If you’re interested in building a career within technology, you’ve probably looked up "cyber security salary" at some point. This is because cyber security is one of the highest paying industries in the world in 2027 as every company from startups to large banks are terrified of hackers! They are willing to pay huge amounts of money to someone who can protect them.
So how much can you earn? Well, so it will depends on your work experience and skills. There are plenty of entry level roles with a good salary, but experienced experts can earn more than doctors and engineers. We’ll explain how much you can earn in this industry in simple terms below.
Average Cyber Security Salaries Around the World
On average, the salaries you can earn in the USA are between $95k-$145k per year ($8k- $12k per month). In the UK you can earn between £45k-£85k per year. These are far higher than most IT related jobs due to a lack of skilled staff.
As an entry level employee you’ll be starting as a Cyber Security Analyst. Here you’ll be monitoring computer systems and looking for any threats. An entry level analyst will earn around $65k-$85k per year in the USA. After 2-3 years and knowing ethical hacking and penetration testing your salary can jump to between $90k-$130k per year. As an ethical hacker you’ll be paid lots of money as you’re paid to legally try to hack into a company’s system to find any weaknesses.
Once you become a Cyber Security Engineer you’ll be doing much more advanced tasks. Designing secure networks, setting up firewalls and creating systems that hackers cannot get through. You’ll be earning between $110k-$155k per year. The highest paid role is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). This is the person in charge of the entire security of a company and they earn between $180k-$280k+. Only a few people will ever get to this point, but if you are in this industry for 8-10 years you can.
Pakistan and India are also improving extremely quickly. Entry level roles now pay between Rs.80k-Rs.150k per month. After 3 years of experience, especially if you work with international clients or remote US companies, your salary can be between Rs.300k-Rs.500k per month. In India you can earn between ₹4-₹7 LPA as an entry level employee and ₹20-₹40 LPA as a senior expert. The main advantage is that you can work remotely. So you can live in Pakistan but earn in dollars for a US company.
What Factors Affect Your Salary and How to Boost it?
There are 4 key factors that affect how much you can earn. Firstly, having a certification. Having certifications such as CompTIA Security+, CEH, CISSP will mean you can earn at least 30% more than someone without. This is because you have proof you know what you’re doing. Secondly, experience. Experience is key within cyber security. Having 1 year of hands on experience is worth more than a 4 year degree with no hands on.
Thirdly, your skills. In 2026 the highest paying skills are Cloud Security, Ethical Hacking and AI Security. If you know how to secure cloud servers such as AWS and Azure, you’ll instantly be worth more. Lastly, where you work. Working for US/UK companies will pay more. Freelancing on Upwork and Fiverr in addition to a job will usually pay double.
To boost your salary quickly, start learning Python and Networking fundamentals. Get a certification within your first year. Build a strong profile on LinkedIn and GitHub with your hands on projects. There are over 4.8 million vacancies for cyber security jobs around the world. Companies are begging for experts so if you start learning today you can land your first job within 6-12 months.
So how much will be cyber security salary in 2027? Overall, in 2027 there are great salaries to be earned in cyber security whether you’re an entry level employee or expert. It’s a very skill based industry meaning the more you know the more you’ll earn. If you’re interested in computers and security then this is the perfect time to start.