5 Cybersecurity Career Paths and How to Get Started

He is the founder of CS Careerline and a true career changer who has previously pursued careers in medicine and neuroscience. You should make sure to work hard on your personal portfolio and resume to showcase your technical abilities and expertise required for the job. As a range, cyber security personnel can expect to make anywhere from $50,000 to over $200,000 a year depending on their location and experience level. This article attempts to answer your concerns and questions related to whether and how it is possible to get into the cyber security field without a university degree. For that, we will strive to be fully honest and objective when assessing the probabilities and struggles of doing so. Infrastructure security covers the protection of physical and digital assets through the architecture itself.

You can find cyber security professional positions from some of the largest employers out there. A security specialist is an excellent way to jump-start your career in cyber security. Whatever option you choose, a security specialist role may be a career that offers many opportunities. Cybersecurity professionals tend to get paid well for their skills, even at the entry level.

Gain Experience

He recommends seeking further knowledge in specific areas, such as information security management and ethical hacking. Sun advises students to gain real-world IT/cybersecurity experience, which can be obtained through academic research projects, as well as internships and actual industry job experience. This article explores how to become a cybersecurity engineer, day-to-day job duties for these professionals and career data for cybersecurity engineers. Take every opportunity to learn about the cyber security industry from news outlets, books, online courses and forums, etc.

• Both states offer high salaries and plenty of security specialist job openings.
• Payscale reports an average annual cybersecurity salary of around $92,000, and these wages typically increase with experience.
• As more and more of our lives move online and into the digital space, cybersecurity has become critical for just about every business.
• Read on to learn more about cybersecurity job descriptions and how to launch your security specialist career.
• If you’re wondering how to get into cybersecurity, remember that this is a highly technical field requiring a background in computer networks, coding and programming and encryption, among others.

The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies provides an excellent information for you to get your career rolling in the right direction. If you enjoy problem-solving, working with various networks, and mastering the latest technology, becoming a security specialist may not be hard. However, to become an expert in the field, you may need certification and years of experience. Users can search for cybersecurity positions and browse listings from high-profile companies. Students can attend university job fairs, ask professors about internship opportunities, and join IT security organizations.

Cybersecurity Specialist

It allows you to focus on practical skills and industry-relevant knowledge, which can be highly valuable in the rapidly evolving field of cybersecurity. Networking can help set you apart from other candidates by putting a face to the name or getting introduced through a mutual connection. You may already know someone working in cybersecurity who could give you valuable advice or provide a referral for a job at their company. Reach out to cybersecurity professionals on LinkedIn for informational interviews—or send a message to hiring managers to reiterate your interest after applying for a job.

Cyber security specialists assess internal and external threats, create cyber security risk mitigation plans, and assist in training businesses on best practices for data safety and storage. If you do not want a four-year degree you may be looking for alternatives to college for cyber security jobs. Self-study and coding bootcamps are great alternatives to college for cyber security jobs. They teach you the same fundamental skills and are considered acceptable alternatives for many employers. You can also earn certifications such as the SSCP to demonstrate your skills.

Careers in cybersecurity

Another area of incident response involves digital forensics and cybercrime. Digital forensic investigators work with law enforcement to retrieve data from digital devices and investigate cybercrimes. Security engineering and architecture could be a good fit if you enjoy tinkering with technology and like to take a big picture approach to cybersecurity. As a cybersecurity analyst, you can decide to take your career in a few different directions, depending on your interests and goals. To do this, they conceptualize threats during product development and typically work alongside a development team and a security architect.

As briefly mentioned, networking is a vital aspect of job hunting, and it makes sense to do it as early as you can. If you’re just starting out, networking can be awkward because you don’t have much to show for yourself in the beginning; however, it’s a great way to prove yourself and get your name out there. Read further as I help you increase the odds of getting that cyber security job you wanted without having a formal education. Cyber security certifications demonstrate your knowledge and competency in the cyber security field and can make your cyber security resume stand out from the rest. However, learning something so vast as cyber security on your own is also very difficult and takes a lot of dedication and hard work. Many people get overwhelmed by the amount of material they need to study when a structured content plan is absent.

Once you have the training you need, look for jobs that suit your certifications and skill set. Make sure to brush up your resume to highlight your achievements, noting any certifications you have received or independent projects you’ve completed during your training. An information security analyst creates and implements procedures that the entire IT department follows to protect your employer’s systems from malware, breaches and other security problems. Certifications like Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) can help you advance. It’s important to note that kickstarting a cybersecurity career without a formal degree is, like many worthy endeavors, something of a mixed bag. Reviews for the profession are overwhelmingly positive, with 86 percent of surveyed professionals saying that they would recommend a career in the field to new graduates.

However, it can take as little as six months if you have prior tech industry experience or if you choose to attend a fast-paced cyber security bootcamp. Although it’s possible to start a career in cyber security without a degree, it’s still a good idea to get one later once you have the funds and some professional experience. how to become a security specialist After all, a degree will still play a key role when it comes to advancing your career. For example, managerial positions are usually reserved for those who have a degree in cyber security. A cyber security analyst configures tools to increase network security for an organization and reports their findings to decision-makers.