IT security specialists are becoming the most valuable resource of any organisation. Global forecasts and data from the Polish market leave no illusions: demand for experts is growing rapidly, salaries are breaking records and the skills gap is widening at an alarming rate.
It is an industry with a market for the worker, and the future holds growing challenges and even greater opportunities.
The global economy faces an estimated $10.5 trillion threat – that’s how much the impact of cybercrime could cost. It is no surprise, then, that according to ManpowerGroup’s ‘IT World of Work 2025 Outlook’ report, up to 41% of global IT directors cite cyber security as an absolute priority for the coming year.
The situation is further complicated by the dynamic transformation of the IT industry itself. The development of low-code and no-code technologies, which are forecast to be behind up to 70% of new applications this year, is democratising software development, but at the same time opening up new fields for potential attacks, increasing the pressure on security experts.
Working in IT – the Polish market at the epicentre of change
This trend is also clearly visible in Poland. Demand for cyber security specialists has reached record levels. The financial, e-commerce, manufacturing and IT services sectors themselves are particularly active in recruitment.
Companies are not only looking for experts to defend their systems, but are also creating entirely new structures. Large corporations, especially in the financial and telecommunications industries, are setting up dedicated governance teams and ethics committees to deal with artificial intelligence.
With the growing role of AI in business, new strategic positions such as Chief AI Officer and AI Engineering Manager are emerging in the market.
Their job is not only to implement the technology, but more importantly to integrate it into the overall business operations, manage the teams and ensure that the algorithms are legally and ethically compliant.
Among the most sought-after specialisations in cyber security today are:
- Security Operations Centre (SOC) analyst, responsible for ongoing systems monitoring and incident response.
- Penetration tester who takes on the role of a hacker to find and patch security vulnerabilities.
- Cloud security specialist, crucial in an era of mass migration of infrastructure to cloud solutions.
Salaries that are ahead of the market
Such high demand has a direct impact on salaries. Last year, salaries in cyber security increased by more than 12%, which is above the average for the entire IT industry. Forecasts for 2026 call for further increases of up to 14-16% year-on-year.
They are particularly driven by areas such as cloud security, AI and the need to comply with new EU regulations such as the NIS2 and DORA directives, which tighten security requirements for key sectors of the economy.
Sample monthly earnings in the Polish market are as follows:
- Junior SOC Analyst: PLN 8,000 – 13,000 gross
- Penetration tester (mid): £16,000 – £22,000 gross
- Cloud security expert: PLN 20,000 – PLN 30,000 gross
- Cybersecurity manager (banking, fintech): PLN 28,000 – 45,000 gross
At the top of the salary ladder are the leaders responsible for artificial intelligence. The salary of an AI director in Poland, on a B2B contract, starts from PLN 26,000 – 36,000 net, and in large corporations, including bonuses and stock options, it can exceed PLN 50,000 net.
Growing skills gap
Unfortunately, the supply of professionals is not keeping up with the growing demand. Data from the World Economic Forum shows that 66% of organisations report a severe shortage of key cyber security talent. What’s more, the global skills gap in this area has widened by 8% since 2024.
The main reasons for this are the exponential increase in the number and complexity of threats and the increasing digitalisation of businesses, including the implementation of cloud and automation.
In the face of these challenges, massive re-qualification and investment in training programmes, targeting both students and staff from other disciplines, seems to be the only effective solution.
Without this, the talent deficit will only get worse, posing a real threat to the stability and growth of companies.
