Also called: Cyber Incident Response Analyst, DFIR Analyst
The cyber firefighter who rushes in when hackers break into a company.
At 2 a.m. your phone buzzes: a hospital's files are being locked by ransomware. You isolate infected machines, trace how the attackers got in and help bring systems back safely. Between emergencies you run practice drills.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 6 years after high school. Bachelor's in cybersecurity or IT; certifications like GCIH; often starts in a security operations center.
Ways in: 4-year college, Certification, Military. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Technology.
Growing much faster than average (about 29% over 10 years). Tracks information security analysts.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI speeds evidence gathering during breaches, but leading a live response and making calls under pressure stays human.
Classes: AP Computer Science Principles, AP CS A, Speech.
Official data: O*NET occupation 15-1212.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.