I want to see more people enter Tech and thrive, and we can’t ignore researching salaries as well. This is important because research into roles and compensation is all about advocating for yourself. It should empower you as well as inform you about your career trajectory.

I have listed resources that aid the research process of negotiating and knowing what your specific field looks like. This is concise so that those new to Tech aren’t overwhelmed, and those with more experience can be aware of the choices.

Levels.FYI

Levels.fyi is a tool that allows you to compare career levels as well as compensation. Levels.fyi is a way for you to compare levels of one company to another. making it a nice tool for negotiations. The information available on their site is more updated compared to other resources that provide similar data. It’s important to keep in mind that people that are compensated well might be more likely to report their compensation packages.

Glassdoor

Glassdoor is wildly used in the job searching process. Employees submit their salaries and reviews of the companies anonymously. Glassdoor allows you to apply for positions and search for companies that you’re interested in working for. Some users have reported that the information available on Glassdoor is biased and can be removed upon HR request. Their data might not be as fresh as other sources but Glassdoor is still useful for those job hunting.

PayScale

Payscale is a site that provides salary comparisons and has a salary survey with the intention of PayScale helps those that want to research their company and role, those that are evaluating their job offers, and everyone that is exploring the job field. It’s important to know that employers can also make accounts.

Blind

Blind is another great resource for comparing not only salaries but experiences as well. Blind is especially useful for updated salary information from anonymous individuals. Besides salary, Blind also provides insight on company cultures. Though the information available is vast, it’s still good to gauge whether the person posting is a troll or not.

It’s in the best interest of these companies to keep a lot of the compensation data hidden but employees are willing, at times, to share their pay. Because I find Levels.FYI to be the most detailed resource on this list, it’s where I will be starting with when looking for compensation comparisons within cybersecurity. The rest are good options as well, especially when seeking historical comparisons and personal experiences of current and former employees.

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