The shortage of security professionals in the workforce coupled with the increasing number and sophistication of attacks only add to the pressure of the infosec job, and Dark Reading readers are feeling the burn … but also staying cooler than you might think.

In our first-ever user poll on The Edge, we asked “Many experts have registered concern that security professionals are ‘burned out’ from stress and overwork. On a scale of 1 to 4, how burned out do you feel?” 

Although 22.76% topped out at “absolutely fried,” and 35.77% said “pretty well done,” nearly half of respondents had still had plenty of energy to spare; 30.89% said “feeling good and not done yet,” and 10.57% even said “fresh and ready.”

Both the amount of work and the nature of the work are contributing to those feeling the infosec burnout.

As Craig Hinkley wrote this week in his Dark Reading column about preventing PTSD and burnout for cybersecurity professionals:

Many [cybersecurity professionals] are firsthand witnesses to cyberattacks that leave lasting damage to the organizations they help protect and can carry over into their work in the future as a reminder of the worst that can happen. Panic can set in when security pros see signs that remind them of past incidents.

If you’re feeling the pressure, or think members of your team are, Hinkley offers some advice on where to get help.

And to the fortunate minority who answered “fresh and ready” … are you hiring?

Check out our next poll from The Edge now: How “smart” is your home?    

Related stories:

• Preventing PTSD and Burnout for Cybersecurity Professionals
• 4 Reasons Why SOC Superstars Quit
• 8 Ways to Spot an Insider Threat
• The State of IT Operations and Cybersecurity Operations

Sara Peters is Senior Editor at Dark Reading and formerly the editor-in-chief of Enterprise Efficiency. Prior that she was senior editor for the Computer Security Institute, writing and speaking about virtualization, identity management, cybersecurity law, and a myriad … View Full Bio