Only 34% plan to stay
A recent survey found only 34% of cyber professionals say they plan to stay in their current role, indicating high turnover intent across the industry. The finding was cited alongside advice that employers may need to offer clearer career paths, pay progression and flexible work to retain staff. (itpro.com)
Only 34% of cybersecurity professionals say they plan to stay with their current employer over the next year, according to a new 2026 survey of more than 500 United States security workers. (prnewswire.com) The survey, released April 14 by IANS and Artico Search, found 43% are considering a job change, rising to 46% among senior professionals. (prnewswire.com) (infosecurity-magazine.com) Researchers tied retention more closely to pay progression than to headline salary, and said hybrid schedules with one to two days a week on site produced the strongest work-life balance results. (prnewswire.com) (itpro.com) The findings land in a labor market where many security teams are already short-staffed. ISACA said in September 2025 that 55% of cybersecurity teams were understaffed, 65% had unfilled positions, and half of organizations struggled to retain cyber talent. (isaca.org) That pressure sits on top of a wider workforce gap. ISC2 said its annual workforce study tracks hiring, retention, career pathways and staffing shortages across the profession as employers try to fill cyber roles fast enough to match rising demand. (isc2.org) IANS said organizational backing also shaped satisfaction: 73% of staff who saw security as a core business priority said they were satisfied with their careers, versus 19% among workers who saw little or no support for security. (prnewswire.com) The report’s pay data shows why raises alone may not settle the issue. ITPro, citing the same survey, said the median annual pay for security analysts was $113,000, while the top 10% earned $187,000. (itpro.com) ISACA’s 2025 survey pointed to another constraint: only 29% of enterprises said they trained non-security staff to move into cyber roles, down from 41% a year earlier, even though 46% said more than half of their current cyber staff had come from outside the field. (isaca.org) The immediate message from the new survey is narrower than a pay complaint: workers reported stronger intent to stay when they could see a path forward, get regular raises and keep some flexibility over where they work. (prnewswire.com) (itpro.com)
