
Security: Test & Protect - Chicago, IL - Average Experience
Salary Report
Information Technology Job
IT Security:
Threat Testing and
Data Protection
United States Location
Chicago - Gary - Kenosha
IL - IN - WI
USA Metropolitan Area
Competitive Position® Salary Report
Data Observed 8/1/21 to 7/31/22
Salary Average
$114,376
Experience Requirement
5 Years and 5 Months
Raise +1 Year
$6,894 at 6.03%
Salary and Number of Jobs

About Salary and Jobs
Salary Range :
At required Experience of 5 Years & 5 Months: $114,376 is Salary average; 50% of Jobs pay between $99,062 & $129,690; and, 5% of Jobs top $152,025.
Number of Jobs :
Most Jobs are available closest to the Salary Average.
Fewer Jobs are available at Lower and Higher Salaries.
Salary End Points :
$26,400 = annual salary at $15 per hour working between: 44 weeks at 40 hours a week, to, 52 weeks at 34 hours a week.
$336,030 = annual salary for the highest paying IT Job in the highest paying US City at the Top 2.5% Experience and Top 2.5% Salary.
Job Market :
Job offers, publicly posted in want ads by employers, were observed and measured from 8/1/21 to 7/31/22.
View: Documentation and Methodology.
Top Salaries
Top Percentile of Job market | Top Salary |
---|---|
2.5% | $159,423 |
5% | $152,025 |
10% | $143,597 |
25% | $129,690 |
33% | $124,042 |
50% | $114,376 |
Top Percentile of Job Market =
Number of Jobs Above the Top Salary
÷
Number of all Jobs at 5 Years and 5 Months Experience.
Salary Range and Jobs
Percentage of Jobs within Salary Lows and Highs
Percent of Job Market | Salary Range | |
---|---|---|
Low Salary | High Salary | |
10% | $111,527 | $117,224 |
25% | $107,151 | $121,601 |
33% | $104,710 | $124,042 |
50% | $99,062 | $129,690 |
67% | $92,220 | $136,532 |
95% | $69,329 | $159,423 |
Salary Average =
$114,376
Mid Point between each Low/High pair.
Percent of Job Market =
Number of Jobs with Salary between Low/High pair
÷
Number of all Jobs at 5 Years and 5 Months Experience.
Salary and Experience

Salary ±1 Year
Experience | Salary Average | Raise +1 Year |
---|---|---|
4 Years and 5 Months | $106,330 | $8,046 at 7.57% |
5 Years and 5 Months | $114,376 | $6,894 at 6.03% |
6 Years and 5 Months | $121,270 | $6,031 at 4.97% |
About Salary and Experience
Salary by Year :
Salary is lowest at entry level, increases rapidly with the first years of experience and approaches a ceiling as experience matures.
Salary and Experience Range :
Salary average rises with experience: $59,638 at the low experience of 1 Year; $114,376 at the average experience of 5 Years and 5 Months; and, $139,731 at the top experience of 9 Years and 11 Months.
Experience End Points :
0 = Entry Level.
14 Years and 3 Months = Top 2.5% Experience in the IT Job with the highest required experience in the USA.
Job Market :
Job offers, publicly posted in want ads by employers, were observed and measured from 8/1/21 to 7/31/22.
View: Documentation and Methodology.
Salary by Year
Salary and Experience Range
95% of Jobs require Experience between the Low and Top
Experience | Salary Average | Raise +1 Year | |
---|---|---|---|
Low | 1 Year | $59,638 | $18,838 at 31.59% |
Average | 5 Years and 5 Months | $114,376 | $6,894 at 6.03% |
Top | 9 Years and 11 Months | $139,731 | $4,196 at 3.00% |
Qualifications
Description
Security of information technology operations, with threat testing and data integrity protection, is the position's primary responsibility.
Skills
The qualifications of this information technology Job:
-
- IT Security,
- Cybersecurity, Infosec or Information Technology (IT) Security;
-
- Threat Testing,
- Ethical Hacker, Penetration Testing, Threat Testing, Vulnerability Testing, CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker), OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional), Kismet, Metasploit, Nessus, Nikto or Nmap;
-
- Information Assurance,
- Data Leak, Data Loss, Data Protect, Data Recover, DLP or Information Assurance.
Characteristics
A+ Skills
Additional IT skills requested in some job descriptions:
- Bachelor of Arts/Science Degree,
- 78.1% of job descriptions;
- Security Clearance,
- 4.1% of job descriptions;
- Nessus,
- 5.5% of job descriptions;
- Cisco,
- 23.3% of job descriptions;
- VMware,
- 19.2% of job descriptions;
- SQL (Structured Query Language),
- 21.9% of job descriptions;
- CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor),
- 24.7% of job descriptions;
- CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker),
- 30.1% of job descriptions;
- GSEC (GIAC Security Essentials Certification),
- 58.9% of job descriptions;
- CISM (Certified Information Security Manager),
- 24.7% of job descriptions;
- Microsoft Azure,
- 8.2% of job descriptions;
- AWS (Amazon Web Services),
- 6.8% of job descriptions.
Location
Chicago, IL
- Illinois,
- Addison, Arlington Heights, Aurora, Batavia, Barrington, Berwyn, Bollingbrook, Boone, Buffalo Grove, Burbank, Calumet City, Carol Stream, Carpentersville, Chicago Heights, Chicago, Cicero, Cook County, Crystal Lake, De Kalb County, De Kalb, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Downers Grove, DuPage County, East Chicago, Elgin, Elk Grove, Elk Grove Village, Elmhurst, Evanston, Geneva, Glendale Heights, Glenview, Grundy County, Hanover Park, Harvard, Harvey, Highland Park, Hines, Hinsdale, Hoffman Estates, Homewood, Itasca, Joliet, Kane County, Kankakee County, Kendall County, Lake County, Lake Forest, Lansing, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Lombard, Maywood, McHenry County, Morris, Mount Prospect, Mundelein, Naperville, Niles, Norridge, North Chicago, Northbrook, Oak Brook, Oak Forest, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, Ogle, Orland Park, Palatine, Park Forest, Park Ridge, Plano, Riverside, Riverwoods, Rochelle, Rockford, Rolling, Romeoville, Rosemont, Schaumburg, Schiller Park, Skokie, St Charles, Streamwood, Tinley Park, Vernon Hills, Warrenville, Waukegan, Westchester, Wheaton, Wheeling, Will County, Wilmette, Winebago, Wood Dale and Woodridge;
- Indiana,
- Cedar Lake, Crown Point, East Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Hobart, Lake County, Lake, Merrilvilee, Merrilville, Portage, Porter County, and Valparaiso;
- Wisconsin,
- Kenosha County and Kenosha.
These locations are all included in the Chicago, IL metropolitan area as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB).