Can someone help me understand how people can be so far off base for expectations? Talent/pay
There's a level of "expert" they'll get for 130K and a level they'll get for 500K.. Maybe their expectations are met with who they can get for their price. The same way you can buy a car for $4K and for $120K. I've done both and been happy with both.
That’s a really great perspective. I personally can’t use the term expert that liberally. Just like the word supercar. For $120k you might be able to find something that resembles a supercar. For $4k, I think you will have a higher chance of finding an actual purple unicorn.
It's pretty tough market. By that I mean it's a talent market and big companies pay top dollar for security talent leaving many younger, less established companies with a very limited budget. I'm in Security & Privacy over here at the G and I advise a few security startups and two CEOs have told me point blank "we can't compete with the resources Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc have. We can't afford to hire you". Every year universities everywhere spit out developers in like a 8 to 10 ratio because that pays. Security pros not so much, I've been doing this for 15 years and it's a very tough field to understand.
Any thoughts on why Security doesn’t pay as well as Software developer? Not an economist, but this seems to contradict supply and demand. Also, with GDPR fines in excess of €20M And the expense of a breach, how can people not realize that they need to pay for the knowledge? To your startup point. IME, most places won’t even consider someone part time. I get it if you can’t afford a proper salary, however some expertise at a market rate is very valuable compared to none at all. Or worse hiring someone inexperienced who gives a false sense and of safety, because they simply don’t know any better.
I think mumra is saying probably the hiring company is a startup and can’t match what we are used to earning at big techs