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materials are kept secure from stealing, hacking, snooping, or
other misuse.

Working Conditions
DSAs work indoors on computer systems to constantly monitor
traffic and data access. For many, this is a full-time job. Some are
on call 24/7 in case of threats, breaches, or cyberattacks. To re-
spond to a breach, they may have to work overtime to identify the
source, patch the vulnerabilities in the system, and come up with
a method to prevent future intrusions. The pressure to secure data
in the event of a cyberattack can be intense—the big retailer Target
and the credit-reporting company Equifax both lost billions of dol-
lars after cyberattacks stole sensitive client and customer data.

Earnings
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual median
salary for DSAs reached $95,510 as of 2017. The high end of the
scale reached $153,090 per year, and the lowest salaries started
at $55,560. Profit sharing, bonuses, and stock options may also
boost the annual income for employees at larger, more successful
companies.

Opportunities for Advancement
With experience, DSAs can move into supervisory or manage-
ment roles. Some decide to break away from regular employment
to work on a freelance basis for their own clients. They can also
move into related jobs, such as network administrator. Experi-
enced DSAs have much to offer software companies seeking to
get the latest security features into their apps. Specializing in new
software and applications offers a path to a good job as a soft-
ware engineer or mobile developer. And with the importance of
cyberwarfare increasing all the time, a security analyst can also
move from the private sector to governments, both foreign and
domestic, to protect data critical to military functions, voting,
public health records, financial and tax functions, and education.

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