Everything You Need to Know About Cybersecurity Careers

You can continue developing your skill set as you progress in your career and decide which sector is best for you. If you are considering changing careers, you likely have some questions! In this free guide, we’ll answer popular questions about the cybersecurity industry and how you can best enter the field with little to no formal experience. In terms of skills, experience, and general mindset, a cybersecurity specialist needs to be like a Swiss Army knife of the digital world.

Hard skills will vary depending on your responsibilities but will often include understanding how to use and install various operating systems, software, and hardware. Often times the job of a cybersecurity specialist can be somewhat cybersecurity specialist program routine. They are responsible for making sure that networks and computer systems are up-to-date and not vulnerable to software bugs. These are just a few examples of the dozens of cybersecurity certifications available.

Program

Digitally, infrastructure security refers to creating and maintaining protected systems from breaches. Payscale reports an average annual cybersecurity salary of around $97,000, and these wages typically increase with experience. In addition to the careers listed above, five careers in cybersecurity include security architect, malware analyst, IT security consultant, security software developer and chief information security officer. Forbes Advisor’s education editors are committed to producing unbiased rankings and informative articles covering online colleges, tech bootcamps and career paths.

It makes sense to start thinking about what kinds of certifications are required by an employer, or what kinds of certifications make job applicants competitive within the field. In all professions, networking offers a reliable pathway to finding job opportunities. In addition to connecting with your co-workers, consider joining a professional organization. Information security shares some overlap with cybersecurity—in fact, cybersecurity is a subset of information security. However, cybersecurity focuses exclusively on protecting digital assets, while information security covers digital and physical information across all mediums. Brenna Swanston is an education-focused editor and writer with a particular interest in education equity and alternative educational paths.

What cyber threats should we look out for?

Maybe you enjoy the thrill of incident response, or perhaps you’d prefer to hone your hacking skills to stay one step ahead of bad actors. Validate skills in various cybersecurity areas, including offensive operations, cyber defense, cloud security, industrial control systems and more. Authorization to use sensitive data and important company systems gives employees a lot of responsibility. As with most cyberattacks, the best way to treat an APT is to prevent it. Using firewalls and up-to-date antivirus programs are great ways to stop APTs.

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What kind of work do you do in cybersecurity?

The field of cybersecurity has its own set of jargon, tools, and best practices. It can help to get an overview of it all by taking some introductory courses in cybersecurity. While it’s totally possible to teach yourself through books, blogs, podcasts, and other resources, you may find a course helpful in giving structure and context to what you’re learning. As a cybersecurity analyst, you can decide to take your career in a few different directions, depending on your interests and goals. Certifications like CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+), PenTest+ and Project+ can prove you have the skills to take your cybersecurity career to the next level.

We also suggest using resources such as email protection, VPNs, or intrusion prevention systems. An advanced persistent threat steals data over time rather than causing noticeable harm. After a breach, you should change your password — but recent research shows that few people actually update their passwords.

Management and administration

At the same time, you’ll need to lead risk mitigation efforts, source cybersecurity tools, and ensure your organization complies with proper rules and regulations. Payscale also reports that in 2024, cybersecurity specialists will be compensated across a wide range, depending on experience, responsibilities, and geography. These companies may hold job fairs, put on conferences and provide resources for connecting with peers and employers. Consider some of the following professional organizations for cybersecurity workers. As a discipline within network engineering, this field covers protection against breaches for interconnected electronics rather than individual databases or devices.

Cybersecurity managers oversee an organization’s network and computer security systems. In this role, you might manage security teams, coordinate between teams, and ensure security compliance. Typically, the highest security role in an organization is that of chief information security officer (CISO). Working in security at the executive level often means managing operations, policies, and budgets across the company’s security infrastructure. Before you apply for your first cybersecurity role, take some time to develop core IT skills, including programming, networks and systems administration, and cloud computing. While you don’t necessarily need a degree to get a job in cybersecurity, having some form of structured training might accelerate your path toward a job.

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Information security is a broader term that refers to the protection of data. A cybersecurity analyst is responsible for data security for any data stored on computers, hard drives, or the internet. An information security analyst would also consider the security of data stored elsewhere, like documents in a filing cabinet or insider knowledge possessed by some employees. Information security and cybersecurity overlap, and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

The consequences of data breaches must be made clear to employees, and violations of security policies should not be tolerated. An insider threat has the potential to cause significant damages, because many cybersecurity practices focus only on external threats. A common cyberattack to steal sensitive data like credit card information or passwords. The attacker impersonates a trustworthy source via email and asks the recipient to reveal private information. These software programs secure your passwords, block malware, and protect financial data during online transactions. In addition to a growing number of cybercrimes, the types of attacks have grown.

Many cybersecurity professionals enter the field as a junior information security analyst after gaining some experience in IT. Cybersecurity focuses on protecting electronic information on websites, networks, or devices from hackers. Through advanced technology and sophisticated processes, cybersecurity professionals help keep data safe and accessible. Nearly every industry takes cybersecurity measures to protect itself from leaks and breaches. Cybersecurity professionals may work with government organizations to safeguard military communications or with businesses to keep malicious actors from accessing financial records.

• While it’s totally possible to teach yourself through books, blogs, podcasts, and other resources, you may find a course helpful in giving structure and context to what you’re learning.
• Discovering which cybersecurity job is right for you can take some time.
• Keep in mind that most certification exams require significant preparation, and some include experience requirements.
• Likewise, bootcamps may be too time-intensive to allow students to continue working while enrolled.
• Cybercrime might seem like a distant problem that only affects a small number of people.