What do you consider a to be a good digital forensics salary range? This comprehensive guide dives deep into the world of digital forensics salaries.
Whether you’re an aspiring digital forensics technician or a seasoned professional, this article offers insights into the current financial landscape of this dynamic field.
From comparisons between digital and computer forensics roles to a breakdown of entry-level and expert earnings, read on to get a clearer picture of your potential earnings in this pivotal cyber profession.
How much does digital forensics make?
Digital forensics is a wide field, even for cyber security. To give you a quick answer, the average digital forensics salary is $81,680 per year. Of course that really depends on 9 factors such as:
- Location
- Experience
- Certifications
- College Degrees
- Job title and role
- Specializations
- Job type (i.e. full-time, contractor, etc.)
- Sector (i.e. public vs. private)
- Demand for services
Taking all of that into account, here’s a broad overview of how digital forensics workers are paid.
Computer Forensics Salary vs Digital Forensics Salary
Here we look at the average salary of digital forensics and computer forensics, the two most popular search entries, compared side-by-side:
As you can see the average digital forensics salary is about $86,375. That’s not too different than the computer forensics salary at $82,908.
Not a massive difference in pay, but I break it down further by comparing four job titles (i.e. analyst, examiner, engineer, and investigator) used to create those averages:
As you can see, even though salaries for individual job titles will vary, the averages for both are quite similar.
What is an Entry Level Digital Forensics Salary?
For an entry level salary digital forensics, you can expect somewhere between $25,927 and $113,745 per year, (averaging $59,131) depending on the role you’re qualified for.
That’s a wide range that’s heavily skewed by the engineering positions. Let’s look at how those salaries are broken down:
Keep in mind that entry-level doesn’t mean "0" years of experience, you might already need to possess some IT or law enforcement background.
What is the average salary for a digital forensic expert?
A digital forensics specialist salary averages $113,682 per year. However, if you decide to move into digital forensics management or become a consultant, your salary could reach as high as $200,000+ per year.
In the next several sections, we’ll take a deeper look into each role.
Digital Forensic Technician Salary
The average expected salary for a digital forensics technician comes to around $50,921 per year. Those with significant experience earn approximately $115,000.
Computer Forensics Examiner Salary vs. Digital Forensics Examiner Salary
The average salary for forensics examiners is roughly $61,365. The best forensics examiners can average $84,250 or more.
We see here that digital forensics examiners seem to earn less than computer forensics examiners.
- Computer forensics examiner: $66,393
- Digital forensics examiner: $56,336
Computer Forensics Analyst Salary vs. Digital Forensics Analyst Salary
In this case, the computer forensics analyst seemed to earn less than their digital forensics counterparts.
However, the average salary between a computer forensics analyst and digital forensics analyst is $75,098. The top analyst in this field will exceed $102,000.
- Computer forensics analyst: $68,785
- Digital forensics analyst: $81,410
Computer Forensics Investigator Salary vs. Digital Forensics Investigator Salary
Forensics investigators were found to have salaries that were nearly comparable to one another.
The cyber forensics investigator salary is slightly higher at $81,041.
Altogether, forensics investigators average $77,042. The best investigators can expect at least $119,000 or higher.
- Computer forensics investigator: $76,794
- Digital forensics investigator: $73,292
Computer Forensics Engineer Salary vs. Digital Forensics Engineer Salary
Forensics engineers were also found to have salaries that were nearly comparable to one another averaging $127,060 per year. The most experiences forensics engineers earned an average of $136,500.
- Computer forensics engineer: $119,659
- Digital forensics engineer: $134,461
How Accurate are Third-Party Salary Website Results?
Most people visit websites like Salary.com, ZipRecruiter, PayScale, and maybe even Glassdoor to know what a digital forensics jobs salary is like.
Unfortunately, the salary figures shown to you are only as good as the data available or the number of respondents surveyed.
I performed a check on Indeed and ZipRecruiter for several job titles related to “digital forensics” to see how many jobs were found on each site.
And here’s what I found…
"Digital Forensics" and "Computer Forensics" resulted in nearly 84% of job results (related to forensics) on Indeed.
After searching ZipRecruiter, the top two were again “Digital Forensics” and “Computer Forensics” resulting in about 74% of search results.
What does this mean for you?
More data means more accurate salary information!
That doesn’t mean the other search entries are wrong. It just means that you shouldn’t put too much faith in the salary info that appears for those other job titles.
Therefore, when searching for salary information, it’s in your best interest to search for the exact phrase "digital forensics" or “computer forensics”!
Looking to upgrade your career?
View our listing of cybersecurity jobs!
Conclusion
Navigating the world of digital forensics salaries might seem a bit confusing, but here's a clearer picture for you: Think of the average digital forensics salary as around $81,680.
But remember, just like in any job, things like where you live, how much experience you have, and what degrees or certifications you've earned can push that number up or down.
The difference between computer and digital forensics salaries is negligible with just a slight edge to digital forensics. If you're just starting out, expect a wide range of possible salaries, but as you gain more experience, especially in management or consultancy roles, you could earn upwards of $200,000 a year!
Here's a tip: When you're looking up salaries online, be careful. Not all websites give accurate info so it's best to check against multiple sites. We checked some popular job search sites, and it turns out that if you search specifically for "digital forensics" or "computer forensics," you'll get the most reliable results.
So, next time you're curious about your potential earnings in this field, keep these pointers in mind and remember to always keep learning and growing in your career.
