DevOps vs DevSecOps: A CISO’s Guide to Salary & Career Path (2026)
By Charlie Banyard, CISO
If you look at the tech job market in 2026 you will notice a massive shift. The traditional "DevOps" roles are becoming harder to get. But a new title is appearing on every major job board. It is called DevSecOps and it comes with a significantly higher salary.
As an active CISO who hires for these roles, I want to explain exactly what the difference is. I also want to explain why "AI Security" has suddenly made this the most critical role in the engineering team.
The Core Difference
To understand the difference, you just have to look at how software used to be built.
DevOps is about speed. The goal is to build code and get it to the customer as fast as possible.
DevSecOps is about speed plus safety. The goal is to ship code fast without leaving the door open for hackers.
In the old days, security was a bottleneck. Developers would build an app. Then security teams would test it at the very end. If they found a bug the app had to be rebuilt. This was slow, expensive, and frustrating for everyone.
DevSecOps introduces a concept called "Shifting Left." It moves security to the start of the process. Instead of a separate security team testing code later, the DevSecOps engineer builds automation that tests the code while it is being written.
Salary Comparison
This is the most common question I get. DevSecOps requires a hybrid skill set. You need to know a bit of Development, Operations, and Security. Because that is a rare combination, the supply of qualified engineers is low. That drives up the price.
Junior DevOps Engineer: £35,000 to £50,000
Junior DevSecOps Engineer: £45,000 to £65,000
Senior DevSecOps / Cloud Security Lead: £90,000 to £130,000+
Note: These figures are based on 2025/2026 market rates for London and remote UK roles.
The salary premium exists because companies are terrified of data breaches. A DevOps engineer helps a company make money. A DevSecOps engineer stops them from losing their reputation.
The New Variable: AI Security
In 2026 you cannot talk about DevSecOps without talking about AI Security. This is the biggest change I have seen in my career.
Companies are rushing to integrate AI models into their products. But these models introduce new threats that traditional firewalls simply cannot stop.
Prompt Injection: Tricking an AI into revealing private data.
Insecure Output: When an AI writes code that contains vulnerabilities.
Model Poisoning: Corrupting the data an AI learns from.
A modern DevSecOps engineer is not just securing servers anymore. They are building "Guardrails" for AI. They use tools to scan AI inputs and outputs in real time. This is why our Cyber Agoge Bootcamp includes a dedicated module on AI Security. Hiring managers are now specifically asking for it.
How to Transition from IT to DevSecOps
You do not need to be an expert coder to start. You just need to understand the Pipeline.
Learn the Cloud (AWS): You cannot secure what you don't understand. Start with AWS core services like EC2 and S3.
Master Infrastructure as Code: We don't click buttons in consoles anymore. We write code to build servers using tools like Terraform.
Learn CI/CD Security: This is the core of the job. Learn how to use GitHub Actions and how to plug security scanners into them.
Build a Portfolio: Certifications are good for HR filters but they won't get you the job. As a hiring manager, I want to see a GitHub repository where you have actually built a secure pipeline.
My Advice
If you are entering the industry today, don't aim for where the ball was. Aim for where the ball is going.
The future of engineering is automated, AI-driven, and secure by design. The engineers who can bridge the gap between "building fast" and "staying safe" will always be in demand.
Ready to build these skills? Join the next cohort of the Cyber Agoge Live DevSecOps Bootcamp. We build real secure pipelines and AI defense systems from scratch.