Security Career Path
Explore the security career ladder from Junior to Principal. See skills needed at each level and salary expectations.
Roles
4
in security
Career Levels
5
Junior to Principal
Median Salary
$180,700
across all levels
Browse Jobs
→
security openings
Career Ladder
Progression from Junior to Principal in security
Junior
$107,600 median
Security EngineerSecurity Analyst
Security ArchitectureThreat ModelingPenetration TestingSIEMIncident ResponseComplianceSecurity OperationsThreat Analysis
Mid-Level
$160,000 median
Security EngineerApplication Security EngineerCloud Security EngineerSecurity Analyst
Security ArchitectureThreat ModelingPenetration TestingSIEMIncident ResponseComplianceApplication SecurityCode Review
Senior
$195,650 median
Security EngineerApplication Security EngineerCloud Security EngineerSecurity Analyst
Security ArchitectureThreat ModelingPenetration TestingSIEMIncident ResponseComplianceApplication SecurityCode Review
Staff
$231,325 median
Security EngineerApplication Security EngineerCloud Security Engineer
Security ArchitectureThreat ModelingPenetration TestingSIEMIncident ResponseComplianceApplication SecurityCode Review
Principal
$208,800 median
Security EngineerSecurity Analyst
Security ArchitectureThreat ModelingPenetration TestingSIEMIncident ResponseComplianceSecurity OperationsThreat Analysis
Salary Progression
Median salary by seniority level
Skills by Level
Which skills are needed at each career stage
Skill
Junior
Mid-Level
Senior
Staff
Principal
Security Architecture
Threat Modeling
Penetration Testing
SIEM
Incident Response
Compliance
Security Operations
Threat Analysis
Forensics
Threat Intelligence
Application Security
Code Review
SAST/DAST
Secure SDLC
Vulnerability Management
Roles in Security
4 canonical roles in this family
Application Security Engineer
IC
Application SecurityCode ReviewSAST/DAST
midseniorstaff
Cloud Security Engineer
IC
Cloud SecurityIAMSecurity Automation
midseniorstaff
Security Analyst
IC
Security OperationsThreat AnalysisIncident Response
juniormidseniorprincipal
Security Engineer
IC
Security ArchitectureThreat ModelingPenetration Testing
juniormidseniorstaffprincipal
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