Salt Lake City is a beautiful desert city with great labor market conditions for cybersecurity professionals. With the tech industry booming, working in the Silicon Slopes is a great choice for many tech professionals. There is a surprisingly strong network of startups and tech giants here, offering a range of cybersecurity job opportunities, many with six-figure salaries. The diverse economy here supports cybersecurity in every sector, not just tech. Cybersecurity professionals are in high demand here, whether you’re looking for an entry-level position or a more senior role.
Salt Lake City Cybersecurity Career Paths & Salaries
Salt Lake City’s reasonably affordable cost of living allows salaries to stretch further than in other nearby tech hubs like San Francisco or Denver. The average salary in the city is $66,000, but cybersecurity professionals earn noticeably higher salaries, averaging about $101,000 yearly. Entry-level positions average around $82,000 a year, but senior positions like Cloud Security Architect can earn nearly $200,000 a year. A career in cybersecurity can be lucrative.
Here are some cybersecurity career paths to explore in Salt Lake City. These positions are highly specialized, and their salaries will depend on your level of experience and the employer.
- A Cybersecurity Analyst monitors and inspects the systems and networks of an organization, detects and responds to cyber threats, and develops protective strategies.
- A Network Security Engineer creates and maintains secure networks by establishing and maintaining firewalls, configuring security devices, and finding network vulnerabilities.
- A Penetration Tester or an ethical hacker imposes a mock cyberattack on a system or network to identify vulnerabilities and examine an organization’s security measures.
- Forensic Analysts probe cyberattacks to uncover their origins, what data was exposed or compromised, and collect evidence that can be admissible in a court of law.
- Cybersecurity Auditors evaluate cybersecurity strategies, policies, and systems for regulatory compliance and give recommendations on how to improve.
Salt Lake City Industries & Top Cybersecurity Companies
The SLC economy is driven by finance and technology as much as it is by manufacturing and trade. The area is experiencing fast-paced growth and high demand. It’s expected to keep on trend with national projections, with jobs in cybersecurity growing by 33% in the next 10 years. Although Utah’s colleges and universities are graduating a skilled talent pool, many companies are still reporting difficulties in finding cybersecurity talent, which has led to a very hot job market.
Adobe was the catalyst for the trend of technology companies setting roots in the Salt Lake City area in 2012, and over the following decades, more tech companies have followed. The technology industry here is composed of hundreds of tech companies, including Amazon, Autotrader, Ancestry, and Micron Technology, many of them employing more than 500 workers. Tech giants like Microsoft and Oracle are major players in Salt Lake City’s economy as well. These organizations have a high demand for cybersecurity professionals to ensure that the services they’re providing consumers and the products they’re producing meet their business standards and comply with regulations.
In the finance industry, you’ll find companies like Fidelity and 15 of the nation’s industrial banks. Industrial banks are banks run by non-financial organizations. For example, a car manufacturer could own its own bank, hold assets, and issue loans and credit. Within this industry, FinTech is on the rise, with companies like Finicity, GOLDPoint, and Galileo. Both sectors rely heavily on the work of cybersecurity specialists to ensure their data and that of their customers are properly handled and secured.
The government and defense sectors also require cybersecurity professionals. The presence of military installations and defense contractors requires skilled professionals to protect government data. Much of this centers on cybersecurity for aerospace and intelligence. Cyberattacks can have far-reaching effects if they go unnoticed in this industry. The manufacturing industry is integrating more tech, which means that it relies on digital channels. This digital reliance creates the need for cybersecurity. Unauthorized network access and ransomware can be particularly problematic, resulting in huge financial losses.
Cybersecurity Outlook in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City has the best economic outlook for the 18th year in a row, which makes it a much more attractive job market than many others. The Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity has incentivized companies to set up shop in Utah, fueling its growing tech and manufacturing industries. A strong expansion of tech has made cybersecurity one of the fastest-growing careers in Utah.
An increasing number of organizations are moving towards full digitization. This means data storage, communications, supply chains, and finances are all moving through digital pathways and, therefore, vulnerable to cyberattacks and unauthorized access. As long as businesses are attempting to keep up with technological trends and advancements, cybersecurity professionals will be in-demand. And with more companies coming into the Salt Lake City area, its need for cybersecurity is solidified.
