How to Get a Job in Cybersecurity in 2024?

In a world where many companies and individuals are getting hacked every day, cybersecurity is not only becoming a topic but also the main skill that everyone needs to be familiar with. Compared to individual purposes, cybersecurity is highly important for businesses as it’s the only way to protect their sensitive data.

Most hackers usually target this kind of data as it sells the highest when offered in the black market. Plus, it can be damaging to the company’s reputation as many eyes will see it to be incompetent to even handle its own data, moreover the consumers’.

So in order to protect themselves, companies will hire exceptional individuals who are proven to have great skills in maintaining and improving the company’s cybersecurity. And for those interested in going in the same path, in this article, we’ll share a few tips you can do to get a job in the cybersecurity field in 2024. We’ll also explain the requirements and the necessary tasks to be done to give you a bigger image of how cybersecurity experts work.

First of All, What Is Cybersecurity?

Now, before we go much further to explain the requirements you need to fulfill to enter the cybersecurity career path, let us first understand what cybersecurity actually is. There are some people mentioning that both cybersecurity and information security are actually two parts of the same coin.

When we’re talking about benefits, yes, both of them do have similar benefits. However, the two are quite different, and we’ll explain about that further in the next section.

Now, cybersecurity is an actual term meaning an act or process to protect a system, data, or network. The cybersecurity strategies are conducted in the name of private data protection, which is essential in every company. As this data may be used negatively (sold to the black market, and used by the competitors), businesses really need to think about what’s the proper cybersecurity strategy to be applied to their systems.

However, the company’s private data is the gold mine for hackers, as you probably know. But, that’s not the only thing that can be stolen. When a system is breached, any passwords, medical records, financial information, and any other secret data are at risk of getting stolen.

Therefore, to prevent any possible risks of breaching, companies will usually hire cybersecurity professionals to protect their data, from inside and outside. However, the cybersecurity career path isn’t only going to one road. It actually branches into several career choices, like consultant, ethical hacker, system engineer, tester, and many others.

There’s even something called penetration tester, which works by supposedly breaking into a business system by finding any vulnerabilities and other possible weaknesses. That way, when found, the problems will be put into a report and delivered to the responding company for further system improvement.

While the need to keep the system protected is always there, job opportunities will not be scarce as well. So, if you wish to get into cybersecurity, the best time to learn and start is now.

Is it Different from Information Security?

As we’ve mentioned before, both cybersecurity and information security are the same, for the purposes. Their strategies are applied to keep the system safe. On the other hand, there are plenty differences of between the two.

For one, the scope. Cybersecurity is highly focused on protecting against online threats, while information security focuses on a wider landscape of security. A difference can also be found in the people who are doing it, which are the cybersecurity professionals.

In cybersecurity, the professionals think as if they’re the hackers. They will try to find the system’s weaknesses and do their ways to treat them. Meanwhile, professionals in the information security field focus on solely how to protect the data.

Is Cybersecurity a Profitable Path?

Yes, and it’s even showing an improvement in the upcoming decade. According to the data by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase we’re talking about is around 35%, which is already considered high.

Why is that? Because if we’re looking at the other jobs, the increase is only expected at a 5.3% rate. See how high the gap is here?

In order to see how profitable the industry is, let us give you some insight. The entry-level cybersecurity career paths, like cybersecurity analyst, and administrator, have an average amount of $80,000 per year.

As for the mid-level jobs, like consultant and penetration tester, the average increases up to $10,000; making it around $90,000 annually.

The last one, the senior-level jobs, like security engineer, may have up to $130,000 per year.

As these jobs will be always needed, we can see that the amount might have a chance to increase in the next decade.

Understanding The Requirements

Before starting the job-search, you’ll need to know that there are a few requirements you need to fulfill first. The first thing you need to prepare is yourself. Start asking yourself, is this the most suitable career path you’re after? Are you ready to get started to learn and continuously feel curious about new cyber threats?

If you are really sure about yourself, then you may start preparing the requirements. Generally, in order to fit in entry-level cybersecurity jobs, you need to have:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or relevant field
• Proficiency in firewalls and endpoint security
• Knowledge of programming languages, like Phyton, Node, Ruby, and many more
• Self-control to work in such a fast-paced working environment
• Ability to learn about the latest cybersecurity trends, including the threats.

How to Get a Job in Cybersecurity in 2024?

To get into the cybersecurity industry, there are a few things you need to do. Without further ado, let us go to the first step, doing some research.

1. Do your homework

As you want to enter the world of cybersecurity, you’ll need to prepare the required knowledge. Know about the job first to have an insight about what you’ll do, what the necessary knowledge you have to know, and the information about the necessary requirements you need to fulfill.

For the payment, it should be the least you need to think about. We know that income is one of the reasons why people want to join the industry in the first place. But at this earliest stage, you’ll need to focus on the preparation first. What’s important is to make yourself ready to deal with the upcoming challenges.

2. Learning the skills

After gaining an idea of what you’re about to deal with, now comes the stage when you need to learn the necessary learn. The skills you have to learn actually depend on which choice of career you’re after. For system administration, you need to learn about the flow of system networks, both in and out, which is basically the foundation you have to be familiar with if you want to enter entry-level jobs.

The general skills you have to learn are the understanding of operating systems, programming languages, coding skills, and the ability to work in harmony with the team. The last part is definitely necessary as the job you’ll be doing will be highly connected with other related professions in this field.

3. Get the certification

As proof that you have actual expertise in the cybersecurity field, you can get the relevant certifications. For example, entry-level certifications, like CompTIA Security+, which is basically the core to entering an entry-level cybersecurity career.

Another certification recommended is the Certified Information Systems Auditor or CISA, which shows that you’re able to find system vulnerabilities and report them accordingly.

You may also check Google’s Cybersecurity professional certificate which is proof of your understanding about the cybersecurity career introduction and mastering the necessary skills. Obtaining these three certifications is more than enough to get into an entry-level career.

4. Learn the software

As you collect those certifications, eventually, you’ll understand that learning the software related to the industry is highly essential. Eventually, you will be more familiar with the software and hardware systems. At least, you can learn about Azure first, which is one of many cloud programs to help understand the basics.

Usually, the companies require the potential candidates to have an understanding of specific software. So to anticipate, you may learn about the popular software that’s commonly used.

5. Get the work experience

Since you already have the knowledge and proof of proficiency, the next step is to finally get the work experience. Getting real-world experience is highly important to actually feel what it’s like to work in the cybersecurity field.

Look for internship programs on the internet or forums, whether it’s about consulting, auditing, or incident response.

6. Start applying

Now, after all the things you have gained, you can start applying. Start tailoring your CV and resume and apply to the companies in need of a new cybersecurity staff. Look for the qualifications, and apply if you feel you can fulfill the requirements.

You may need to apply to some companies at once and go through several interviews before landing a job. But that’s okay, don’t lose your dreams, and keep trying.

Conclusion

And that’s how to get a job in cybersecurity in 2024. As you can see, as cool as it is, cybersecurity isn’t the kind of job that anyone can do. You’ll always continuously learn, adapt, and work on new threats that may come at the most unexpected times.

Although it sounds difficult, as long as you have the willingness to learn and introspect, a cybersecurity career can be a profitable option that brings you success.