How to become a cyber security professional

Official title: Cyber security professionals

Also called: Security analyst, Security auditor, Security manager, Security engineer, Security architect, It security analyst, Cyber threat hunter, It security manager, It security officer, Ai security engineer, Data security manager, Cyber security analyst

Cyber security professionals design, implement, test and maintain cyber security systems and track, investigate and analyse data linked to cybercrime.

Main tasks

• Examines IT system for potential threats to its security and integrity and draws up response plans for situations where security is compromised
• Develops test plans for security systems and undertakes and documents the testing of security systems weaknesses and errors, identifies source of problems and proposes solutions
• Develops quality standards and validation techniques
• Makes recommendations concerning software/system quality
• Deals with and reports on breaches in security
• Uses specialist software to gather and analyse information and evidence relating to cybercrime and presents findings to law enforcement officials or private clients

How to become one

Entrants usually possess a degree or equivalent qualification, although entry with other academic qualifications and/or significant relevant experience is possible. There is a variety of relevant vocational, professional and postgraduate qualifications available.

Ways in

• Apprenticeship (England): Cyber security technical professional (integrated degree) (level 6). England. Typically 48 months. Skills England standard ST0409.
• University: Computing & IT degrees, Offered by 26 universities in the UK

Pay · Outlook

• Median full-time pay: £54,647 a year The middle half earn £42,761 to £71,808.
• About 36,000 people work in this job now, and about 40,000 are projected by 2035. (+11.1%)

Related jobs

• IT project managers
• IT managers
• IT business analysts, architects and systems designers
• Programmers and software development professionals
• IT quality and testing professionals
• IT network professionals

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Questions people ask

How do I become a cyber security professional?

Entrants usually possess a degree or equivalent qualification, although entry with other academic qualifications and/or significant relevant experience is possible. There is a variety of relevant vocational, professional and postgraduate qualifications available.

How much does a cyber security professional earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £54,647 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £42,761 to £71,808.

Is a cyber security professional a growing career in the UK?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 11% by 2035, from about 36,000 to about 40,000 people (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become a cyber security professional?

Usually. 71% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sources

• Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.