Cybersecurity Analyst Salary in Massachusetts

In 2013, the Boston Globe reported that the cybersecurity sector in Massachusetts is second only to that of Silicon Valley because of its concentration of security professionals and academics that focus on this specialty.

One of the biggest challenges facing the cybersecurity market is a “lack of sufficiently skilled people” according to Arthur W. Coviello Jr., the retired executive chairman of security firm RSA in Bedford, as quoted in Survive And Thrive Boston.

Demand for cybersecurity experts is so great in Massachusetts that a professional staffing firm dedicated exclusively to placing cybersecurity professionals has made its home here— Cyber 360 Inc. of Walpole. With this high demand, cybersecurity expert positions tend to pay well—9% higher than IT salaries on average according to the tech staffing firm Burning Glass Technologies.

Burning Glass reported that Boston had the 7^th highest number of job postings for cybersecurity analysts, engineers, auditors, architects, and administrators of any city in the country in 2014. In addition, the concentration of cybersecurity experts in Boston was 52% higher than it was nationwide.

Companies in Massachusetts have a critical need for these experts. In the final quarter of 2015, the consulting and risk management firm Deloitte conducted a cybersecurity audit of markets that included Boston. The company found that half of the respondents from Boston had experienced “cyber incidents” so severe that they “ultimately required executive action” according to the Boston Business Journal.

This publication created a list of the Massachusetts companies that had the largest gain in cybersecurity employees in the state in the year preceding April 2016. The Boston Business Journal narrowed the list to product-based service companies that develop their own technology to combat cyber threats and excluded IBM because it does not provide local staffing figures:

• Rapid7: 15 new employees for a total of 329
• Kaspersky lab: 17 new employees for a total of 200
• Digital Guardian: 20 new employees for a total of 150
• EIQ Network: 32 new employees for a total of 53

Salaries for Cybersecurity Analysts and Administrators in Boston and Springfield

According to the Robert Half Technology 2016 Salary Guide, cybersecurity analysts and administrators in Boston and Springfield can expect to earn salaries within the ranges shown here. Cybersecurity professionals with master’s degree have the advanced expertise to earn salaries at the high end of these ranges:

Boston:

• Data Security Analysts: $146,426 – $204,416
• Information Security Administrators: $140,315 – $198,835
• Network Security Administrators: $137,323 – $195,510

Springfield:

• Data Security Analysts: $114,499 – $161,408
• Information Security Administrators: $109,720 – $155,480
• Network Security Administrators: $107,380 – $152,880

Salaries for Information Security Analysts in the Major Cities of Massachusetts

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Boston area had the 6^th highest concentration of jobs for information security analysts of any metropolitan area in the country as of 2015.

The BLS provides detailed salary data below for information security analysts in Boston and the other major cities in Massachusetts. Information security analysts with a master’s degree can expect to earn salaries in the highest percentiles:

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