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ANZSCO 2621Skill level 1Technology and data

Cyber security analyst

Detect, investigate and respond to security threats inside Australian organisations.

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Salary

Cited figures from Job Outlook and QILT. ExamExplained does not publish predictive earnings or projections.

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$2250Job Outlook (2025-06-01)
Graduate starting salary$80,000QILT (2025-03-01)

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What a cyber security analyst actually does

Analysts working in a security operations centre (SOC) start the shift by reviewing alerts that fired overnight, triaging anything still open from the previous handover, and reading any new threat intelligence relevant to the organisation. The day is a steady rhythm of investigating detections from SIEM platforms (Splunk, Sentinel, Elastic), pulling endpoint telemetry from EDR tools, and deciding whether each event is a true positive, a false positive, or something that needs to be escalated to incident response. Other duties slot in around alert work: running scheduled vulnerability scans, helping internal teams interpret findings, reviewing phishing reports from staff, and writing brief incident reports. Larger organisations and managed security providers run 24x7 shifts; smaller in-house teams typically work business hours with a rostered on-call. Reporting periods around audits, ASD Essential Eight uplift programmes and major incidents drive busier stretches.

Typical tasks

  • Monitor SIEM and EDR alerts.
  • Investigate incidents and write reports.
  • Run vulnerability assessments.

Skills you'll use

  • Reading logs and network traffic for signs of compromise
  • Using a SIEM (Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel or Elastic)
  • Using an EDR (CrowdStrike, Defender for Endpoint or SentinelOne)
  • Windows, Linux and Active Directory fundamentals
  • The MITRE ATT&CK framework and common attacker tradecraft
  • Scripting in PowerShell and Python for triage and automation
  • Writing clear incident reports for non-technical executives
  • Understanding ASD Essential Eight, ISM and the Privacy Act

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 12 with English and Maths Advanced or Methods. Some cyber pathways accept Maths Standard but uni IT degrees prefer the higher level
  2. 2Pick one of three routes: a 3-year Bachelor of Cyber Security or IT, a Diploma of Cyber Security via TAFE, or self-study plus a junior IT support role
  3. 3Run a home lab. Build a Windows domain in virtual machines, try common attacks against it, and learn to detect them in logs and Sentinel or Splunk free tiers
  4. 4Earn an entry-level cert. CompTIA Security+ is the standard starting point; ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity is free and credible
  5. 5Land a junior SOC, IT support, or systems administration role. Most analysts start on tier-one alert triage and move up from there
  6. 6Pick a specialism around year 3-4: incident response, threat hunting, application security, governance or cloud security

Where you can work

  • Big four banks and other ASX-listed financial services firms
  • Federal agencies including Defence, ASD and Home Affairs (citizenship required)
  • State government cyber security units
  • Managed security service providers and Big four consulting cyber teams
  • Telcos, energy networks and other critical infrastructure operators
  • Cloud-native scale-ups, SaaS vendors and tech product companies

Career progression

Typical stages and salary bands. Salary figures are sourced from Job Outlook, QILT or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile not absolute floors or ceilings.

  1. Tier-one analyst
    0-2 years
    Typical roles: SOC analyst, Junior security analyst, Security operations associate
    Salary band: $75,000 - $95,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Tier-two analyst
    3-5 years
    Typical roles: Security analyst, Incident responder, Threat hunter
    Salary band: $110,000 - $145,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Senior or specialist
    6-9 years
    Typical roles: Senior security analyst, Senior incident responder, Senior security engineer
    Salary band: $150,000 - $200,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  4. Lead or manager
    10+ years
    Typical roles: SOC manager, Lead incident responder, Principal security architect

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You like puzzles and chasing down loose threads in messy data
  • You can stay calm and clear-headed in a live incident
  • You read security news for fun and follow new attacker techniques
  • You can hold a confidential conversation without leaking detail
  • You can write a report that an executive will actually read

This might not suit you if

  • You want predictable 9-to-5 with no out-of-hours shifts or pages
  • You find rules, frameworks and compliance work boring
  • You dislike constantly relearning new tools, attacks and defences
  • You want to work mostly alone with little stakeholder contact

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for cyber security analyst. Not every career has all three; we only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

Not an apprenticeship trade.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Job Outlook directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.