Cybersec is a thankless job: expanding workload and shrinking pay packet

Cybersecurity professionals experienced the worst salary stagnation in IT during 2025, with 77% in the UK and 71% globally seeing no pay increase, according to Harvey Nash data. Despite high market demand, security workers rank in the bottom three for job satisfaction. The survey attributes stagnation to leadership complacency when security teams succeed, compounded by AI expanding threat surfaces and accelerating workload complexity.