Progress from cybersecurity foundations to advanced enterprise defence through one connected pathway covering networks, security operations, cloud, risk, incident response and strategy.
Follow one connected cybersecurity journey from foundations through professional and advanced practice. This 32 to 36-week integrated route combines progressive learning, mentoring and practical simulations.
What you will develop
- Foundation stage: networks, security tools, identity, data-protection awareness and introductory security operations.
- Professional stage: vulnerability management, cloud security, SIEM, incident response, threat hunting and DevSecOps.
- Mastery stage: zero trust, enterprise architecture, automation, risk, strategy and security consulting.
- Build project evidence across monitoring, remediation and enterprise security transformation.
- Plan certification and career progression against your existing experience and the relevant awarding-body requirements.
Practical work
Connect the simulated SOC exercise, authorised penetration-testing/remediation project and enterprise transformation recommendation into a portfolio. Agree sequencing and intensity with RDE; the integrated duration is not the sum of the standalone programmes.
Career directions
Begin with appropriate trainee or junior opportunities and develop towards analysis, specialist and leadership work through experience. The source describes staged career progression, not an immediate move from beginner to senior security leadership.
UK salary and contract-rate guide
Evidence reviewed: 6 October 2026. Named-role examples provide context for career progression.
The National Careers Service cyber intelligence officer profile spans £25,000 starter to £50,000 experienced a year. This related occupation focuses on threat intelligence; it is whole-career context, not a junior SOC salary range or an immediate post-course expectation.
Explore the cyber intelligence officer career and salary profile
Junior-specific contract evidence remains limited. Experienced contractor benchmarks should not be treated as entry-level expectations.
Annual figures are gross permanent starting-salary projections at the 25th to 75th percentiles in Robert Half’s 2026 UK national guide. Contract figures are UK advertised daily rates at the 25th to 75th percentiles in IT Jobs Watch. Employment types and datasets differ; annual and daily figures are not directly comparable pay packages. Contractor income depends on billable days, engagement terms, tax treatment including IR35, expenses and gaps between assignments.
Information Security Analyst and related Security Analyst contracts
Permanent Information Security Analyst salary: £42,250 to £56,000 a year. Related Security Analyst contract rate: £422 to £600 a day.
Permanent salary source: Information Security Analyst; Contract-rate source: Security Analyst
The contractor sample contains 168 daily rates over six months to 1 October 2026. The titles and datasets differ; these are related-role benchmarks, not a matched salary package or a junior/Tier 2-only range.
Security Architect
Permanent salary: £67,250 to £87,750 a year. Contract rate: £536 to £738 a day.
Permanent salary source: Security Architect; Contract-rate source: Security Architect
The contractor sample contains 424 daily rates over six months to 6 October 2026. Architecture roles normally require relevant professional experience; this is longer-term progression context.
Salary and contract-rate figures are indicative UK market ranges based on publicly available evidence reviewed at the stated date. Actual earnings vary according to experience, location, employer, sector, qualifications, responsibilities and employment type. Course completion does not guarantee employment, promotion or a particular level of earnings.
Mentoring and career support
Mentoring connects technical learning with practical development and professional evidence. Your programme includes six months of job-search support and three months of in-role support. Discuss the arrangements and starting dates with our team, including CV, LinkedIn and interview preparation. Employment is not guaranteed.
Certification and assessment information
Discuss CompTIA Security+ preparation and introductory CCNA networking topics. Networking fundamentals alone do not cover the complete CCNA examination. Agree the provider and assessment for any GDPR awareness certificate.
Check the CompTIA-issued Security+ credential; Explore official Cisco CCNA requirements
Discuss preparation towards CompTIA CySA+, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate. CEH has an official-training or approved experience-based eligibility route; RDE attendance alone should not be assumed to satisfy the official-training route. For ISO/IEC 27001 learning, agree the awarding body and level: introductory study is not itself a Lead Implementer qualification.
Check the CompTIA-issued CySA+ credential; Check official CEH eligibility and examination details; Check Microsoft Security Operations Analyst certification
Advanced options to discuss include CISSP, CISM, CompTIA SecurityX and the OffSec OSCP/OSCP+ route. The source uses the older CASP+ label; current CompTIA-issued advanced credential information lists SecurityX. These are separate examinations and specialist routes, not automatic awards for completing this programme.
CISSP requires relevant professional experience; candidates without it may pursue Associate of ISC2 after passing the examination. CISM also requires qualifying work experience before certification. Review eligibility, preparation scope and assessment with the awarding body and RDE.
Check official CISSP experience requirements; Check official CISM certification requirements; Check the CompTIA-issued SecurityX credential; Explore official OSCP and OSCP+ options
Confirm the exact examination version, preparation coverage, eligibility, examination access, additional costs and renewal arrangements before enrolment. RDE completion and vendor certification are distinct. Course completion does not guarantee an examination pass or satisfy professional experience requirements.
Your next step
Register your interest to discuss your experience, starting point, current delivery arrangements, tools and software access, assessment, certification options, fees and any available funding. Confirm the current intake and support arrangements before making a commitment.
Specialist cybersecurity salary benchmarks
UK job-advert benchmarks checked on 7 October 2026. The ranges below are the 25th to 75th percentiles, covering the middle half of quoted figures in the source sample across experience levels. They are not minimum-to-maximum pay bands, junior-only salaries or guaranteed learner outcomes.
Permanent employment: annual salaryRoleUK annual rangeQuoted salariesSecurity Operations Centre (SOC) Analyst£41,875 to £65,000115Penetration Tester£50,000 to £80,000129 Contract work: quoted daily rateRoleUK daily rangeQuoted daily ratesSOC Analyst£463 to £625 per day104Penetration Tester£638 to £712 per day24Source: IT Jobs Watch, UK advertisements in the six months to 7 October 2026. The penetration-testing contract sample is smaller and should be interpreted cautiously. Contract rates are not annual salaries or take-home income; paid days, expenses and tax arrangements vary. Experience, location, clearance and employer requirements affect opportunities and pay.
SOC Analyst permanent salary source
SOC Analyst contract-rate source
Penetration Tester permanent salary source
Penetration Tester contract-rate source
Further specialist career benchmarks
UK market evidence checked on 7 October 2026. These are career progression examples across experience levels, not starting salaries promised by this programme. Architect and leadership roles normally require substantial relevant experience.
IT Jobs Watch ranges below are the 25th to 75th percentiles of quoted figures, covering the middle half of the sample. They are not minimum-to-maximum pay bands. Each dataset covers six months ending on the date shown.
Permanent annual salaryRoleUK rangeQuoted figuresPeriod endingCloud Security Engineer£65,000 to £87,500 per year975 October 2026Contract daily rateRoleUK rangeQuoted figuresPeriod endingCloud Security Engineer£475 to £618 per day505 October 2026Long-term leadership progression: Robert Half’s 2026 UK salary guide gives Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) starting-salary projections of £96,250 to £161,750, its 25th to 75th percentiles. This is a senior executive role requiring extensive security and leadership experience, not an immediate course outcome.
Small samples, particularly Data Governance Analyst contract rates (15 quotes) and Software Architect contract rates (18 quotes), warrant caution. Actual earnings depend on experience, location, employer, sector, responsibilities and employment type. Contract rates are not take-home pay or annual salaries; paid days, expenses and tax arrangements vary. Completing this programme does not guarantee employment, promotion, contract work or income.