Security+ and pay: build one range from three dated sources

A pay figure with no date and no job title is a rumour.

What the official data says

The clearest official figures come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, for information security analysts.

Read them carefully. They cover every information security analyst in the United States, many with years of experience and a degree. They are not a Security+ salary. A first role reached through Security+ usually pays less, and pay in your country follows local rates.

Five things that move pay

Security+ is one driver among several. The others are:

• Experience and the scope of the role, which matter most.
• Your city.
• Your sector. Finance and government contracting often pay more.
• Security clearances.
• Cloud skills and further credentials.

If you only compare salary with and without Security+, you miss the rest.

The three sources

Choose three, and make sure each carries a date.

1. An official statistics office. In the US, that is the BLS. Elsewhere, use your national equivalent, if one exists.
2. A recruitment firm's salary guide. Note the year and the region it covers.
3. Live adverts that state pay. Collect at least five.

Compare the same title, the same seniority and the same city. A senior analyst in a capital city says nothing about a junior support role in a smaller town.

Record a range

Use a table like this one.

When the three rows are filled, take the overlap as your working range. If the adverts sit far below the guide, use the adverts for your first role and the guide for where you want to be in three years. If your three sources do not overlap at all, one of them describes a different job, city or level. Check titles and cities first.

When an advert hides the pay

Many adverts leave pay out. Record those as "not stated" and do not guess. Five adverts that state pay are worth more than twenty that do not, because each one shows what a real employer advertised on a known date. If fewer than three adverts in your city state pay, widen the search to the next city or a nearby sector and note that you did.

Use it

A range is useful in three places. It sets your expectation before you apply. It gives you evidence when you negotiate an offer. And it helps you judge whether the full budget, including a retake, pays back within the year you planned.

Look at the growth figure too, but keep it in proportion. A projection of 21% growth describes the whole field in the US over ten years. It does not promise you an offer, and it does not replace the five adverts you read in your own city.

Date it again

Salary data ages. Write the date next to every figure, and rebuild the range before you apply, and again before any negotiation.