The State of the U.S. Privacy Job Market, 2019: Part Two

Part One of The State of the U.S. Privacy Job Market, 2019 exposed the current state of the market, highlighting the expansive mid-market job growth and extensive use of contract talent resources, then drilled down into the nuances of staffing habits within U.S. corporations and major law firms. Part two of The State of the U.S. Privacy Job Market, 2019 will outline what is happening within service providers, consultancies, and vendors will touch briefly on government agencies and will predict the near-future state of the U.S. privacy job market.

What Is Happening In Vendors/Consulting Firms

The largest consulting firms in the world have been building privacy-focused consulting practices for over half a decade. These practices are often hatched from leaders in security, risk advisory, and e-discovery consulting — sometimes from outside/inside counsel — and now have dozens if not hundreds of disparately skilled privacy consultants ranking from entry level to seasoned partner. The war for privacy talent among these firms has begun and will continue in perpetuity. Consulting firms generally want to hire consultants from other consulting firms; that is traditionally first preference. There are opportunities for in-house corporate-tracked privacy professionals to transition into a major label in the global consulting firm ecosystem, but those without existing relationships and possible streams of revenue (and especially those without the desire or aptitude to eventually drive revenue) will struggle to transition at their desired compensation.