Cyber security covers everything from triaging alerts in a Security Operations Centre (SOC) through penetration-testing a client's network to writing the policy that the rest of the business has to follow. The label hides a lot of variation — an entry-level SOC analyst job and a Head of GRC role have almost nothing in common day-to-day.
Most live vacancies fall into a handful of buckets. SOC analyst (tier 1 / tier 2) — monitoring SIEM tools (Splunk, Sentinel, QRadar), triaging alerts, writing incident reports. Penetration tester / red team — offensive testing, usually CHECK or CREST-certified. GRC / compliance — ISO 27001, NIST, DORA, SOC 2 audits. Cloud security — AWS, Azure, GCP hardening. Each has its own cert path: CompTIA Security+ for the floor; CISSP, OSCP, CISM as you climb.
Salaries are well above the rest of the security industry. Entry SOC: £28-£35k. Mid-level analyst: £45-£60k. Penetration tester with CREST: £55-£80k. CISO or Head of role: £100k+. Most posts on this site are hybrid or fully remote with occasional on-site days. The London-Manchester-Edinburgh-Bristol cluster has the highest density of openings, but cyber is the one corner of "security" where the work genuinely doesn't care where you live.
Cyber Security Jobs

OT Cyber Security Analyst

Senior Security Engineer

OT Cyber Security Engineer

Communications Manager

Head of IT Infrastructure

Development Manager

Senior Systems Engineer

Presales Solution Architect

IT Manager (Hands-On Infrastructure & Ops)

Fire Suppression (Sprinkler) Design Engineer

Principal Fire Suppression (Sprinkler) Design Engineer

Cyber Security

Head of IT Operations

Incident Response Specialist

Commercial Bid Manager

Product Cybersecurity Engineer (TARA)
IT Support Coordinator

IT Project Manager

Infrastructure Engineer

Systems Engineer
Frequently asked questions
What qualifications do I need for an entry-level cyber security role?
CompTIA Security+ is the most common entry-level certification, often paired with a CCNA or AZ-900 to demonstrate networking or cloud fundamentals. SOC analyst roles will accept candidates with the certification and no degree, provided you can demonstrate practical skills through home-lab exercises or capture-the-flag competitions.
How much do cyber security roles pay in the UK?
Entry SOC analyst: £28-£35k. Mid-level analyst: £45-£60k. Penetration tester with CREST: £55-£80k. CISO or Head of role: £100k+. Most roles are hybrid or fully remote with occasional on-site days.
Is cyber security work mostly remote in the UK?
Most non-classified roles are hybrid or fully remote. Government and defence-cleared work still requires on-site presence at one of the secure facilities. SOC tier-1 work used to be on-site only but the post-2020 norm is hybrid with on-call rotations.