Cybersecurity Jobs NYC: 5 High-Paying Roles

The prevalence of technology usage has led to a boom in jobs designed to protect devices and data. Organizations recognize the need to hire skilled professionals capable of safeguarding their assets and preventing cyber crimes from occurring. Due to the high demand, you can pursue high-paying cybersecurity jobs in many industries and explore a career path that matches your wants and skill set. Across the US, New York City (NYC) is one of the top cities to find high-paying cybersecurity jobs today. 

Read on to determine if pursuing one of these cybersecurity roles in NYC is right for you. It may also be helpful to learn the salaries of five high-paying roles and their job descriptions. Understanding how you can prepare for these roles in terms of education, experience, boot camps, and certifications allows you to figure out what qualifications to focus on. 

Why a cybersecurity career in NYC

NYC is a desirable location to pursue a cybersecurity career due to its vast ecosystem of global corporations, the city’s commitment to cybersecurity innovation, and the presence of top-tier related education. Given the sheer size of NYC, this location offers opportunities to gain great exposure to top cybersecurity talent and entrepreneurs in the space. 

This bustling metropolis is also home to some of the largest corporations in industries, including finance, health care, technology, and more, providing many career opportunities, depending on your interests. NYC employment numbers for cybersecurity professionals currently stand at around 60,000, according to the Economic Development Corporation of NYC [1].

Some of the companies that call NYC home have committed substantial resources to the city and its efforts in cybersecurity. In June 2023, Google pledged to donate one million dollars annually to four colleges and universities within and around NYC as part of a grant program [2]. Programs like these showcase the potential for a cybersecurity career in NYC and demonstrate the commitment of top firms to build a talented workforce there.

Highest paying cybersecurity jobs in NYC

Depending on your specific skill set and area of interest, you can pursue various high-paying cybersecurity jobs in NYC. These advantageous roles all represent different areas of the highly specialized cybersecurity industry. 

Each role included below in the cybersecurity field expects to see job growth of 32 percent from 2022 to 2032, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for all information security analyst roles. This rapid growth outpaces the average for all US jobs [3]. 

Let’s explore these roles in more detail, along with their average base salaries and other relevant information.

Read more: 5 Cybersecurity Career Paths (and How to Get Started)

1. Ethical hacker

Average annual base salary (US): $148,783 [4]

In ethical hacker roles, you perform penetration testing on a company's data and various computer systems to find security weaknesses that hackers may target to cause harm. This career challenges cybersecurity professionals interested in network security and modeling threats that organizations face. 

Companies responsible for protecting their clients’ data and sensitive information utilize ethical hackers to test their systems through a security-focused assessment. Doing so gives them insights about where to direct improvement efforts. 

Read more: How to Become an Ethical Hacker? A Career Guide

2. Information security engineer

Average annual base salary (US): $142,455 [5]

Information security engineers or security analysts work with various systems and tools within an organization to ensure effective security through detection technologies and other security measures. Safeguarding sensitive information across an organization from a data breach will be among your chief responsibilities in this role. 

Tasks you can expect as an information security engineer include developing processes to capture information about potential security threats. You may also reconcile security-related issues, participate in the design and configuration of security systems, and complete risk assessments, among other duties. 

Read more: What Is InfoSec? Definition + Career Guide

3. Network security architect

Average annual base salary (US): $138,208 [6]

Like security engineers, network security architects protect sensitive information from potential attacks. These roles work directly with the hardware and software behind an organization’s network to ensure security measures are in place and locate potential risk areas. Duties may include building firewalls, conducting risk assessments, building threat detection and response systems, and developing fresh protocols to handle breaches. 

Network security architects usually work alongside security engineers to build effective security structures. However, the architect role is more senior. So, you may start as an engineer and work your way up to attain this role with experience. 

4. Security sales engineer

Average annual base salary (US): $116,748 [7]

If you're a cybersecurity professional interested in working directly with clients to provide technical expertise and drive sales of cybersecurity products and services, becoming a security sales engineer may be right for you. As a security sales engineer, you must be able to effectively communicate with clients and build relationships while having a depth of technical knowledge about the security products or services you sell. 

As part of the larger sales team within an organization, the security sales engineer owns the technical portion of the sales cycle. The responsibilities for this role may include holding demonstrations, relaying client requirements, handling client problems, maintaining key relationships, and showcasing the value behind your products or services to potential customers in various settings. 

5. Chief information security officer (CISO)

Average annual base salary (US): $186,052 [8]

The CISO's role is to lead an organization’s effort in building, implementing, and maintaining an effective security strategy to limit risks, ensure compliance, and safeguard sensitive data. As an executive, the CISO coordinates with other senior executives related to technology and information to create a cohesive plan for handling security threats across an organization. 

As a CISO, your duties will involve leading security strategy efforts, handling the information security budget, and managing all employees related to information security. You’ll also play a part in developing training programs and company policies and overseeing investigations into potential security threats. 

How to prepare yourself for high-paying cybersecurity jobs

With attractive salaries and growing demand, high-paying cybersecurity jobs come with specific requirements and qualifications that candidates must meet to enter this field. Before pursuing this career path, understanding how you can prepare to land these roles through education, experience, certifications, and other factors may be helpful.

Skills

Careers in the cybersecurity industry demand a particular set of skills in the workplace and technically. Technical skills represent the practical aspects of your role, while workplace skills contribute to how productive you are in a work environment. Ensuring you possess skills in each area allows you to stand out in your applications. 

Common workplace skills for cybersecurity roles include:

• Adaptability and collaboration

• Critical thinking

• Effective communication

• Attention to detail

• Problem-solving

Technical skills commonly seen in cybersecurity jobs include:

• Windows and Linux experience

• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) knowledge

• Programming language knowledge (Python, C#, C++, Java)

• Computer science fundamentals

• Endpoint and web application security

Education

Although you won’t find a single path into cybersecurity careers, many professionals have an associate or bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity. These degree programs from colleges and universities prepare you for the mathematics used in the field, computer theory, and other key concepts. However, having a degree in cybersecurity is not necessarily required. If you don't have a degree, you may pursue relevant boot camps and certifications to qualify for cybersecurity roles.

Two-year associate degree programs allow you to gain the skills necessary to land an entry-level role. A bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity exposes you to more advanced topics and typically includes the option to choose a concentration within cybersecurity. You can pursue both of these degree options at many colleges and universities in the US in an in-person format or online. 

To reach senior-level cybersecurity roles, many companies prefer hiring someone who earned their master’s. This is especially true for positions where you may teach other professionals or handle cybersecurity-related public policy. Beyond receiving an undergraduate or graduate degree directly in cybersecurity, applicable degrees to consider include computer science, computer engineering, and cybersecurity operations. 

Work experience

It’s possible to find an entry-level cybersecurity position with no experience requirements attached; however, many jobs require at least some applicable experience. To gain valuable experience in cybersecurity, consider applying for internships in the field. You can find internships in many industries and companies beyond technology companies. 

If you currently work in or have quality experience in a field related to cybersecurity, you may be able to leverage this experience to help you qualify for cybersecurity jobs. Roles that may segway seamlessly into cybersecurity include software development, security, systems engineering, and network or systems administration.

Read more: 10 Cybersecurity Jobs: Entry-Level and Beyond

Boot camps

Cybersecurity boot camps can provide an educational boost to help start your career and prepare you to land roles in as fast as a year. Instructors with a depth of experience commonly lead these boot camps, allowing you to leverage their expertise and gain valuable practice with cybersecurity concepts. Boot camps are a great option if you work full-time and want to begin learning cybersecurity topics simultaneously. Some of the leading available cybersecurity boot camps include:

• Flatiron School

• Eleven Fifty Academy

• UC Berkeley Coding Bootcamp

• Fullstack Academy

• Ironhack

Certifications

Various cybersecurity certifications exist for you to pursue to prove your knowledge in this space. These credentials typically require you to pass a certification test and meet all the professional work experience criteria. Including the certifications you completed when applying for cybersecurity roles helps to bolster your application and prove to potential employers that you have gained the necessary knowledge in critical areas. In some cases, specific cybersecurity certifications may be a requirement to even apply. A few cybersecurity certifications to consider include the following:

• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

Boost your cybersecurity career on Coursera. 

Do you want to explore cybersecurity jobs and how to prepare yourself to attain these roles in greater detail? Taking a course to sharpen your skills or explore the field more is a great place to start.

Consider the Foundations of Cybersecurity by Google on Coursera. This course covers cybersecurity ethics, the core skills needed for cybersecurity roles, how cybersecurity threats impact organizations, and the tools analysts deploy in this field. Another relevant course worth checking out is the IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Assessment. Taught at an intermediate level, this course leverages knowledge from industry experts to expose you to critical skills used in cybersecurity jobs, real cybersecurity projects for you to gain experience, and standard industry tools and practices.