The number of job postings for Utah’s cybersecurity engineers, auditors, analysts, architects, and administrators increased by 146% between 2010 and 2014 according to the workforce research firm Burning Glass Technologies. With the increasing demand for cybersecurity experts and the difficulty of filling positions, this firm reports that the average cybersecurity salary exceeds that of other IT professionals by $6,500 on average.
- Grand Canyon University - B.S. and M.S. in Cyber Security
- SNHU - B.S and M.S. in Cybersecurity
- Purdue Global - Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity
- Arizona State University - Online Master of Arts in Global Security
- ECPI University - Cyber and Network Security - Bachelor's
Utah houses the country’s most prominent cybersecurity facility. The NSA located its $1.5 billion Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cyber-security Initiative (IC CNCI) in Bluffdale. With its 100,000 square feet of servers, the facility contributes to the Pentagon’s attempts to handle yottabytes (1024 bytes) of data according to Wired who first broke the story about the new data center.
Utah’s government works closely with cybersecurity stakeholders in private industry. When the next-generation security and compliance company Proofpoint, Inc. celebrated its expansion in Draper in 2015, Governor Herbert joined in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Governor stated that “Utah is becoming a tech epicenter” with Adobe, EM, Proofpoint and other leading Silicon Valley companies having a “significant presence in our state.”
MedCityNews reported the April 2016 announcement by the CIO of Utah’s Intermountain Healthcare that it would be collaborating with an academic institution and three other major healthcare organizations to avoid data breaches and strengthen health information security.
ClearanceJobs.com reported that Utah is also known for its corridor of cyber companies along the Wasatch Front. The publication quoted Gary Harter, an executive with the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, as saying that a number of companies like hiring in Utah, because they can readily find employees with security clearances.
Salaries for Cybersecurity Professionals in Salt Lake City
Key cybersecurity experts in Salt Lake City can expect to earn salaries within the following ranges according to the Robert Half Technology 2016 Salary Guide. Professionals with a master’s degree have the skills to earn on the high end of these ranges:
- Data Security Analysts: $111,196 – $156,752
- Systems Security Administrators: $106,555 – $150,995
- Network Security Administrators:$104,283 – $148,470
Salaries for Information Security Analysts in Utah’s Major Cities
Demand for information security analysts increased dramatically between the first quarter of 2014 and that of 2015 according to the Computing Technology Industry Association trade group. In fact, the number of job postings for information security analysts more than doubled during this period.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a detailed salary analysis for information security analysts in Utah’s major cities. Analysts with a master’s degree can expect to earn in the highest percentiles: