Cybersec is a thankless job: expanding workload and shrinking pay packet
theregister.com
April 28, 2026
3 min read
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
46/100
Summary
Seventy-one percent of cybersecurity professionals experienced stagnant wages last year despite increased workloads and responsibilities. In the UK, 77 percent of security staff saw no salary increase in 2025, reflecting a global trend in the industry.
Key Takeaways
- 71% of cybersecurity professionals globally experienced wage stagnation in 2025, with 77% in the UK seeing no salary increase despite increased responsibilities.
- Cybersecurity professionals rank among the lowest in workplace satisfaction, alongside QA testers and infrastructure workers, despite being in high demand.
- The cybersecurity job market is experiencing instability, with a decline in full-time job opportunities due to economic factors and technological advancements like AI.
- Organizations need to recognize and support cybersecurity talent as a strategic capability to reduce attrition and improve incident response.
Community Sentiment
Positives
- The increasing demand for cybersecurity solutions highlights the potential for AI-driven tools to enhance security analysis and response, making it a promising field for innovation.
- AI is perceived as a source of job security in cybersecurity, as it can automate routine tasks and allow professionals to focus on more complex security challenges.
Concerns
- The cybersecurity industry is often viewed as underappreciated, with professionals overworked and underpaid, leading to a lack of meaningful investment in security improvements.
- Many cybersecurity roles are seen as frustrating and ineffective, often revolving around compliance rather than genuine security enhancements, which demoralizes professionals in the field.
- There is a concern that AI may exacerbate security issues rather than solve them, as internal misuse of AI tools can create new vulnerabilities.