Remote work brings pay boost for New York cybersecurity, AI coders

The 10% increase for machine-learning specialists was the highest among any type of software job in the city and placed the post as New York’s highest-paying developer job.

Machine-learning software looks for patterns in massive data sets and uses those patterns to make decisions or recommendations—such as what shows to recommend on Netflix or which Google search results are most relevant.

The technology is increasingly being used in the workplace to speed up routine tasks, led by New York-based companies such as UIPath and Hyperscience.

Salaries climbed 3% for software engineers overall in New York, according to the report. That’s despite the jobs in computer systems design dropping about 8% from 2019 as of December, according to the state Department of Labor data. Private jobs were down 17% overall in the city.

Cybersecurity salaries climbed nearly as fast as those for machine-learning jobs, going from an average of $136,000 in New York to $149,000.

“With everyone working from home, that could be a reason why security engineers are so in demand,” Vettery CEO Josh Brenner said. “Then you have platforms—Vettery and Hired included—that are trying to use as much data as possible to automate and be effective as possible.”

So how do you land one of these jobs?

The most in-demand skills are for people who are experts in developing apps through the Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services platform, as well as in Redux and React, two types of Javascript libraries. The report found those skills increase the likelihood a candidate will get an interview.

Software workers could still make more if they look west, however. Jobs in San Francisco have a higher average pay across the board, according to the report. Machine-learning jobs pay $10,000 more on average there and cybersecurity $20,000 more. The average pay for software engineers climbed 5% for the city.