Business

Students told they earn double average wage through career in cyber security

Conference organiser Gary Robinson, European board member, OWASP with event speakers Shannon Lietz, director of DevSecOps, Intuit and Mark Miller, senior storyteller, Sonatype
Conference organiser Gary Robinson, European board member, OWASP with event speakers Shannon Lietz, director of DevSecOps, Intuit and Mark Miller, senior storyteller, Sonatype Conference organiser Gary Robinson, European board member, OWASP with event speakers Shannon Lietz, director of DevSecOps, Intuit and Mark Miller, senior storyteller, Sonatype

YOUNG students are being encouraged to consider the cyber security industry as a future career and earn double the average Northern Ireland salary.

Around 500 school teachers and pupils aged 12 and 13 were told of the opportunities a career in cyber security could bring at an event run by tech organisation OWASP (the Open Web Application Security Project).

The schools outreach event at W5 kicked off AppSecEU 2017, one of Europe’s largest cyber security conferences, which is taking place in Belfast this week.

As part of the event students took part in a series of free training sessions with tech leaders including US-based application security expert Shannon Lietz and the head of the PSNI’s Cyber Crime Centre Detective Chief Inspector Dougie Grant.

Gary Robinson, co-founder of OWASP’s Belfast chapter, said the cyber security industry was becoming one of the most attractive career paths for young people.

"We hope that by hosting training sessions we are encouraging the next generation to join what is expected to become one of the key sectors for the local economy in the next decade.”

The cyber security industry’s average salary in Northern Ireland has reached £45-£50,000, compared to a province-wide average of £26,100, according to recruitment specialists MCS Group, who sponsored the schools event.

Sean Devlin, head of IT recruitment at MCS Group said the average wage for cyber security roles continues to grow.

"We have seen salaries for roles such as security researchers rise by as much as £10,000 in the past year to well above £40,000 for people with just two years’ experience in the sector. It is very clear that cyber security is a highly rewarding sector, not only for the salaries on offer but the amazing work and genuine world class companies right here in Belfast," he said.