How you can get into cybersecurity...

 



Forgive me, but I am a child of the 80s and Tron is one of my all time favorite movies (even though technically this clip is actually from the sequel, Tron: Legacy).

I've been in the cybersecurity field for almost 30 years now and I've had a lot of people ask how I got into the field and how they can get into it. This post will contain information from my experience as well as some of my own beliefs/opinions that can help you get into this constantly growing field. At the end of the post I will include a section of links to articles and informational websites that provide more information to help you get started down this career path.

The biggest obstacle a lot of people tell me they have is a lack of experience. Most job postings request a certain level of experience which introduces one of the most common paradoxes in the professional world, which was expertly summed up by Michael J. Fox in the movie Secret Of My Success: how can I get a job without experience but can't get experience until I get a job?

While actual numbers are difficult to accurately report, many articles online estimate that there are almost 750,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the United States alone. The worldwide number of unfilled positions climbs to over 3,000,000! Why is this? A combination of lack of experienced user to fill the jobs and an unrealistic expectation from the hiring companies. When I was job hunting before retiring from the military, one post I saw was for an entry level position that wanted the candidates to have a Masters degree and 5-7 years of experience. These don't qualify for an "entry level" position.

My first recommendation to make: don't be afraid to start at the bottom of the ladder. If you don't have a lot of experience you need to look for jobs that WILL consider hiring you even without any deep knowledge of the field. Every company has some sort of help desk that is used as a focal point for reporting problems with their network: computers, printers, network connections, etc. This is a great place to start in the cyber field as many help desks are very shorthanded and looking to hire immediately. This type of job is perfect for learning about how computers and computer networks work. It will teach you great troubleshooting skills as well as people skills because you will be interacting directly with users to figure out what is causing their issue and how to fix it. You don't need a lot of experience here, just a can-do positive attitude and some basic computer knowledge like how to use the internet to research computer issues and ways to fix them. This type of job will definitely keep you busy: as you close one trouble ticket you will immediately be given another. There is never a shortage of reported issues that need to be researched/resolved.

Not interested in a help desk position but still don't have much experience? Consider obtaining a few entry level certifications. There is a big debate in the field right now about how much weight should be placed on having certifications. In my opinion, certifications are great for users new to the field. They provide a very good baseline of knowledge that can be a great stepping stone into a cyber job. It shows that you have SOME knowledge about computers, and if you are going for a job where other candidates do not have any certifications this can really help you stand out and above the rest of the field. Some of the most popular entry level certifications users new to the field look to obtain include:

  • A+ (knowledge of basic computer components and functions; excellent to have if your job requires heavy troubleshooting skills like a help desk position)
  • Network+ (also called Net+; a good introduction to how computers are networked and communicate together; great for troubleshooting network issues)
  • Security+ (basic knowledge of computer security issues; for many jobs this is the minimum certification most hiring companies look for making this a VERY good certification to obtain early)
Another way to gain knowledge without having much real world experience is by completing online training. When I first started in this field the internet wasn't nearly as expansive as it is today. Training involved buying a seat in a physical class being taught somewhere. Now a lot of training can be completed online. A quick Google search of "free online cybersecurity training" returns a large number of results. Spend some time visiting many of these pages and seeing which offer the training you are most interested in. Some of these sites offer free training, others are for pay. Some offer single classes and others offer bundles aimed at the same path (i.e. Certified Ethical Hacker, which usually involves multiple classes be completed).

Look for opportunities everywhere. Seton Hall University offers a Cybersecurity program certificate and currently working to get this upgraded to a full degree program. We also hire several student workers each term to intern with us in the IT Security department. We give them an introduction into Splunk (a widely used data analysis program that is used to go through multiple logs from multiple systems and find anything that matches our search parameters). Splunk is used by countless organizations. We also provide a deeper understanding of phishing emails, how to recognize them and how we handle them when a potential phish is reported to us. It's a great opportunity for students to gain a few skills that can be put on their resumes and easily transferred to an entry level cybersecurity job. Consider volunteering some time with a company near you; many companies will happily consider allowing you to volunteer a few hours a week with their help desk offices. It provides more hands for them and gives you some great experience learning how companies set up their internal networks.

I hope this info has been useful.  The links below should provide even more useful information to help you get started in the field. Have any questions or future post topics? Email me at CyberShamrock.Blog@gmail.com!


Links to more information...
  • Well known organizations that offer highly recognized certifications:
  • General information about the cybersecurity field
    • https://www.springboard.com/blog/cybersecurity/cybersecurity-no-experience/
    • https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/how-to-get-into-cyber-security-field/
    • https://www.coursera.org/articles/cybersecurity-career-paths
    • https://www.modis.com/en-us/resources/job-seekers/how-to-get-into-cyber-security/
    • https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/How-to-get-into-cybersecurity-with-no-experience
    • https://www.codingdojo.com/blog/how-to-get-into-cybersecurity-with-no-experience


Until next time, Code Geek out...


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