Information Security Engineer: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
BLS does not publish pay for information security engineers separately. Every pay figure on this page is for the BLS occupation “Computer Occupations, All Other” (SOC 15-1299), which includes information security engineers and other jobs; it is not a figure for information security engineers alone.
10% of workers in the BLS occupation “Computer Occupations, All Other” earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $55,940
- Hourly
- $26.89
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of workers in the BLS occupation “Computer Occupations, All Other” earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $79,370
- Hourly
- $38.16
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of workers in the BLS occupation “Computer Occupations, All Other” earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $116,580
- Hourly
- $56.05
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of workers in the BLS occupation “Computer Occupations, All Other” earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $157,500
- Hourly
- $75.72
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of workers in the BLS occupation “Computer Occupations, All Other” earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $188,470
- Hourly
- $90.61
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Information Security Engineers develop and oversee the implementation of information security procedures and policies. The median pay is $116,580 a year ($56.05 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a bachelor's degree (47% of workers surveyed by O*NET).
- Median pay
- $116,580
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 435,370
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- considerable preparation
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree
- 47% of workers
Information Security Engineers at a glance
Workers in the BLS occupation “Computer Occupations, All Other” (which includes information security engineers) in the United States earned a median annual wage of $116,580 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for information security engineers in the United States.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS estimated that 435,370 people were employed as information security engineers in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Every page for Information Security Engineers
What information security engineers do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Identify security system weaknesses, using penetration tests.
- Coordinate monitoring of networks or systems for security breaches or intrusions.
- Assess the quality of security controls, using performance indicators.
- Train staff on, and oversee the use of, information security standards, policies, and best practices.
- Scan networks, using vulnerability assessment tools to identify vulnerabilities.
- Develop response and recovery strategies for security breaches.
- Conduct investigations of information security breaches to identify vulnerabilities and evaluate the damage.
- Develop or install software, such as firewalls and data encryption programs, to protect sensitive information.
Industries that employ it
Data Share of all information security engineer jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix). Figures cover all computer occupations, all other (SOC 15-1299), the broader occupation.
- Professional, scientific, and technical services26.0% of all jobs in this occupation · +12.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $125,890
- Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals22.4% of all jobs in this occupation · -4.3% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $124,650
- Management of companies and enterprises4.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +4.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $133,260
- Administrative and support services4.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.3% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $108,110
- Educational services; state, local, and private4.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.2% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $88,470
- Computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, and related services3.5% of all jobs in this occupation · +27.0% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $131,930
Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Computers and Electronics, Engineering and Technology, English Language, Telecommunications, Customer and Personal Service.
Software information security engineers use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- IBM TerraformConfiguration management softwareIn demand
- KubernetesApplication server softwareIn demand
- Microsoft Active DirectoryInternet directory services softwareIn demand
- Splunk EnterpriseEnterprise system management softwareIn demand
- Firewall softwareNetwork security and virtual private network VPN equipment softwareIn demand
- Single sign-on SSOAuthentication server softwareIn demand
- Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormationCloud-based management softwareHot technology
- Ansible softwareExpert system softwareHot technology
- Atlassian JIRAContent workflow softwareHot technology
- Border Gateway Protocol BGPSwitch or router softwareHot technology
- ChefConfiguration management softwareHot technology
- DockerApplication server softwareHot technology
Also called: BISO (Business Information Security Officer), Cloud Engineer, Engineer, Information Security Auditor, Information Security System Engineer, Infrastructure Security Engineer.
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.