Make and break codes for the NSA (National Security Agency). A math or computer science degree, a polygraph, and work you cannot talk about.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Counsellors: send it to a student from your own email in one click.
The median pay is about $126,710 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $69,240 at the lower end to about $195,190 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.
5 to 8 years after high school, on the usual route.
$44,000 to $72,000 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.
No. There is no license to hold, though many employers still ask for training or a certificate.
Limited demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Median
$126,710
Bottom tenth
$69,240
Top tenth
$195,190
The national median is $126,710 a year, the bottom tenth earn $69,240 or less and the top tenth $195,190 or more. There is no published wage figure for cryptanalysts, so these are the 2025 figures for mathematicians, the occupation where the federal job database lists cryptographer as a job title. The agency does not publish its own salary medians.
$88,570 a year
25% of mathematicians earn this or less
This covers everyone in the occupation, not only beginners, because the survey publishes no separate starting figure. Most mathematicians hold a master's degree or a doctorate, so a new graduate with a bachelor's degree should expect to start lower.
$162,280 a year
The median for mathematicians in Washington State, the highest of any state
Maryland, home of the NSA (National Security Agency) headquarters, is at $131,810. The agency publishes no pay scale. Its hiring pages say each offer is based on your education, your work experience related to the job and the hiring manager's feedback from your interview. It usually does not change between the conditional offer and the final one. The pages do not publish a pay scale.
Roughly, all in
$44,000 to $72,000
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is four years for a mathematics or computer science degree at an in state public university at the bottom of the tuition range, the high end the same degree at the top of the in state range. The agency pays for the background investigation, the polygraph and the training once you are hired. Its student programs are paid, and it offers a limited number of scholarships, so part of the degree can be covered. Federal service also counts toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which clears remaining federal student loans after 10 years of qualifying payments.
Fill in the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The agency's student programs are paid, and it awards a limited number of scholarships, which can take a large bite out of the degree.
Student programs
Internships, scholarships and a co-op (work and study) program, open from high school up to doctoral students. All are paid, with pay set by your education level.
Scholarships and fellowships for staff
A limited number each year: full tuition, salary and time off for a full-time degree at a local college.
Advanced studies
After one year as a permanent employee, up to four semesters of courses with salary, tuition and lab fees covered.
After-hours college
Job-related evening courses at a college of your choice, with tuition paid.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
A technical degree, a long screening, then three years of paid training inside the agency.
High school
Grade 12
Take math as far as your school goes. Keep your record clean, because the background check looks at your whole life.
Bachelor's degree
4 years
Usually mathematics or computer science. The agency says its cryptanalysis program needs no particular major, but it wants proof of technical skill.
Apply and interview
Varies
You must be a United States citizen. Some jobs add a pre-employment test. Interviews are mostly online or by phone, then comes a conditional job offer.
Security and psychological screening
Varies by candidate
Security forms, a background investigation, a polygraph, sometimes a one or two day security interview, written personality tests and an interview with a psychologist.
A development program
About 3 years
Formal classes, training from experienced cryptanalysts and rotating job assignments. The agency says most of its programs last three years.
Every math course you can get
Algebra, then calculus. The agency's math hires work in number theory, linear algebra and probability, which all build on these.
Computer science
The agency runs a whole program that mixes cryptanalysis with programming and high performance computing.
Statistics
Mathematical statistics is on the agency's own list of fields it uses.
English
The agency wants people who can explain hard cryptographic problems to the people they work with.
There is no license for this work. What gates it is the National Security Agency's suitability process, which you start after a conditional job offer. The background investigation checks your jobs, schooling and homes, and investigators talk to your friends, neighbors and bosses. It looks for honesty, judgment, reliability and loyalty to the United States. There is a polygraph, and a separate psychological assessment with a clinical psychologist. You need both to get a final job offer. Dual citizens are allowed to apply.
From its own description of math careers. Each is a university course.
Number theory
The properties of whole numbers, such as primes. Much of modern code making rests on it.
Group theory and finite fields
The algebra of systems that wrap around, like the hours on a clock.
Linear algebra
Working with huge grids of numbers at once.
Probability, statistics and combinatorics
Counting possibilities and spotting patterns that should not be there by chance.
Things you don't need, but that help.
New hires join one of the agency's development programs. These are the ones closest to cryptanalysis.
Cryptanalysis Development Program
Every incoming cryptanalyst takes formal classes, trains with experienced cryptanalysts and rotates through jobs.
Cryptologic Mathematician Program
One of three math programs for newly hired mathematicians and statisticians, each lasting three years.
Cryptanalytic Computer Operations Development Program
Mixes math with computer science and high performance computing.
Data Science Development Program
Three years of math, statistics and programming applied to the agency's huge stores of data.
Programming
The agency's computer science hires work on huge volumes of data at very high speed.
A graduate degree
Your education is part of how your salary offer is worked out.
A paid student program first
Student processing is faster, and a student who cannot finish in time may be considered for a permanent job.
Military service
Service members are told to apply 12 months before leaving. Even with a clearance you still go through the full process.
The National Security Agency asks applicants to use discretion from the start. You may tell family and close friends. To everyone else, you say you applied for a government job with the Department of Defense. It also asks you not to post anything about your application or processing on social media.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
The National Security Agency says little in public about the daily work, so here is only what it does say. Its math staff design and analyze complex algorithms, work in teams with computer scientists and engineers on hard mathematical problems, and explain cryptographic problems in mathematical terms to colleagues. The work happens in secure buildings, mostly at the headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland. You go home and cannot tell anyone the specifics.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
The National Security Agency runs paid student programs for everyone from high school students to doctoral candidates. The pay is set by your education level, and some come with help on housing and travel.
The agency's National Cryptologic School teaches on more than 20 university campuses, four cryptologic centers and six training schools, with classes in cryptology, languages and leadership.
O*NET OnLine (the Department of Labor's occupation database) counted only about 2,200 mathematicians in the whole country in 2025, with about 100 openings a year projected to 2035. Code work is a small world.
Alongside the security checks, candidates go through psychological processing: a set of written questions about yourself, then an interview with a clinical psychologist. Both parts have to be passed before the final job offer.
Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.
Military and security first, then the rest of the field. See every career in law and public safety.
Last checked October 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in United States dollars, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data and published pay scales. They vary by state, employer and experience. Tuition is for in-state students at public schools unless the card says otherwise. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.
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