Meanwhile, a law under consideration in Georgia that would require private investigators to be licensed is so broadly written that it could be interpreted to include most computer forensics and incident-response experts, says columnist Mark Rasch in SecurityFocus magazine. It is possible under the proposed law that computer security experts would need a PI license to testify in court, or face felony charges. The law has been approved by the state legislature and awaits the signature of Gov. Sonny Perdue.

$100k

Top of range for starting salaries for computer forensics graduates.

Source: Marcus K. Rogers, associate professor, Purdue University