Kickstart your cyber security career as a junior analyst. Learn key responsibilities, required skills, salary expectations, and how to progress in this high-demand field facing a growing skills gap in 2025.
The role of junior cyber security analyst may be an entry-level position, but it comes with responsibilities. It’s your job to support the cyber security team, understand threat and vulnerability levels and help protect the network.
Securing a junior cybersecurity job is a good way to get into the industry and hone your skills at the beginning of your career. You’ll gain experience in important areas, such as incident response, intrusion detection and monitoring firewall logs and alerts.
Trends in 2025 suggest employer demand for individuals with niche cyber security skills – or the ability to develop much-needed expertise – will continue to be high.
The World Economic Forum has warned of a “widening skills gap” in the sector, as businesses face rapidly evolving, unpredictable challenges such as:
A cyber security analyst defends an organisation’s networks and systems from digital threats, with juniors in the role aiding in this. Among the biggest challenges is ensuring unauthorised third parties aren’t able to access sensitive data.
Over the course of a typical workday, people in entry-level cyber security jobs spend a lot of time:
Another key part of the role is knowing how to use common cyber security tools and solutions. This often includes:
Depending on the nature of the business and industry you’re working in, taking on an entry-level cyber security job could involve some shift work. A round-the-clock security operations centre (SOC), for example, may require security analysts to be available in shifts, 24 hours a day.
The job description for a junior cyber security analyst can vary considerably from one firm to another, so it’s important to peruse listings carefully before applying. As the role can be fairly broad, it gives a good introduction to information security and offers insight into where you might like to go next with your career.
One of the most important functions any junior cyber security analyst will be expected to carry out is keeping a close watch over systems and networks for potential threats.
That means you will have to be skilled in areas such as using SIEM platforms, monitoring firewalls and being able to identify and bring attention to genuine cyber security risks.
When cyber security incidents are detected, junior members of the team will have a part to play in supporting the organisation’s response.
One of the first steps a business might want to take is creating and maintaining a detailed log of the event. You could also be asked to support with activities such as assessing affected systems and determining the full extent of the breach.
Security audits are of vital importance for businesses that want to ensure they’re in alignment with industry standards and specific regulations such as GDPR and PCI DSS.
Junior analysts can facilitate this by taking on responsibilities such as reviewing security policies and performing regular checks on critical systems and processes to ensure they’re complying with relevant rules.
Understanding how much a cyber security salary is likely to be at the beginning of your career is important when planning your next steps. The average junior cyber security analyst salary in the UK is £27,623 per year, according to Glassdoor.
However, starting pay can fall anywhere in the range of approximately £24,000 to £32,000, depending on factors such as:
While additional cash compensation through bonuses and other initiatives are likely to be minimal, it’s still worth enquiring into these at interview. It may be that these kick in after a certain amount of time or experience is gained, so it’s important to get the full picture before making a career decision.
Routes into cyber security vary, but you can follow this roadmap to get an idea of the possible career paths. Pursuing academic qualifications while gaining valuable cyber security work experience is the most likely approach to help you secure a job as a cyber security analyst.
A bachelor’s degree in a subject like IT, computer science, network engineering or information systems is a good starting point.
You can also pursue industry qualifications that offer a good foundation in cyber security principles, such as:
If you’re interested in exploring alternative learning paths, other options might include online courses and bootcamps.
As well as the technical expertise and knowledge you’ll gain from academic qualifications and certifications, it’s important that you can show an employer you have the soft skills required to be a useful addition to their organisation.
This might include:
Once you’ve gained the relevant qualifications and work experience to become a junior cyber security analyst, the next step is finding a job.
The steps in your cyber security career path could look something like this, in order of seniority:
You may want to seek roles offering clear career progression, but this doesn’t have to be limited to cyber security analyst jobs.
Some junior analysts go on to work in other areas of information security, so sideways moves are definitely possible. Progressing into higher-level leadership and managerial roles as you gain experience is a common and achievable career goal.
The promotion opportunities available to you will depend on your background and career path so far.
Experience-based promotions are generally available to professionals who can demonstrate real-world, hands-on involvement in the workplace, while certification-based promotions are reflective of formal training and qualifications.
There are various ways to approach your search for an entry-level job in cyber security.
One option is to look for internship or mentoring opportunities in the sector, which can offer benefits including:
When you’re ready to start or expand your search, you can head to a dedicated jobs board like CyberSecurityJobsite.com. To increase your chances of success, upload your CV to the site, so recruiters know you’re in the market for a new role.
Check out our selection of the latest junior cyber security analyst jobs to advance your career today.
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