In today's technology landscape, the demand for cloud security professionals has reached unprecedented levels. As organizations strive to safeguard their sensitive information from evolving threats, the role of cloud security experts has become more important than ever. 
 
At Wiz, our focus is on providing cloud security, and that doesn't end with our cloud security platform. We closely monitor the cloud security industry, including technological advancements and market trends. In our most recent research project, Wiz analyzed data from over 3500 companies on compensation ranges for cloud security roles, and then substantiated our findings with experts in the cloud security industry. This report, the first of its kind for the cloud security community, delivers valuable insights into the compensation structures for these roles. 
 
This post focuses on five main trends observed in our cloud security compensation report. 
Among other observations, our findings point to positions in finance offering the highest compensation packages for cloud security engineers, while positions in retail offer the highest compensation for CISOs. From entry-level security engineers to senior CISO roles, compensation packages for cloud security professionals are influenced by factors such as expertise, experience, and specific industry.  

Fact 1: Finance offers the most competitive total rewards for Cloud Security Engineers retail offers the most competitive total rewards for CISOs  

Finance has the highest median total rewards for entry, intermediate and senior cloud security engineers at $85K, $119K and $147K, respectively. For senior and executive CISOs, retail instead offers the most competitive median total rewards at $301K and $510K, respectively. IT Services closely aligns to the US Market median for each role apart from executive CISO, where it is 5% higher at $460K. Government offers the lowest median total rewards across the board.  

Fact 2: Long-term incentives play a critical role in retail’s competitive compensation package for executive CISOs 

 Retail offers the highest median total rewards, which is $50K greater than the industry with the next highest compensation package, IT Services. While IT Services offers a higher base salary than Retail, the delta is made up in bonus, and even more so in long-term incentives. At the 75th percentile, the trend intensifies with Retail reaching total rewards $67K greater than the industry with the next highest compensation package, Finance. Even more striking, the base salary for Retail at the 75th percentile stays relatively stable at $299K, while base salary in all other industries increases substantially in this same quartile. Long-term incentives again make retail the frontrunner in competitive compensation for executive CISOs. 

Fact 3: The range of total rewards for Cloud Security Engineers is wider for senior roles 

 Whereas the interquartile range for entry cloud security engineers is just $19K, it increases to $28K at the intermediate role, and nearly doubles to $37K at the senior role. The main contributor of the high interquartile range for senior cloud security engineers is their base salary, which ranges from $111K to $134K. Bonus salary and long-term Incentives do not make up a large portion of total rewards for cloud security engineers, nor do they have as great of a range. 

Fact 4: Retail has the narrowest base salary range for intermediate & senior Cloud Security Engineers 

 The difference between the 25th and 75th percentile base salaries for intermediate and senior cloud security engineers is smaller for Retail than other industries. At the intermediate level, it spans only $9K and at the senior level, $16K. These ranges are vastly smaller than the interquartile range for the US Market, which is $24K at the intermediate level and $29K at the senior level. The largest ranges in base salary come from Finance at the intermediate level, and from IT Services at the senior level.  

Fact 5: Finance offers the highest compensation progression for Cloud Security Engineers, while government offers the smallest 

 For cloud security engineers in finance, median total rewards increase 40% from entry to intermediate, and 74% from intermediate to senior. This is well above the industry with the next-highest percentage increase — IT Services — which shows increases of 28% and 68%, respectively. Increases between these roles in Retail and the US Market are much closer to IT Services. Government compensation progression trails behind at 22% between entry and intermediate, and 59% between entry and senior.  

Conclusion 

 The data on compensation packages in cloud security shows that the demand for skilled professionals in the field continues to grow. Beyond the monetary aspect, a career in cloud security offers a chance to safeguard digital landscapes, protect sensitive information, and defend organizations against constantly evolving threats. For more insight into compensation ranges in the cloud security industry, read the full report!