Education is crucial: while security experts with a degree in IT earn 50,210 euros, academics with a master's degree earn around 74,800 euros. By comparison, a backend developer with a master's degree receives an annual salary of around 65,000 euros, which is 10,000 euros less. "The path into IT security can either be via a targeted course of study or an IT apprenticeship. In both cases, the career opportunities are very good, as there is a global shortage of specialists in this area," says Tim Böger, Managing Director of Compensation Partner.

Factors influencing company size and position

The larger the company, the higher the security risks and therefore the higher the income for security experts. In small companies with fewer than 100 employees, salaries are over 50,600 euros, in medium-sized companies with up to 1,000 employees it is already over 60,500 euros. In large companies with 1,001 employees or more, the salary rises to around 74,000 euros.

IT security experts with personnel responsibility earn significantly more than specialists. Their salary is usually in the six-figure range. On average, they earn around 100,500 euros per year. "Experienced managers are generally rare in the IT sector, which means that six-figure salaries are almost normal," Böger continues.

Influencing factors Location and industry

In a city comparison, Munich comes out on top. Here, security specialists earn around 76,000 euros. Frankfurt follows close behind with 75,700 euros and Stuttgart is in third place with an annual salary of 72,000 euros.

The highest salary for security experts is offered by the transport and traffic sector. Here, IT security experts earn over 85,000 euros a year. This is followed by the chemical industry with 78,200 euros and the telecommunications sector with 73,500 euros.

Data basis

For the calculation, a total of 483 pieces of data were analyzed according to various parameters such as professional experience, industry or region. The figures shown are gross salaries and median values. The median describes the middle of all data: 50% are above the value, 50% below.