How To Become A Chief Security Officer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a chief security officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

In a company, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) is the executive that is responsible for the security of personnel, assets, information, and premises. Their job revolves around the development, implementation, and monitoring of policies and programs to ensure security and mitigate risks within the company. And as the importance of IT continues to increase, so does the demand for CSOs.

On a typical day, a CSO implements and oversees security and mitigation strategies in place. Other duties may include developing security processes, ensuring compliance with local and national laws, as well as monitoring and handling any security incidents that may arise.

A CSO needs at least a bachelor's degree in business, IT, criminal justice, computer science, or any related field. Candidates with master's degrees and extensive experience in leadership positions are often preferred. Once one successfully becomes a CSO, they can expect to make six digits a year--around $124,000, to be exact.

ScoreChief Security OfficerUS Average

Salary

8.8

Avg. Salary $144,017

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate 16%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.21%

Asian 12.58%

Black or African American 6.82%

Hispanic or Latino 10.24%

Unknown 5.22%

White 64.93%

Gender

female 9.05%

male 90.95%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a chief security officer

Explore chief security officer education requirements

Most common chief security officer degrees

Bachelor's

55.5 %

Master's

17.3 %

Associate

13.4 %

Start to develop specific chief security officer skills

Skills	Percentages
Oversight	5.56%
Risk Management	5.45%
Security Program	5.43%
Security Policies	5.26%
CSO	4.52%

Complete relevant chief security officer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New chief security officers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a chief security officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real chief security officer resumes.

Research chief security officer duties and responsibilities

Manage SOX information security assessments.
Manage institution-wide information security governance processes including the creation and deployment of the initial security policy using the ISO framework.
Coordinate effective information exchange that begin with administrative controls using local encryption; direct migration to secure telecommunications links.
Enable secure transactions and electronic point-to-point communications, in private and secure digital encryption, leveraging digital signatures, without plugins.

Get chief security officer experience

Generally, it takes 6-8 years to become a chief security officer. The most common roles before becoming a chief security officer include security officer, information security officer team lead and security manager.

Prepare your chief security officer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your chief security officer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a chief security officer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable chief security officer resume templates

Build a professional chief security officer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your chief security officer resume.

Apply for chief security officer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a chief security officer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do chief security officers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Chief security officer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2021

Pros

Providing training on professionalism, cultural diversity, emergency management protocols, fire and emergency evacuation, directing a team of professional security officers and and supervisors. Working as one team.

Cons

Untrained individuals with no background in security Interfering with security operations. that put life and property at risk. Folk who fail to take security and safety serious.