Are you interested in a career in cybersecurity? As of this writing, there are more than 500,000 job postings for vacant cybersecurity positions in the United States.

According to Cyber Seek here are the top cybersecurity jobs:

Cybersecurity Engineer $99,000

Cybersecurity Analyst $96,000

Cybersecurity Consultant $91,000

Cybersecurity Manager/Administrator $103,000

Systems Engineer $99,000

Network Engineer/Architect $112,690*

Software Developer/Engineer $107,510*

Vulnerability Analyst/Penetration Tester $104,000

So, if you are interested in one of the many cybersecurity jobs out there, you may be wondering how do I get my start?

There are many positions from network security to an incident responder and even an IT security manager all of which may have the task of administering and troubleshooting security solutions to writing up security policies and training documents for colleagues.

If you already have some foundation of technical skills behind you, then the first step is discovering how your knowledge can be carried on over to the technical field. Take for example, if you understand code, you will be able to identify and protect individuals from malicious code.

In technology there is always something new to learn – cybersecurity is no different. Start by researching what types of cybersecurity jobs you may be interested in and investigate the needed skills and certifications needed for that position.

For those without a technical background, the entry to cybersecurity is a little different, but do not let that deter you. For example, cyber policy analyst and technical writer are positions that you could obtain without the technical know-how. Think of these entry-level jobs as steppingstones to much more advanced cyber jobs down the road.

Education requirements for a job in cybersecurity

There are several cybersecurity jobs that do in fact still require some formal education but gaining real-world experience still goes a long way. Here is an example, cybersecurity specialist is a term used to categorize entry-level cybersecurity jobs or jobs that perform cybersecurity tasks along with another task like network support. A job like this doesn’t require as much education as others – 22% of cybersecurity specialist postings require less than a bachelor’s degree, that is a percentage far greater than say, other advanced positions.

There are still advanced-level positions that do require at least a bachelor’s degree to get your foot in the door such as a cybersecurity engineer. In fact, 80% of cybersecurity engineer postings require a bachelor’s degree and even 9% require a graduate degree.

Looking to become a Chief Information Security Officer? Typically, a candidate for this type of position is expected to have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field along with 7-12 years of experience – including at least half of those years in a management role. A CISO must also posses a deep technical level of knowledge.

Certifications. Certifications. Certifications.

Information technology certifications are truly endless so instead of living EVERY single of them, we will instead some really key ones to focus on obtaining:

• CompTIA Cybersecurity Career Pathway: With CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+), CompTIA PenTest+ and CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP), the CompTIA Cybersecurity Career Pathway helps technical specialists achieve cybersecurity mastery, from beginning to end in all phases.
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP): CISSP is an advanced-level cybersecurity certification put out by (ISC)2. It focuses on cybersecurity management skills.
• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA): At the associate level is where Cisco certifications begin to specialize, and some other common ones include CCNA Routing and Switching, CCNA Security, CCNA Cyber Ops and CCNA Data Center.
• GIAC: GIAC certifications cover topics including cyber defense, penetration testing, digital forensics and incident response, developer, and information security management.

Now that you know. Go out there and get that job!

Cybersecurity jobs are plentiful these days as according to a Cybersecurity Jobs Report, 3.5 million or more cyber jobs will be added into the workforce in 2021. And again, not all cybersecurity jobs require a bachelor’s degree or higher, only if you want a more advanced job. Even if you don’t have the job yet, learn and learn! The internet is full of so many ways for you to teach yourself code, terminology and concepts that you can even apply if you are not a working professional yet. More often than not, employers will be taking note if maybe you learned skills or did projects on your own, which demonstrates a willingness to want to learn. Therefore, making you very marketable and employable.

Take a look at our careers page for the latest job openings too!