It’s 2020. Are your technology skills up-to-date? Better yet, do you have the tech skills to keep your information safe? In today’s tech-heavy, Internet-centric world, cybersecurity is a growing issue as major corporations are getting hacked, causing untold financial damage, and even worse—their customer’s private information can be at risk.
Cybersecurity is a vital part of the tech industry today. And there is no better time than right now to make sure that your cybersecurity skills are sharp and updated. Moreover, if you are considering making a career switch into the booming technology industry, there has never been a better time than now. But you need to have the relevant tech skills!
What do I need for Cyber Security Career?
Cybersecurity careers used to require a computer science degree or even a cybersecurity or information technology degree. These degree paths have traditionally followed the four-year university system or the two-year community college, or technical college route. But thanks to today’s Internet-centric world, learning the necessary skills to succeed in a cybersecurity career can be much quicker and much less costly in terms of both time and money.
Coding Bootcamps
Coding bootcamps are a growing trend in the technology industry, and these days, many new tech professionals learn their skills via these short-term, intensive programs. These bootcamps teach what used to take two to four years to learn, in less than a year. With flexible class schedule options, including full-time, part-time, in-person, online, and even self-paced, you can now learn everything you need to know to break into a cybersecurity career from the comfort of your own home, and within a time frame that works for you.
Many of the schools that host these bootcamps also offer an array of tuition payment options including deferred tuition payments as well as income-sharing agreements, which allow you to enroll and complete your program with an agreement that you will pay back your affordable tuition once you have attained your new job in the tech industry. Let’s talk briefly about what cybersecurity professionals do and the skills you will need to succeed in your new career.
What do Cybersecurity Professionals Do?
To be a successful cybersecurity professional, you will need to know how to conduct malware analysis, cloud security programming and protocol, and the programming languages of Bash, C++, Python, and C.
Ethical Hacking
You will also need to know how to conduct ethical hacking into the very systems you are safeguarding. This is often referred to as “white-hat” hacking, and is the process of putting the cybersecurity infrastructure you have built to the test. This helps you to expose any potential security weaknesses so that you know what areas of your company’s security infrastructure need improvement.
Cybersecurity Engineering
Cybersecurity Engineers design and code the programming that is necessary to build strong security infrastructure to help safeguard a company’s data against any unauthorized access and malicious third party cyberattacks. These technology professionals also conduct “white-hat” hacking either through themselves or their team.
Sometimes companies will even host hacking competitions called “hack-a-thons,” which offer a prize for any individual or team of hackers that can successfully break through the security systems built by their Cybersecurity Engineers to protect their organization’s data. This helps to ensure that the security infrastructure they have built is tight and secure and not at risk of any potential real cyberthreats.
Trusted advisors
Cybersecurity Engineers also serve as trusted advisors to their company’s staff on the best methods to make sure they are not putting themselves or their company at risk for cybersecurity attacks when they are using online software. Cybersecurity Engineers also actively monitor their company’s servers and other online systems for any signs of a potential attempted cyber attack.
You can learn all of the necessary coding skills to become a successful cybersecurity professional through cybersecurity bootcamps. These schools will teach you everything that you need to know to break into this growing industry, in less than a year, and on a schedule that works for you.
Job Outlook
The cybersecurity industry is booming, with an expected job growth of 32 percent by 2028. This means that now is definitely the time to make that career switch, as the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals is growing exponentially.
Cybersecurity professionals also enjoy a quite lucrative career with average salaries for experienced professionals around $130,000 and entry-level salaries above $50,000.
