Artificial intelligence is giving security operations center analysts more time for high-value tasks, but nearly a quarter worry it's blocking their ability to develop fundamental skills, according to a new study from Swimlane. The security operations specialist surveyed 500 security professionals and leaders at US and UK organizations currently using AI for its latest report, The New SOC Career Ladder. The findings reveal a tension between immediate productivity gains and longer-term workforce development as automation reshapes one of cybersecurity's most critical roles.
Just under half of respondents—47%—identified greater capacity as one of the two biggest impacts of AI adoption in their work. More than a third said the technology has given them more time to investigate complex threats (35%) and allowed them to focus more on strategic or cross-functional work (35%). Over two-fifths (43%) reported spending less time on repetitive tasks and more time on broader responsibilities. The vast majority (92%) expressed confidence in their ability to identify an incorrect or incomplete AI recommendation, and almost half (48%) said they'd rely on their own judgment if an AI recommendation conflicts with available evidence or could disrupt business operations. Despite these productivity benefits, one-quarter (24%) said AI has limited their ability to build skills, even as 88% overall reported improved job satisfaction.
The report highlights a fundamental challenge in how AI is reshaping SOC career paths. "The challenge is that routine work has also been one of the ways analysts learn the fundamentals," Swimlane CEO Cody Cornell said. "As more of that work is automated, organizations need to rethink training and career paths so people still develop the judgment to know when AI is right and when it is not." Mike Lyborg, CISO of Swimlane, added that "the issue is not whether analysts should trust AI. It is whether they have enough information to decide when to trust it."
Looking ahead, nearly half (47%) of respondents expect AI to create a steeper path into the profession, including 37% who anticipate higher requirements for entry-level roles and 10% who foresee fewer opportunities for junior analysts to gain experience. Two-fifths (41%) expect new specialized roles focused on AI oversight, validation, and orchestration, while only 1% believe the SOC career path will remain largely unchanged. The report concluded that "the next phase of adoption will depend on workforce design," recommending that security leaders establish AI oversight as a formal responsibility, measure skill growth separately from employee satisfaction, and give junior analysts structured opportunities to develop investigative judgment. A separate 2025 report from Abnormal AI found that 44% of SOCs are developing plans to migrate Tier 1 analysts to more senior Tier 2-3 roles, with 73% of analysts saying manual or reactive tasks are stalling their career growth. Organizations that automate away the learning ladder without rebuilding it elsewhere risk creating a generation of analysts who can supervise AI but can't interrogate it when it fails. The real test isn't whether AI makes today's analysts more productive—it's whether it leaves enough room for tomorrow's analysts to learn the fundamentals that make oversight possible.