CISSP Career Prospects and Salary Expectations

Date: 14 November 2016

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Introduction

ISC2's CISSP remains one of the most respected and in-demand certifications in Information Security.  In many businesses around the world, CISSP is the de-facto certification requirement for information and cyber security job applicants.  
I know, you may be wondering am I biased towards the CISSP certification as it's easy to make unqualified statements.
Instead, let's examine what are the real prospects for CISSP certified professionals 
around the world. 
Career Prospects
 
As a junior level analyst or consultant, when you work in an IT & Information Security role, you generally have a steep learning curve in IT infrastructure security, application security, IT policies and procedures, and related security principles. 
 
You are probably at that point in your career where you are looking to move into cyber security and are exploring the best path to achieve this goal. 
 
Enter CISSP or Certified Information Systems Security Professional. Holders of this qualification continue to demand a salary premium over their non-certified counterparts. 
 
When I was working for a large IT company in the Cyber Security assurance team, I was the only one hired with a salary premium because of my CISSP qualification. I say premium as my renumeration was at least 15% more than the rest of my team. Neat! 
  
Employees with CISSP are generally counted in the list of informed employees on issues specific to Cyber and are consulted for developing new policies and procedures. 
 

Salary Expectations

So, let's get to the most important question. What can you expect to earn as a CISSP-certified professional? I did some digging around and came up with these figures. I have referenced Payscale for the figures and include links for each of the countries I list. Needless to say, the salaries depend on several factors including relevant work experience, industry, location of employement, etc.
 
United Kingdom
In the year 2016, an average salary of a CISSP-qualified professional with 5 to 9 years experience, working in London is between £52,000 and £64,000.
 
USA
In the year 2016, an average salary of a CISSP-qualified professional with 5 to 9 years experience, working in New York is between $90,000 and $110,000. 
 
India
In the year 2016, an average salary of a CISSP-qualified professional with 5 to 9 years experience, working in Bengaluru is between INR1200,000 and INR1800,000. 
 
Australia 
In the year 2016, an average salary of a CISSP-qualified professional with 5 to 9 years experience, working in Sydney is between AU$102,000 and AU$125,000. 
  
United Arab Emirates
In the year 2016, an average salary of a CISSP-qualified professional with 5 to 9 years experience, working in Dubai is between AED 245,000 and AED 370,000.
 
Please note that the above figures are quoted for spreading awareness on the kind of salaries one can expect working full-time in the industry with a CISSP qualification. 
 
If this motivates you to establish a goal for your CISSP qualification, we can help and support you. We offer a mentorship program that is more than just your regular CISSP training. We support and "hand hold" you until you have successfully passed your CISSP exam. 

 

Conclusion

CISSP is a recommended certification for those seeking high profile IT & Information Security jobs in the industry, with Big4 accounting firms and large investment & retail banks. This qualification will also earn you good money and respect. 
  
For more information on our upcoming CISSP mentorship sessions and CISSP blogs, follow us on twitter.
 
Read past CISSP blogs on our website
 
  

The author is a professional CISSP trainer within CMA training pool. He is CMA's CISSP/CISA/ISO 27001/SOX/Information Risk Management/SAP Cyber security trainer. He has an MBA (Finance), Computer Engineering, CISSP, CISA, ITIL (expert), COBIT (foundations), and SAP security qualifications.

If you are interested in exploring our CISSP mentorship classroom program details – please contact us at info@cm-alliance.com.

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