Cybersecurity career intelligence
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Founded by Julian Calvo, Ed.D. · Cybersecurity career intelligence · Est. 2024
The DecipherU Methodology is a cybersecurity career assessment framework developed by Julian Calvo, Ed.D., M.S., that combines validated psychometric science (RIASEC/Holland Codes from IPIP), federal labor data from BLS and O*NET, and threat intelligence from MITRE ATT&CK. Every career recommendation is data-driven.
Last verified: April 2026
Compensation data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program. Updated annually with 800,000+ establishment surveys.
Skills, knowledge, and ability requirements from the Department of Labor's occupational database. 1,000+ occupations profiled.
Technique-to-role mappings derived from the globally recognized knowledge base of adversary tactics and techniques.
Work role alignment using NIST's National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education framework (SP 800-181).
Market demand and skills gap data from the annual cybersecurity workforce study.
Job posting analytics and career pathway data from the industry's leading labor market tool.
How we source and present compensation data
All salary figures come from the BLS OEWS program, which surveys approximately 800,000 business establishments twice per year. The May 2024 data release is the primary source for all compensation figures on DecipherU.
Salary data is refreshed annually when BLS publishes new OEWS figures. Each page shows the survey year. Verify current figures at bls.gov/oes before making career decisions.
How we calculate and assign demand ratings to cybersecurity roles
Each cybersecurity role on DecipherU carries a demand level (Very High, High, Moderate, Low). We calculate this from three public sources, weighted and combined into a composite score.
10-year projected growth rate for the role's SOC code. Faster than average (+7%) = High. Much faster (+14%) = Very High.
Active job postings for the role from the NICE/CompTIA/Lightcast workforce tool. Higher openings relative to supply = higher demand score.
Skills gap data from the annual ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study. Wider gap between supply and demand = higher demand score.
Composite score 80+. Critical shortage, fast growth.
Score 60-79. Above-average growth and open roles.
Score 40-59. Stable demand, competitive market.
Score below 40. Slower growth or oversupplied.
The psychometric instrument behind DecipherU career matching
The personality assessment uses items from the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP), which are in the public domain and have been validated against Holland's RIASEC model across decades of research.
Scenario-based items measure behavioral tendencies across six dimensions that predict job performance in cybersecurity roles.
How DecipherU content is written, attributed, and reviewed
All content is written or supervised by Julian Calvo, Ed.D., M.S. No AI-generated text is published without human review and editorial rewrite. Author credentials appear on every long-form guide.
All factual claims cite a primary source. Citation format follows APA 7th Edition. No secondary citations (citing a citation). Every source is publicly accessible or government-published.
DecipherU does not use Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Indeed, Payscale, or any job board's proprietary salary data. No Gartner, Forrester, or IDC report data is cited without noting it's behind a paywall.
Career guides, salary pages, and certification pages are reviewed every 6 months. A 'Last verified' date appears on every page. Stale content is flagged internally before the review date passes.
No sentence on DecipherU copies any external source. Definitions are written in plain language, not reproduced from NIST, Wikipedia, or Gartner. All company descriptions are original factual summaries.
Every content page has a 'Report an inaccuracy' link. Reported errors are reviewed within 5 business days. Confirmed errors are corrected and the 'Last verified' date is updated.
Sources monitored and their update cadence
| Source | What We Track | Cadence |
|---|---|---|
| BLS OEWS | Salary percentiles by SOC code | Annual (May release) |
| BLS Employment Projections | 10-year growth rates | Every 2 years |
| O*NET | Skills, knowledge, abilities | Quarterly |
| CyberSeek | Job opening counts | Quarterly |
| ISC2 Workforce Study | Supply/demand gap | Annual |
| MITRE ATT&CK | Framework version updates | Biannual |
| NICE Framework (SP 800-181) | Work role definitions | On NIST release |
| Certifying body websites | Exam costs, formats, prerequisites | Per-certification on change |
| CISA advisories | Emerging threat context | Monitored continuously |
Found an error in our data or content? We review all reports within 5 business days.
Submit a reportPress inquiries, academic collaboration, or researcher access requests.
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