Tips to launch your career in cybersecurity

Introduction

According to cybersecurity experts, cybercrimes will likely produce $6 trillion worth of damage worldwide. Consequently, cybercrimes are still happening, and organizations have now realized that they must hire the best cybersecurity specialists to protect their data, software, and hardware from cyberattacks.

Acknowledging that today only cybersecurity experts can protect the crucial information from malicious cyberattacks, many governments, public and private sectors are now increasing their demands of hiring the best network security specialist.

With an unemployment rate of zero percent in the industry as a whole, it’s hardly surprising that the median salary of network security specialists is whooping $98,350.

Therefore, for the professionals who are interested in cybersecurity and want to have the perks that come along with this high demanding profession, if you have the right fusion of education and experience, now is the right time to start a career in this field.

Tips to Start a Career in CyberSecurity

Get Cybersecurity Training

Various cybersecurity organizations predicted that by 2021, there would be 5 million cybersecurity job vacancies worldwide. One of the main reasons for these vacancies is that professionals are lacking in aptitude, expertise, and advance education, demanded by the employers.

Therefore, if you want to stand out when applying for a cybersecurity position and jump-start your career in this most sought –after and profitable field, here is what you should do. You can get a degree in cybersecurity or you can get field-specific certifications if you have a different educational background. In addition to this, you can join several online courses along with cybersecurity training bootcamps where you can get basic to advance level training in network security. The technical skills that you will learn in cybersecurity Bootcamp will also prepare you to pass the following certification exams:

1. CEH — Certified Ethical Hacker
2. CISA — Certified Information Systems Auditor
3. CISM — Certified Information Security Manager
4. GIAC — Global Information Assurance Certification
5. CISSP — Certified Information Systems Security Professional
6. CompTIA Security+

   Thus, with proper training, education, and experience in the cybersecurity field, you can easily land a job you desire.

   Pick a Cyber-Security Career Path

   One of the best things about cybersecurity is that you don’t have to have the prior technical knowledge to follow it.

   Since it is a vast field with many interesting career paths to choose from, one can choose a particular field of interest and work towards building a career that leads to a cybersecurity position in any organization. Employers also usually recommend their employees to pick an area where their strength lies and have more skillset.

   Since it is impossible to be proficient in all categories of cybersecurity filed because of its vast nature, employers recommend that one must focus on at least one particular field and become an expert in it.

   Among many others following are some of the most sought after career paths that you can take in cybersecurity field:

   • Computer Forensic Analyst – Assist law officers with a cyber-related crime by retrieving evidence.

   • IT Security Consultant - Provides security solutions to organization

   • Computer Systems Analyst – Designs information systems solution according to company needs.

   • It Security Engineer - Fixes and improves computer and network security issues.

   • Penetration Tester - Ethical Hackers test the security and framework and of the companies.

   • IT Technician - Installs and configures computer hardware and software systems

   • Database Administrator - Stores, manages, and secures the company’s data through various database apps.

Cyber Security Tool and Technologies

Anyone who is looking for a career in cybersecurity must possess the following three sets of skills:

Technical Skills: Following are some of the basic security kills that will enable you to better understand and learn the tools of cybersecurity:

● Network Defense Tactics
● Web Application Security Techniques
● Monitoring and Logging Procedures
● Networking and Security Foundations
● Access Management and Cryptography Practices

Programming and Scripting Language Skills:You should also have a better knowledge of some common programming languages such as C/C++, Java, assembly language, disassemblers, and scripting languages like PHP, Shell, Perl or Python, to have an edge over the cybersecurity field.

Operating System Skills: You also need to comprehend the management, administration, and architecture of operating systems like Windows, Mac, Android, multiple Linux Distros, etc. in addition to operations of the network load balancer and firewalls.

Thus if you have the sound knowledge and practice of all the above skills you can easily further your career towards cybersecurity.

·Practice What you have Learned

Working on different projects is an excellent way to strengthen your skills in cybersecurity. These projects will not only make your technical, programming, and troubleshooting skills strong, but they will improve your logical thinking capabilities.

Of course, the selection of these projects will depend on your work and your interest. Furthermore, you can also start practicing tools that suit your interests and upon finding errors in them, you can offer your help to their creators.

In the end, you should always be optimistic about the output of your services minus the expectation of receiving recognition or credit.

Final Thoughts

It has become an urgent necessity for every company in today’s world to hire the best security expert who can easily protect their systems and data from malicious cyber threats by providing exceptional cybersecurity solutions. Therefore, if you are talented and passionate about this field and have the skills and training, you can immediately land yourself a cybersecurity job in any sector and organizations worldwide.

Getting online cybersecurity certifications in Florida or any other US states, joining internship programs online or getting involved in field-related projects, are some of the many ways you can land your first cybersecurity position. Of course, you also need to apprise yourself with everything related to the cybersecurity industry like knowing what kind of skills are in demand by the companies and what kind of training you need to master them. This information will eventually take you to the right employer.

Lastly, keep yourself updated with the latest trends and technologies of cybersecurity by reading the latest news, follow blogs, listen to field experts podcasts, e-books, and attend webinars.