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Job outlook for information security consultants in the United States
Information security consultant job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected information security consultant job growth rate is 32% from 2018-2028.
About 35,500 new jobs for information security consultants are projected over the next decade.
Information security consultant salaries have increased 12% for information security consultants in the last 5 years.
There are over 13,742 information security consultants currently employed in the United States.
There are 113,409 active information security consultant job openings in the US.
The average information security consultant salary is $103,316.
Are information security consultant jobs in demand?
Information security consultant job and salary trends over time
Information security consultant jobs over time
Information security consultant job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13,742 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 20,160 | 0.01% |
| 2019 | 19,131 | 0.01% |
| 2018 | 28,566 | 0.01% |
| 2017 | 27,823 | 0.01% |
Average information security consultant salary over time
Information security consultant salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $103,316 | $49.67 | +3.4% |
| 2024 | $99,912 | $48.03 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $97,650 | $46.95 | +3.0% |
| 2022 | $94,830 | $45.59 | +3.1% |
| 2021 | $91,941 | $44.20 | +2.8% |
Information security consultant jobs by state
Most common states for information security consultants
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 420 | 61% |
| 2 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 340 | 39% |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 348 | 33% |
| 4 | Delaware | 961,939 | 291 | 30% |
| 5 | Alaska | 739,795 | 211 | 29% |
| 6 | Vermont | 623,657 | 178 | 29% |
| 7 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,557 | 28% |
| 8 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 1,345 | 28% |
| 9 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 359 | 27% |
| 10 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 195 | 26% |
| 11 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 260 | 25% |
| 12 | Oklahoma | 3,930,864 | 924 | 24% |
| 13 | Mississippi | 2,984,100 | 725 | 24% |
| 14 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,704 | 23% |
| 15 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 965 | 23% |
| 16 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 2,875 | 22% |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 2,760 | 22% |
| 18 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 2,016 | 22% |
| 19 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 428 | 22% |
| 20 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 130 | 22% |
Most common cities for information security consultants
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frankfort | 1 | 4% | $80,967 |
| 2 | Annapolis | 1 | 3% | $112,865 |
| 3 | Dover | 1 | 3% | $97,630 |
| 4 | Juneau | 1 | 3% | $94,478 |
| 5 | Boston | 4 | 1% | $101,340 |
| 6 | Beaverton | 1 | 1% | $98,841 |
| 7 | Hartford | 1 | 1% | $104,829 |
| 8 | Hoover | 1 | 1% | $86,490 |
| 9 | Atlanta | 2 | 0% | $91,385 |
| 10 | Denver | 2 | 0% | $103,718 |
| 11 | Philadelphia | 2 | 0% | $117,019 |
| 12 | Phoenix | 2 | 0% | $105,373 |
| 13 | Baton Rouge | 1 | 0% | $87,778 |
| 14 | Birmingham | 1 | 0% | $86,400 |
| 15 | Des Moines | 1 | 0% | $82,317 |
| 16 | Indianapolis | 1 | 0% | $80,218 |
| 17 | Jersey City | 1 | 0% | $97,069 |
Information Security Consultant job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of information security consultant experts
Rider University
Pace University
Medaille College
Texas A&M University San Antonio
University of Georgia
Grantek Systems Integration
AVIXA
What general advice would you give to an Information Security Consultant?
Robert Cutlip Ph.D.: Seek internship opportunities while still enrolled. This will help with gaining experience, growing professionally, and starting to build your professional reputation and contacts. Also, actively engage in networking and outreach, along with research on private sector or government sector opportunities that you can pursue.
What Information Security Consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Robert Cutlip Ph.D.: Regarding salary, internship experience or part-time employment in the field will be of benefit. Also, any certifications in this area will be of benefit to prospective employers.
What will help Information Security Consultants increase their earning potential?
Robert Cutlip Ph.D.: The field of Cybersecurity is rapidly evolving. Threats from foreign actors are becoming more mature. Also, artificial intelligence presents new challenges. I would suggest staying abreast of new threat signatures, mitigation strategies, and technologies that will be a factor in this space in the near future.
What will help Information Security Consultants increase their earning potential?
Zhengping Luo Ph.D.: Maximizing your salary potential hinges on providing value in a market-driven economy. Make sure to focus on developing skills that are in high demand. One of the tips is to consider expanding your horizons beyond where you grow up or the place you received your degree. Explore opportunities in locations that value your talents and offer competitive compensation, such as different cities, states, or even nations. Additionally, don't limit yourself to familiar job roles; be open to new positions and industries. The evolving job market continually creates new and unforeseen opportunities. While striving for financial success is important, it's equally vital to consider long-term goals and personal fulfillment. Prioritize maximizing life experiences and other cherished values alongside financial goals.
What general advice would you give to an Information Security Consultant?
Dr. Darren Hayes: Add a cover letter, to accompany your resume, as many older people who review your resume expect you to include one. Don't just list your skills but mention some special projects that you were involved in, or your impact on an organization during an internship. These demonstrate the application of your skills and can be great talking points during an interview. Don't add a lot of acronyms to your resume and expect that the reviewer will know what those mean - spell everything out. Read about the organization that you are applying to before an interview - it shows that you care and are taking an interest while in the interview. Professional certifications, in addition to your degree, will give you an edge over other applicants. Additionally, participation in team competitions, such as capture the flag, demonstrates a willingness to learn beyond the classroom, hone your skills, and ability to work in a team setting. Cybersecurity, digital forensics, IT, are always evolving so you need to continue to evolve too. Therefore, you should have plans to continue learning, such as professional certifications, graduate degree, training classes and other continuing education options. Talk about your plans and goals in an interview and not just about what you have done.
What Information Security Consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Darren Hayes: Many students add 'Excellent communication skills' to their resume but cannot explain what they mean by this. If you can demonstrate this by showing a website that you created, detailing your skills, portfolio of special projects, and other key successes, then it shows that you went the extra mile. Excellent communication skills can also be demonstrated with a YouTube video that you created, a presentation you gave at an academic conference or at other speaking engagements. Graduates looking for a job with Homeland Security that can demonstrate excellent writing skills are in need. My students who possessed excellent writing skills, in addition to technical skills, generally ended up making a higher salary. Those in high-ranking positions are generally assigned reporting responsibilities that require a good command of the English language. Critical thinking is also vitally important.
What will help Information Security Consultants increase their earning potential?
Dr. Darren Hayes: Artificial intelligence - in terms of automating certain areas of cybersecurity, such as acquiring threat intelligence, malware detection and being alerted to network breaches. Ransomware continues to be the primary concern for most organizations and using AI to quickly identify those threats and quickly respond will be key. AI can also be used in investigations, such as photo searches to identify where a suspect is or to find a missing person. Knowledge of current events - especially geopolitical events. These events have repercussions for the most sophisticated (state-sponsored) cyber attacks. Knowledge of a second, third or fourth language, is helpful now and will continue to be important - especially from a cybersecurity perspective because investigations often include foreign nationals. Knowledge of malware is really important for homeland security and this area of expertise will continue to be in demand. Incident response will continue to be understaffed and therefore tremendous opportunities will continue for those who can respond to network breaches, forensically analyze systems, examine malware, etc. Other areas of importance include, machine learning, quantum computing, open source intelligence (OSINT), threat intelligence (especially related to critical infrastructure and SCADA), cryptocurrencies, IoT threats and IoT evidence, to name but a few.
Dr. Steven MacMartin
Director, Associate ProfessorMedaille College
Homeland Security Program
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Information Security Consultant job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Steven MacMartin: Overall, in general? Health care, elementary school teachers, daycare, researchers at the PhD level and also low level, entry/service jobs - fast food, restaurant, bar, etc. Homeland Security specifically - really none. Jobs in the Homeland Security field have remained largely unaffected by the pandemic, and the pandemic isn't really directly related to specific Homeland Security jobs. (Maybe in the research and technology fields.). A side effect of the pandemic has been to focus a little on cyber security issues and those jobs could expand in law enforcement and Homeland Security areas.
What soft skills should all Information Security Consultants possess?
Dr. Steven MacMartin: Absolutely - writing and oral presentation. A secondary skill that is helpful is academic research skills. But definitely writing skills.
How have salaries changed over time for Information Security Consultants?
Dr. Steven MacMartin: Salaries have steadily risen over time. A person at my level in government is currently making $20,000/year more than I was making when I retired 10 years ago. The same can be said for many areas of law enforcement, but not all.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Information Security Consultants?
Izzat Alsmadi: All certificates related to the earlier fields, specially data science and cyber security.
What's a good job out of college for Information Security Consultants?
Izzat Alsmadi: It really depends on person interests, skills and expectations.
Paul Phillips CISA, CISM, MBA
IT Risk Professional Practices LeadISACA
What type of skills will young Information Security Consultants need?
Paul Phillips CISA, CISM, MBA: The recommended skillsets will vary depending on the type of role that the recent graduate is pursuing. In a research development team at a non-profit association like ISACA, for example, we look for candidates not only with specific knowledge or experience in a certain field - like IT risk or IT audit - but also with the ability to analyze data and communicate about research findings or best practices in these areas in a clear way in reports and other content to our members and the larger tech community.
Because our association serves tech professionals, we also have some interesting research around what they are looking for in employees too. Technology skills (especially those related to cybersecurity), as well as creative and communication skills are both attractive to these employers. ISACA's State of Cybersecurity 2020 survey report found that cybersecurity jobs are in high demand, and 78 percent of survey respondents expect an increased demand for technical cybersecurity positions. Among the skills they are looking for in their candidates are not just IT knowledge and cybersecurity technical experience but also business insight and soft skills (like communication).
Maric Boudreau
Department Head & Associate ProfessorUniversity of Georgia
Department of Management Information Systems
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Information Security Consultants?
Maric Boudreau: Certainly - many businesses had to transform themselves to adjust to the current situation, and some of these changes will remain. For example, whereas we assumed that in-person interactions were always best, we now realize that virtual communications bring many benefits, such as greater efficiency and lower costs. Business processes have been streamlined and are more reliant on technology than ever before. MIS graduates are in a relatively good situation in that they have the necessary skill set allowing them to evolve very comfortably in a technology-based environment.
What type of skills will young Information Security Consultants need?
Maric Boudreau: Of course, we will continue to expect MIS graduates to have top-notch business and technology expertise, along with great analytical and problem-solving skills. But also, because of how businesses are transforming, these new recruits will need to be able to articulate the value they bring. In other words, they will need to make sure that, even as they might conduct a lot of their work via online means, their employer understands what they bring to the table and the contribution they make. They will also need to have self-discipline and time-management skills. Again, assuming they will not need to be physically present at all times as they conduct their work, this creates a greater requirement for self-management, both on the professional and personal fronts.
What experience really stands out on Information Security Consultant resumes?
Maric Boudreau: Internships and certifications are always considered positively by recruiters. Because of the pandemic, some of our students' summer plans fell apart (such as internships and study abroad). Those who can demonstrate that they made the best out of this situation and attempted to help others and improve their skills will stand out. For example, some of our students ended up working with small businesses and non-profit organizations in the Athens area to help them leverage technology so they could continue servicing their customers. These students developed websites, improved business processes, analyzed datasets - work that was non-compensated and done virtually. Not only did these students hone their technical skills, but also they felt quite good about helping out members of our community. Such experiences highlight students' resilience and determination when confronted with adversity, and these are the kind of things that stand out.
What type of skills will young Information Security Consultants need?
Jacob Chapman: It wasn't so long ago that I was a recent graduate - I graduated in 2014. So I try to reflect on my experience from the not-so-distant past when answering this question. Moving through roles at Grantek from an engineer to a director and regularly being in conversations around hiring and staffing needs reminds me how skewed my view of what makes a recent graduate successful was.
Something I've come to realize is how fast everything is changing. As students, we see that from a consumer perspective... such as the groundbreaking advances in wireless headphones, 5G, and TikTok. In the workforce, we experience that same change from a business perspective, and you feel it in the forms of company restructures, frequently changing roles and responsibilities, and endless experimentation.
So, I think the best recipe for success is to enter a field that you find interesting and engaging and welcome the chaos. Be willing - and excited - to throw yourself at something that's completely new and failing happily, then trying it again and getting better. Realize that tearing down old ways of thinking and re-building better ones, only to tear those down and re-build even better ones later, is an organic and flexible way of improving quickly. So focus on skills that facilitate being adaptable, excited, and collaborative. Communication skills, work-life balance skills, listening skills, and problem-solving skills are more essential than domain knowledge, in my humble opinion.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Information Security Consultants to find work opportunities?
Jacob Chapman: I would say the good news is there's a lot of flexibility. Working in the industrial automation field, manufacturing, and industrial operations are everywhere, and so are the vendors and service providers that support them. Additionally, remote access into the systems that need work done on them and employers' openness to working from home is accelerating. Finally, COVID-19 has made many organizations, which valued in-person interaction, learn that business can continue with a highly remote workforce.
With all of that being said, there are hotspots to be aware of. In life sciences, manufacturing, Raleigh-Durham, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Boston, and California come to mind. If you're open to working at an engineering services company or an OEM, your options are endless, and they're often located outside major U.S. and Canadian cities.
How do you envision technology impacting Information Security Consultants in the next 5 years?
Jacob Chapman: We are already well into an explosion of technology and innovation affecting manufacturing and industrial operations. Longstanding technology platforms and manufacturers regularly leapfrog each other in terms of performance and market dominance, making the technical landscape a constantly moving target. But one trend is currently the king of trends, which is IoT, with billions of devices being connected to the internet. The industrial space is being just as affected, and operations that were historically "simple" and mechanical will be increasingly data-driven, and manufacturers who hesitate to adopt higher-tech have a harder time being competitive.
It means professionals to implement systems, aggregate data, generate real-time insights from them, and translate those insights into business decisions will be increasingly in demand. This requires so many pieces to come together, such as networking, cybersecurity, computing, automation, smart manufacturing systems, and more. Even more important are technical professionals who also understand the business landscape, the underlying needs of industrial operations, so individuals who have had exposure to many of these areas, over time, are highly valuable.
What type of skills will young Information Security Consultants need?
Joé Lloyd: In the coming years, graduates can look to cyber/data security, AV over IP (compression and signal routing, network architecture, and artificial intelligence as areas for skill development and expertise.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Information Security Consultants to find work opportunities?
Joé Lloyd: Because AV is so tied to people, we're not an industry that has hotspots in the same way that tech, finance, and the defense industries do. Cities will have more AV jobs than rural areas, and areas with strong growth will outperform those without, but we do not predict hubs at this time.