Five questions from a student seeking a career in cyber security

Honestly I do not know a whole lot about cyber security but I just know it is a quickly growing industry. I also know I want a job that I won't have to travel and just come into work in the same building each day.

The college I am transferring to has two degrees I am first trying to decide on. ALSO, as far as cyber security is concerned, they have a graduate certification program that is CAE/IAE certified that you can take after you finish your computer-related bachelors.

I can either choose between Computer Information Systems (CIS) or Computer Science (CS) before I can do the certification, which do you recommend?

What kind of careers can be expected in the cyber security industry?

How's the career-advancement opportunity? Is this more of a stagnant thing or can you work your way up to managerial positions?

What kind of entry-level options are available? Are there commonly internship opportunities in this field?

How's the pay? Can you work your way up to a six figure salary and beyond?

Thank you all for your input, it is very appreciated.

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Comments

thatguy67

In this industry, if you want to move forward you have to make some effort. You can start by researching the various specializations and salary info.

99% of the time a new IT guy will work his way into security. Expect to start at a helpdesk or field engineer position with travel. The first couple years usually suck. Again, if you want to move forward you have to take it to another level. It's very easy to get stuck in a dead-end desktop support role. You have to constantly be studying new things.

markulous

You either have to be extremely proficient at knowing what you're protecting by having years of experience at whatever type of security it is you're doing or show companies that you have a strong desire to get into the infosec field by going above and beyond what others are doing trying to break into it.

Now there are exceptions, especially with how many infosec jobs there will be here soon and how few skilled professionals there are to fill those spots. Regardless, I'd recommend going through some of the existing threads here on TE and looking at people's advice. It's a growing field with endless possibilities that can make you a lot of money if you're into it.

aspiringsoul

Check out the resources here:

How to Get Into Cyber Security From a General IT Career

cyberguypr

I am doing to address a few of the questions.

What kind of careers can be expected in the cyber security industry?

I always say that InfoSec is like medicine. There's a myriad of areas and specialties. You can do anything from being a log monkey, to a security practitioner, to a compliance guy. Definitely go on the web and research so you can understand what different roles are and where you see yourself fitting in. Starting point: https://www.securitywizardry.com/index.php/home/cnd-ltd/recruitment/security-roles-defined.html and https://cybersecuritychallenge.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/SANS_Roadmap.pdf

How's the pay? Can you work your way up to a six figure salary and beyond?

Almost any IT career can reach 6 figures. I know desktop support, networking, server, and security guys that are making this much $. Of course for some roles seniority plays a big part. The particular factor with InfoSec is that right now there's a ridiculous demand and therefore companies are throwing money at candidates like crazy. Having said that, this assumed highly qualified candidates. A new comer shouldn't expect to jump into six figures anywhere with a decent cost of living.

How's the career-advancement opportunity? Is this more of a stagnant thing or can you work your way up to managerial positions?

You said quickly growing industry.
Back to my point about fast growth, being a hot commodity, etc.. Since there's no sign of talent surplus, practitioners who understand the security life cycle and the business side constantly keep getting pulled into the management world. I struggle with this every week as I keep coming across very attractive roles.

D1renegade

aspiringsoul wrote: »

Check out the resources here:

How to Get Into Cyber Security From a General IT Career

Wow, thank you for this link. A lot of good information here

TechGromit

Psydrox wrote: »

What kind of careers can be expected in the cyber security industry?

It varies,
Penetration testing - This is where you try to hack into companies systems (Always with written permission)
Incident Response - This is were you respond to a company that got hacked, minimize the damage, analyze how attacker penetrated the network and recommend recovery.
Operation Security - Varies, you might be monitoring the firewall, and/or the IPS, IDS, hardening servers, reviewing security policies, etc.
Software or hardware design - this is where you help to design a product to be secure from a security prospective.
Consulting - you may do one of more of the functions above to companies on an needed bases.

Generally most people specialize in one type of cyber security or another. The basic theory is known to all, but it's rare to find someone an expert in everything.