Are you interested in a career in cybersecurity? There are over 300,000 cyber security jobs that are open in the United States, therefore, it is clearly a great time to join an industry that is booming. But where do you start? In order to help close the gap in cybersecurity skills, CyberSeek provides, detailed, actionable data regarding the supply and demand in the job market for cybersecurity, helping job seekers to identify what they need to transition between roles and advance their careers in cybersecurity.
Professionals in cybersecurity, or information security analysts have a vast range of responsibilities, but the main purpose of their role in protecting online data from being compromised. More and more of our personal information is now being stored online, therefore the importance to step up to security is paramount
Careers within cybersecurity are complex and there are many roles found within banking, retail and government organizations. The job involves safeguarding files and networks, installing firewalls, creating security plans and the monitoring of activities. In the case of a breach, your responsibility is to quickly identify the problem and to speedily find a solution to fix it.
It costs the global economy over $400 billion dollars every year due to cyber crime. Some of the biggest companies in the world became victims of cyber crime in 2014, which included J.P. Morgan, Target and The Home Depot alongside others. Due to the increase in the volume and determination of these cyber attacks and their constant changing of tactics, the alarm is being raised by the government and the private sector. This has resulted in a sharp rise in demand for cyber security professionals across almost all sectors.
Because of the shortage in a very critical area of national security and by following the law of supply and demand, a high cyber security salary can be expected by those professionals who work within the industry. For example, the annual salary for a chief security officer can be over $220,000.00.
Let’s begin, according to CyberSeek, here are the top nine job titles in cybersecurity,
Cybersecurity Engineer
Cybersecurity Analyst
Network Engineers/Architect
Cybersecurity Manager/Administrator
Systems Engineer
Software Developer/Engineer
Systems Administrator
Vulnerability Analyst, Penetration Tester
Cybersecurity Consultant
Cybersecurity Jobs – Education Requirements
The education requirements are broken down by CyberSeek to show the percentage of the listings of online jobs that require less than a bachelor’s degree or graduate degree.
For instance, the role of a systems administrator is considered as an entry-level position where the job postings do not need as much education as that of others. 23% of postings for systems administrators require less than a bachelor’s degree which is higher than the more advanced job titles.
On the other hand, cybersecurity engineers are on the advanced level career track, therefore, if it is a career your interested in, it is informative to know that 89% of job openings will require higher education. In actual fact, in 67% of cybersecurity engineer postings a bachelor’s degree is required and for 23% a graduate degree is required. You can look deep into the data of CyberSeek to look further into any of the top nine job titles listed and see the most common education level needed for your dream role.
IT Certifications in Cybersecurity
If you have seen any research on this topic, you will know that IT certification choices are endless! The most requested certifications for the top nine job titles in cybersecurity are:
- The CompTIA Cybersecurity Career Pathway: with CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+), CompTIA Pen Test+ and CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP), the CompTIA Cybersecurity Pathway helps technical specialists to achieve cybersecurity mastery from start to finish.
- Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) : The CISSP certification is an advanced level cybersecurity certification which is put out by (ISC)2, focusing on cybersecurity management skills.
- Cisco Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) : The CISSP certification is an advanced level cybersecurity certification which is put out by (ISC)2, focusing on cybersecurity management skills.
- Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) : Associate level is the level where Cisco certifications start to specialize. The most common ones include CCNA Routing and Switching, CCNA Cyber Ops, CCNA Security and CCNA Data Center.
- GIAC : These certifications cover topics that include cyber defense, digital forensics and incident response, penetration testing, information security management and developer.
Skills needed for Cybersecurity Jobs
It is quite easy to assume that one of the recommended top skills for any of the listed jobs titles would include the word ‘security’. But what about the skills that are less obvious? The most popular skills in the job postings are:
Linux : Android phones and security systems running within homes may well be running on Linux. It can only help you in a cybersecurity career because of its broad use and versatility. CompTIA Linux+ can validate your Linux skills and show employers that you have what is needed to work on a wide variety of devices and operating systems.
Project Management : IT professionals need to be able to manage many projects at the same time, and by strengthening this soft skill it can serve to give you a leg up. Let’s consider CompTIA’s project+, it goes beyond just one specific methodology or framework and covers the essential concepts of project management. The added bonus is that COMPTIA Project+ is, according to Global Knowledge, one of the top-paying IT certifications
Information Systems : An information system is an organized system which collects, organizes and stores data. It is essential to have knowledge of information systems to have a successful cyber security career.