What Was the Prominent Cybersecurity Position of 2024 in Over 64,000 Job Advertisements?

According to CyberSN, a provider of security and IT workforce management platforms, the most prevalent title in the cybersecurity job adverts of 2024 was Cybersecurity Engineer. Their report, “U.S. Cybersecurity Employment Data,” compiled job postings from 30 prominent job websites and job boards of Fortune 500 companies from January 2022 to December 2024. This report details the increasing and declining trends along with other hiring patterns.

Cybersecurity professionals like Security Engineers and Security Analysts have abundant choices

The most requested roles in 2024 were:

1. Security Engineer (64,300 jobs posted)
2. Security Analyst (45,496 jobs posted)
3. DevSecOps (36,020 jobs posted)
4. Cybersecurity/Privacy Attorney (22,456 jobs posted)
5. Security Architect (22,246 jobs posted)
6. Cybersecurity Manager (17,975 jobs posted)
7. Identity and Access Management Engineer (12,223 jobs posted)
8. Cybersecurity Specialist (8,221 jobs posted)
9. Cyber Risk Analyst (8,187 jobs posted)
10. Incident Responder (7,639 jobs posted)

SEE: Beware: FBI Warns of Increasing Malware Distributed Through Document Converters

Companies are escalating their job announcements for cyber attorneys and red team operatives

If you possess both legal and cybersecurity expertise, you are fortunate: The demand for Cybersecurity/Privacy Attorneys had the highest surge in 2024, escalating by 40% from 2023 to 2024 and by 19% from 2022 to 2024, as indicated by CyberSN.

Other roles that exhibited substantial year-over-year growth were Red Team Member, Cybersecurity Sales Engineer, Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst, and Cybersecurity Specialist. For a broader perspective, the subsequent roles showed the most growth between 2022 and 2024:

1. Reverse Engineer/Malware Analyst
2. Cybersecurity/Privacy Attorney
3. Cybersecurity Technical Writer
4. Cybersecurity Specialist
5. Chief Information Security Officer

Software Development and Identity & Access Management Employment Dropped in 2024

On the contrary, positions for Cloud Security Engineers and Cybersecurity Leaders witnessed a substantial decline since 2022. The designations that experienced the most significant decrease in the number of job listings from 2023 to 2024 were:

1. Cybersecurity Software Engineer
2. Identity and Access Management Engineer
3. Cybersecurity Lead
4. Cloud Security Engineer
5. Security Analyst

Although roles such as Product Security Engineers and DevSecOps weakened from 2022 to 2024, a slight resurgence from 2023 to 2024 might indicate a revival in the market.

SEE: Broadcom Releases Urgent Patch Addressing Security Vulnerability in VMware Tools for Windows

Legal Requirements Have Influenced Cybersecurity Trends in the Past Three Years

Dom Glavach, Chief Security and Technology Officer at CyberSN, associated employment tendencies from 2022 to 2024 to “regulatory constraints imposed on CEOs and Boards of Directors,” a pattern that seems probable to shift in the United States.

Additionally, AI seems to be influencing recruitment patterns.

“Reductions in the number of Security Engineer, Security Analyst, and DevSecOps job postings are an indication of a sector-wide transition towards AI-driven security automation and enhancements in internal security operations,” mentioned Glavach.

While there has been a decrease in job listings for Security Engineers, Security Analysts, and DevSecOps over the past three years, they still rank among the top five most sought-after positions.

“Our Cyber Workforce Risk Management Practice highlights organizations prioritizing talent retention, development, and addressing workforce deficiencies,” stated Deidre Diamond, Founder and CEO of CyberSN.

About Author

AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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