya quoted computer science professor and cybersecurity entrepreneur Matt Devost as saying that DC has the potential to surpass Silicon Valley as the country’s leading cybersecurity center. While cybersecurity in the District originally focused on servicing the defense industry, traditional venture firms and angel investors are investing in cybersecurity firms in the area that are competing in the lucrative private sector.
A recent string of multi-billion dollar cybersecurity acquisitions in the DC area brought home the prominence of cybersecurity in the District. Rick Gordon, a managing partner at the cybsecurity startup accelerator Mach37 in nearby Virginia told DC Inno that the burgeoning cybersecurity ecosystem in the DC area “will sustain itself and enable this region to dominate the cybersecurity market for many years to come.”
Salaries for Key Cybersecurity Specialists in Washington, DC
According to the Robert Half Technology 2016 Salary Guide, cybersecurity specialists in the District of Columbia can expect to earn salaries within the ranges shown here. The most experienced cybersecurity specialists with master’s degrees can expect to earn on the high end of these ranges:
- Data Security Analysts: $150,955 – $212,800
- Systems Security Administrators: $140,315 – $198,835
- Network Security Administrators: $137,323 – $195,510
Salaries for DC’s Information Security Analysts
DC.gov considers the profession of information security analyst to be so promising that it ranked it as one of the fastest growing occupations between 2014 and 2024. Job growth expectations approach 24% over this period.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provided the range of salaries that information systems analysts earned in DC as of 2015. Analysts with a master’s degree can expect to earn in the highest percentiles shown below: