Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Ethical Hacking - Career Earnings Analysis (December 2025)

Colleagues, implementing a well-defined, forward-thinking career development plan can boost your career and income growth over a 30-year life cycle. According to Verified Market Reports the “Ethical Hacking Certification Market Revenue was valued at USD $1.5 Billion in 2024 and is estimated to reach USD $4.3 Billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 12.5% from 2026 to 2033.” By making modest investments in your professional training and certification will reward you with greatly enhanced income potential.

Assumptions:


  • Duration: 30-year career lifecycle (e.g. age 25-55)

  • Salary: $140,00/year - Cybersecurity Jobs (compensation will vary by location - we will use a US average for our analysis)

  • Education Level: This model is based upon the individual having a BS/BA degree. A MS/MA degree adds an extra 5%-10%+ to annual income

  • Training & Certification: 5%-10% income lift/year

  • Salary - Annual Increase per CPI Inflation: 2.5%/year

  • Base Case: Junior Level - age 25/1st certification

  • Intermediate Case: Senior Individual Contributor - age 30/2nd certification

  • Advanced Case: Mid-Upper Management - age 35/3rd certification

  • Expert Case: Technical Refresher - age 40-45/4th certification


Junior Level (5 years of experience):


  • Title(s): Junior Ethical Hacking Specialist, Security Analyst, Junior Penetration Tester, Vulnerability Analyst, Cybersecurity Intern

  • Base income: $162,260/year

  • Sample Certs: Certified in Ethical Hacking (ISC2), CompTIA PenTest+, EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH):


Intermediate (10 years of experience):


  • Title(s): Penetration Tester, Ethical Hacker, Incident Response Analyst, Security Consultant

  • Base income: $196.434/year

  • Sample Certs: Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP), GIAC Certified Penetration Tester (GPEN)


Advanced (15 years of experience):


  • Title(s): Senior Penetration Tester, Cybersecurity Architect, Red Team Lead, Threat Hunter

  • Base income: $240,046/year

  • Sample Certs: Offensive Security Web Expert (OSWE), GIAC Exploit Researcher and Advanced Penetration Tester (GXPN), Offensive Security Exploit Developer (OSED)


Expert (Executive-Refresher) (20 years of experience):


  • Title(s): Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Distinguished Security Engineer, Security Research Scientist, Director of Cybersecurity

  • Base income: $391,953/year

  • Sample Certs: GIAC Security Expert (GSE), Offensive Security Certified Expert³ (OSCE³)


Income Comparison:


  • Base Case: Junior Level - $162,260/year

  • Intermediate Case: Senior Individual Contributor - $196.434/year

  • Advanced Case: Mid-Upper Management - $240,046/year

  • Expert Case: Technical Refresher - $391,953/year


Note: For a more comprehensive roster of cyber certifications see CIAT, Cisco, EC-Council, Infosec Institute, NICCS along with Coursera, edX, (Pearson), Udacity, and Udemy.


Ethical Hacking Specializations, Master Classes and Certifications:



Get started today (teams & execs are welcome).


Recommended Reading:


“The Upskill Gambit - Discover the 5 Keys to Your Career and Income Security in the Digital Age” (Audible) (Kindle)


Much success in your cyber career journey, Lawrence E. Wilson - Cybersecurity Certification Center (share with colleagues & friends) 
at No comments:

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Cybersecurity - Interviews, Project Portfolios & Certifications (Your competitive edge)

Colleagues, are you seeking to land the next job in your Cybersecurity career journey … either within your current company or with a new employer? All hiring managers need to answer three fundamental questions in the interview process before making a job offer.

Interview Questions


  1. Skills: Can you do the job?

  2. Motivation: Will you do the job?

  3. Fit: Will you be a team player and fit into the company culture?


Professional Portfolio


Creating a high qualityCybersecurity professional portfolio combined with having industry-leading certifications - along with relevant work experience - will put you at the top of the candidate pool when answering the “Skills” question.


What is a Project Portfolio? 


  1. A project portfolio is a collection of projects, programs, and operations managed collectively to achieve strategic objectives. 

  2. It demonstrates your diverse skills, experience, and proven ability to deliver results, showcasing your value and strategic impact to potential employers or for internal advancement.


What Makes a Project Portfolio Valuable?


  1. Strategic Alignment: Connecting projects to organizational goals.

  2. Resource Management: Efficient allocation of people and assets.

  3. Risk Management: Identifying and mitigating potential threats.

  4. Performance Monitoring: Tracking progress and outcomes.

  5. Stakeholder Communication: Keeping all parties informed and engaged.


What are the best portals to host your project portfolio?


  1. GitHub

  2. LinkedIn

  3. Behance

  4. Dribbble

  5. Kaggle

  6. Hugging Face

  7. Personal Website (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow - Offers maximum customization & a professional brand presence)


Industry-Leading Certifications & Training



Enroll today (teams & executives are welcome). 

 

Much career success, Lawrence E. Wilson - Cybersecurity Certification Center (share with your team) 
at No comments:

Monday, December 1, 2025

Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate

Cyber colleagues, in the “Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate” program you will  understand the importance of cybersecurity practices and their impact for organizations, identify common risks, threats, and vulnerabilities, as well as techniques to mitigate them, protect networks, devices, people, and data from unauthorized access and cyberattacks using Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools. Gain hands-on experience with Python, Linux, and SQL along with Cybersecurity, Threat Detection, Cyber Attacks, Security Awareness, Linux, Debugging, Threat Management, Event Monitoring, Intrusion Detection and Prevention, SQL, Computer Security Incident Management, and Relational Databases. During the 8 courses in this certificate program, you’ll learn from cybersecurity experts at Google and gain in-demand skills that prepare you for entry-level roles like cybersecurity analyst, and security operations center (SOC) analyst. Skill-based training lessons include: 1) Foundations of Cybersecurity, 2) Play It Safe: Manage Security Risks, 3) Connect and Protect: Networks and Network Security, 4) Tools of the Trade: Linux and SQL, 5) Assets, Threats, and Vulnerabilities, 6) Sound the Alarm: Detection and Response, 7) Automate Cybersecurity Tasks with Python, and 8) Put It to Work: Prepare for Cybersecurity Jobs. Bonus content covers “Accelerate Your Job Search with AI”.

Enroll today (teams & execs welcome): https://imp.i384100.net/Oe20xA  


Much career success, Lawrence E. Wilson - Cybersecurity Certification Center (share with your team)
at No comments:

Monday, November 24, 2025

The Cybersecurity - Career Accelerator (November 2025)

Colleagues, our goal is to provide Cybersecurity professionals with actionable information to advance your career and income growth: Market Forecasts, Training and Certifications programs, Salaries, Career Openings and Key Employers.

Market Forecasts:

  • Fortune Business Insights: Valued at USD 172.24 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow from USD 193.73 billion in 2024 to USD 562.72 billion by 2032, CAGR of 14.3% during the forecast period

  • GlobalNewsWire: Market size: 2033 projected at $723B with a CAGR of 13.40%

  • Grand View Research: Market size estimated at USD 245.62 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 500.70 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 12.9% from 2025 to 2030

  • Markets and Markets: Market size in 2030 $352B (CAGR 2025-2030 = 9.1%)

  • Statista: Annual growth rate of CAGR 7.58% (CAGR 2025-2029)


Career Development - Boost Your Income by 5%-10% (enroll today - teams & execs are welcome):



Salaries (will vary by experience level & location):



Career Openings:



Key Employers:



Much success in your Cybersecurity career journey, Lawrence E. Wilson - Cybersecurity Certification Center (share with colleagues & friends)
at No comments:
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)