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Career choice is an important decision to make. However, it’s also a difficult decision to make. It’s hard to know what direction to go before even trying it out. However, with self-assessment, a healthy understanding of your skills, and an understanding of career options, you’ll be well on your way to making a great choice.
Cybersecurity is a sought-after career that always seems to be growing. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about a career in cybersecurity, including:
- Responsibilities
- Skills needed
- Benefits
- Drawbacks
We hope you’ll be able to make an informed decision about your career paths by using this guide.
Responsibilities
Cybersecurity professionals are responsible for protecting important data, IT infrastructures, and devices. Their job includes monitoring data breaches and creating up-to-date systems.
There are so many types of cybersecurity jobs, but some share similar responsibilities. The big difference between jobs is the level of oversight and management responsibility.
White Hat Hacking
Cybersecurity has to be on the offense at all times. White hat hacking involves ethically finding vulnerabilities or unknown security issues within a system.
Some careers in cybersecurity will include white hack hacking responsibilities, but it’s also a career on its own. This is on the front line of evading cyber attacks and can be a very fulfilling and creative career.
Incident Response
White hat hacking helps find vulnerabilities, but even the best teams can miss important issues. Creating and implementing incident response plans is paramount for cybersecurity teams.
During data breaches, people on the cybersecurity team are tasked with finding solutions to protect data and mitigate any damage. This means professionals in cybersecurity might have to work odd hours to get the job done.
Education
Many organizations require their cybersecurity team to create resources and lead talks about avoiding scams and data breaches. This includes writing IT security policies and running tests.
Implementing Safeguards
As vulnerabilities come up, it's a cybersecurity engineer’s responsibility to implement and upgrade security safeguards. They do this by improving the back end of programs.
Monitoring
Cybersecurity professionals are the overseers of online activity. They have to monitor the comings and goings of the systems they’re responsible for. This includes frequently checking for breaches and monitoring performance.
Monitoring also entails keeping up with new trends and changes in the cybersecurity landscape. There’s a lot to learn from data breaches that happen in other organizations. Professionals can use information from these breaches to inform their systems moving forward.
Skills Needed for Cybersecurity
Every career will require specific skills. Some of these skills overlap while others don’t.
Cybersecurity careers require specific skills and an expert-level understanding of complex computer science systems.
Soft Skills
Soft skills improve your ability to work with others. These can be considered intangible as they aren’t tied to any specific knowledge, tool, or ability.
These are the soft skills that are important for people working in cybersecurity:
- Attention to details
- Collaboration
- Creative problem-solving
- Critical thinking
Cybersecurity specialists spend their time working together to solve complex issues. They’ll need to know how to work on a team and find creative solutions to complex problems.
Related article: Creative Problem-Solving
Hard Skills
Cybersecurity is wrapped in computer science. If you want to work in this field you’ll need to know a lot about computers and networking.
The hard skills important for cybersecurity include:
- CS Fundamentals
- Programming scripts
- Operating systems
- Security and event management (SIEM)
- A deep understanding of network architecture
Many people who work in cybersecurity have years of prior experience and most have a bachelor’s degree. However, a good portion of them don’t have degrees in computer science.
Related Articles: Is a Computer Science Degree Worth It?
Benefits of Working in Cybersecurity
Just like every career, cybersecurity has its pros and cons. However, if you’re a good fit for the job, the cons will be hardly noticeable.
Working in cybersecurity isn’t just about defending against hackers—it’s about protecting the digital world and making a real impact. If this field is a good choice for you, you’ll find a lucrative career that’s always growing.
Job Opportunities
As businesses and daily life go more and more online, cybersecurity will be more necessary than ever.
This job is needed across hundreds of industries. You could work for a cybersecurity firm or provide your skills to a specific business. There are also government jobs and regulatory opportunities.
There are a lot of jobs within the cybersecurity world that range in pay and responsibility. Options like penetration testers, security analysts, incident responders, and information architects each provide unique challenges.
Upward Growth
Technology is always changing, and cyber threats are becoming more complex. As you work you’ll have many opportunities to advance in whatever organization you’re in.
A career path in cybersecurity may look like:
- Security Specialist
- Security Analyst
- Security Engineer
- Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
There are endless paths within cybersecurity and you can pivot in a more favorable direction at any time.
Higher Pay Than Average
Cybersecurity jobs pay very well. The typical salary average is much higher compared to other fields in America.
The job is hard, but you’ll be compensated well for it.
You’ll Always be Learning and Engaged
Any job can get boring after a couple of years. This isn’t the case for cybersecurity. Technology is always advancing and you’ll be at the cutting edge of it.
Cybersecurity is a field that requires constant learning and adapting. As new tech and information is released you’ll have to find ways to implement and look forward to future changes.
Cyber threats will never stop and there will always be new problems to solve. Cybersecurity is a challenging field, but you’ll never be bored.
Related Article: How Creative Problem Solving Can Benefit You At Work
Future-Proof
Cybersecurity will always be needed. Technology is now an everyday part of daily life and important institutions rely on their cyber presence.
Jobs in this field are even protected against the rise of AI. Artificial intelligence requires security from professionals to perform well.
Drawbacks of Working in Cybersecurity
If cybersecurity is for you, you won’t notice many drawbacks. However, if your personal disposition doesn’t match the job roles and responsibilities, you’ll likely burn out quickly.
Burnout is Likely
Cybersecurity is littered with high-pressure challenges and long hours. Cyber threats never rest and require constant monitoring. This constant alertness can lead to burnout.
You can combat burnout by focusing on yourself outside of work hours, but cybersecurity professionals often work longer hours than average and may be on-call at odd hours.
This is a high-stress job that isn’t for everyone.
Some Tasks Could Get Repetitive
While this field is constantly changing and there’s always something to learn, some tasks can get repetitive—especially entry-level responsibilities.
Back-end development can be code-heavy. Batch tasks like fetching IP, retrieving logs, and extracting data can become mundane. Some people thrive doing these tasks, but many people don’t.
Small Margin of Error
Data breaches are expensive problems. Being on the front line against these breaches leaves little room for error. Small errors can become big and expensive issues quickly.
Precision is of the utmost importance, and for some, that additional pressure may be too much for them.
High Barrier of Entry
Cybersecurity is hard to get into. Most people who have landed in this field had to cut their teeth on helpdesks and IT jobs for years.
This field is not entry-level. You need multiple years of experience before stepping into this important field.
Prepare For Cybersecurity with the REDC
If you’re serious about working in cybersecurity, you’ll need to continue your education while working entry-level computer science jobs. While working in IT you could prepare yourself for a future in cybersecurity by taking courses like:
- Cloud Data Security
- Communication and Network Security
- Real-World Cybersecurity Scenarios
- Introduction to IT Governance, Risk, and Compliance
These courses and others like them will set you in the right direction.
The REDC is here to help you prepare for a career in cybersecurity by offering courses, events, and career services. Get in contact to get connected.