Monitors an organization's networks around the clock for signs of cyberattack, triaging security alerts and escalating real threats. BLS does not publish separate figures for computer network support specialists; it counts them within computer network support specialist (SOC 15-1231), whose median pay is $76,220 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Associate's degree.
- SOC 15-1231
- Computer and Mathematical
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
SOC Analyst in four numbers
- Median pay
- $76,220a year, or $36.64/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $47KTop 10% $128K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- +1.2%Slower than averageBLS EP, 2025–2035This career+1.2%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career +1.2% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 9,000152,500 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 2025152.5K
- Projected 2035154.4K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 152.5K Projected 2035 154.4K - Typical education
- Associate'sneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
- High school4.2%
- Certificate10.2%
- Some college13.6%
- Associate's21.7%
- Bachelor's46.9%
- Post-bacc certificate1.8%
Highest education held by computer network support specialists Segment Value High school 4.2% Certificate 10.2% Some college 13.6% Associate's 21.7% Bachelor's 46.9% Post-bacc certificate 1.8%
Also advertised as: Security Operations Center Analyst, Cybersecurity Analyst I, Tier 1 SOC Analyst, Security Monitoring Analyst, Cyber Defense Analyst.
Pay
How much do Computer Network Support Specialists make?
Every soc analyst in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$76,220
Middle half earn $58,240 to $98,750
- 10th
- $47,120
- 25th
- $58,240
- 75th
- $98,750
- 90th
- $127,780
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $47,120 |
| 25th | $58,240 |
| Median | $76,220 |
| 75th | $98,750 |
| 90th | $127,780 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $76,220
- Median hourly wage
- $36.64/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $81,870
- People employed
- 146,190
Versus all US occupations
At $76,220, Computer Network Support Specialists earn 50% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $25,240 a year.
Versus computer and mathematical occupations
Inside the Computer and Mathematical group, where the middle occupation pays $116,580, this is 35% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $127,780 or more while the bottom 10% earn $47,120, a gap of 2.7×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 52% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Washington pays the most at $101,750, and still leads at $95,082 once local prices are taken into account.
Pay by state
Which states pay Computer Network Support Specialists the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Washington | $101,750 | $95,082 | 3,300 |
| 2Maryland | $96,680 | $92,112 | 8,200 |
| 3District of Columbia | $91,370 | $83,138 | 450 |
| 4Massachusetts | $88,650 | $83,824 | 1,980 |
| 5New Jersey | $87,440 | $80,364 | 3,370 |
| 6Alaska | $86,110 | $84,125 | 300 |
| 7Nevada | $85,790 | $85,808 | 2,460 |
| 8Hawaii | $83,620 | $76,052 | 350 |
| 9Rhode Island | $82,970 | $81,120 | 620 |
| 10Colorado | $82,750 | $80,299 | 4,530 |
Job outlook
Is SOC Analyst a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
Slower than average. +1.2% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Computer Network Support Specialists | +1.2% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
Slower than average
BLS projects employment of Computer Network Support Specialists to change 1.2% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 1,900 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 9,000 openings are projected each year, 5.9% of the 152,500 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a SOC Analyst
SOC analyst is one of the most common entry points into cybersecurity. Employers often accept an associate or bachelor's degree, military experience, or IT help desk and networking experience in place of a specific degree. Basic networking, Windows and Linux familiarity, and log analysis are the expected starting skills.
CompTIA Security+ is a widely requested entry credential, and many government contractor roles require it under Department of Defense workforce rules. CompTIA CySA+ is a common next step. Hands-on practice through free training ranges and home labs helps, and many analysts move up from help desk positions within the same organization.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Associate's degree
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Medium preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as computer network support specialists.
- Bachelor's Degree46.9%
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree21.7%
- Some College Courses13.6%
- Post-Secondary Certificate10.2%
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)4.2%
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's Degree | 46.9% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 21.7% |
| Some College Courses | 13.6% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 10.2% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 4.2% |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
The work
What does a SOC Analyst do?
SOC analysts are the front line of cyber defense. Working in a security operations center, they watch alerts from tools such as SIEM platforms, endpoint detection software and firewalls. Most alerts turn out to be harmless, so the core skill is triage: quickly checking logs, user activity and threat intelligence to decide whether an alert is a false alarm, a policy problem or a real attack.
When something is real, analysts open a case, gather evidence and escalate to senior analysts or incident responders, sometimes taking first containment steps such as isolating a laptop. They also tune noisy detection rules, document their findings, and handle phishing reports from employees. Tier 1 analysts handle triage; higher tiers handle deeper investigation and threat hunting.
Day-to-day tasks
- Monitor security alerts in SIEM and endpoint tools
- Triage alerts to separate false positives from real threats
- Investigate suspicious logins and network activity
- Analyze phishing emails reported by employees
- Escalate confirmed incidents to responders
- Document investigations in case management systems
- Suggest tuning for noisy detection rules
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
SOC analysts work at managed security service providers, large enterprises, banks, hospitals, universities and government agencies. Because monitoring runs around the clock, many roles involve shift work, including nights, weekends and holidays. Work happens in a dedicated operations room or remotely. The pace can be repetitive between busy incident periods.
Where the work happens
Indoors, climate-controlled
NeverEvery dayIndoors, in a climate-controlled space, every day.
Outdoors in all weather
NeverEvery day
Physical demands
Sitting
NeverAlmost all the timeStanding
NeverAlmost all the timeBending or twisting
NeverAlmost all the time
Working with people
Contact with other people
NoneConstantConstant contact with other people.
Face-to-face discussions
NeverEvery dayFace-to-face discussions every day.
Dealing with the public
Not importantExtremely important
Pressure and stakes
Strict deadlines
NeverEvery dayConflict situations
NeverEvery dayCost of a mistake
Not seriousExtremely serious
Autonomy
Freedom to decide
NoneA lotA lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.
Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.
Core skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Active Listening3.5
- Reading Comprehension3.4
- Speaking3.3
- Active Learning3.3
- Monitoring3.3
- Writing3.0
- Learning Strategies2.6
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Critical Thinking | 3.8 |
| Active Listening | 3.5 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.4 |
| Speaking | 3.3 |
| Active Learning | 3.3 |
| Monitoring | 3.3 |
| Writing | 3.0 |
| Learning Strategies | 2.6 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Transferable skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.4
- Complex Problem Solving3.3
- Troubleshooting3.1
- Systems Analysis3.1
- Operations Monitoring3.0
- Systems Evaluation3.0
- Time Management3.0
- Social Perceptiveness2.9
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.4 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.3 |
| Troubleshooting | 3.1 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.1 |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.0 |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.0 |
| Time Management | 3.0 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 2.9 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Tools and software
- Cloud-based management software · in demand
- Data base management system software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Development environment software · in demand
- Document management software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Internet directory services software · in demand
- Object or component oriented development software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Operating system software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Project management software · in demand
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a SOC Analyst?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code CIR) built on O*NET's Computer Network Support Specialist profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | SOC Analyst |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 5 |
| Investigative | 5 |
| Artistic | 1 |
| Social | 2 |
| Enterprising | 3 |
| Conventional | 6 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around organising, following procedures and working precisely with data, combined with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data.
- Conventional5.6
- Investigative4.8
- Realistic4.5
- Enterprising2.6
- Social2.3
- Artistic1.0
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
Careers related to SOC Analyst
O*NET related occupations
- Computer and Mathematical
- Computer and Mathematical
- Computer and Mathematical
Network and Computer Systems Administrator
$99,130median a year
Most earn $63K to $155K
−4.1%Bachelor's - Computer and Mathematical
- Computer and Mathematical
- Computer and Mathematical
More computer and mathematical careers
Median annual pay, with computer network support specialists highlighted
- Software Developer$135,980
- Actuary$130,000
- Data Scientist$120,230
- Business Intelligence Analyst$120,230
- Database Administrator$104,620
- Web Designer$104,000
- Computer Programmer$100,390
- Web Developer$92,650
- SOC Analyst$76,220
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Software Developer | $135,980 |
| Actuary | $130,000 |
| Data Scientist | $120,230 |
| Business Intelligence Analyst | $120,230 |
| Database Administrator | $104,620 |
| Web Designer | $104,000 |
| Computer Programmer | $100,390 |
| Web Developer | $92,650 |
| SOC Analyst | $76,220 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists SOC Analyst appears on
Questions
SOC Analyst: frequently asked questions
How much do Computer Network Support Specialists make?
BLS does not publish a separate wage for computer network support specialists. It counts them within computer network support specialist, whose median pay is $76,220 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $58,240 and $98,750, and the top 10% earn $127,780 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a SOC Analyst?
Usually a two-year degree rather than a four-year one. BLS lists an associate's degree as the typical entry-level education for Computer Network Support Specialists. BLS also lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 46.9% hold bachelor's degree.
Is SOC Analyst a growing career?
It is growing, but slowly: 1.2% over 2025–2035 against 3.5% for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 9,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a SOC Analyst do?
SOC analysts are the front line of cyber defense. A typical task: monitor security alerts in SIEM and endpoint tools. Employers most often ask for Cloud-based management software, Data base management system software, Data base user interface and query software.
Which states pay Computer Network Support Specialists the most?
The highest state medians for Computer Network Support Specialists are Washington ($101,750), Maryland ($96,680), District of Columbia ($91,370) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a SOC Analyst?
O*NET scores Computer Network Support Specialists highest on the Conventional, Investigative and Realistic interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.