Becoming a cyber security professional requires a lot of hard work and dedication, but it’s well worth it. If you have a passion for technology, and enjoy being on the cutting edge of computer security research, this may be the career path for you.
To become a cyber security professional, you’ll need to get a good education. It is recommended that you complete at least four years of higher education in order to have the necessary skills to enter this field. If you choose to go with an online degree program, it will give you more flexibility than traditional programs, allowing you to work in your field while also focusing on your studies.
Once you’ve completed your education requirements, it’s time to start looking for jobs! You may want to consider applying at companies that specialize in cyber security or those that offer cybersecurity services. You can also look into working as an independent consultant who provides consulting services to businesses that need help protecting their data from hackers and other threats.
How To Become Cyber Security
As today’s world becomes increasingly more dependent on the Internet and mobile computing to accomplish so many of our everyday tasks, the issue of security becomes more urgent. As a result, this boosts the demand for more Cybersecurity engineers.
Cybersecurity is a fascinating branch of Information Technology and is ideal for people who enjoy a challenge. The field is ripe with potential, and we’re about to show you why a cybersecurity career is a fantastic (and rewarding!) choice.
Before exploring how to become a cyber security engineer, let us learn more about the role.
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What is a Cybersecurity Engineer?
A cyber security engineer designs and implements secure network solutions designed to defend against hackers, cyberattacks, and other persistent threats. They also engage in continually testing and monitoring these systems, making sure that all the system’s defenses are up to date and working correctly.
Often, a cybersecurity engineer’s position is called something else, like data security engineer, IT security engineer, or Web security engineer. Furthermore, sometimes, the role of a cyber security engineer is rolled into a different IT position, especially in smaller companies that can’t afford a cyber security specialist.
Let us get to know how to become a cybersecurity engineer after we learn what one does in the role.
What Does a Cybersecurity Engineer Do?
The roles and responsibilities of a cybersecurity engineer include:
- Evaluating the organization’s security needs and establishing best practices and standards accordingly
- Designing, implementing, maintaining, overseeing, and upgrading all security measures needed to protect organizations’ data, systems, and networks
- Responding to all security breaches to the network and associated systems
- Troubleshooting all network and security issues and incidents
- Routinely conduct penetration testing
- Taking appropriate security measures to ensure that the organization’s infrastructure and existing data are kept safe
- Conducting testing and scans to identify any vulnerabilities in the network and system.
- Taking an active role in the change management process
- Assisting in any security breach investigations
- Handling routine daily administrative tasks such as reporting and keeping open lines of communication with the organization’s appropriate departments
Note that a cybersecurity engineer’s job and responsibilities come very close to those of a security analyst. A cyber security engineer designs and builds systems, while a security analyst is more concerned with putting the system through its paces, trying to break it.
There is an overlap, however, since many cyber security engineers routinely conduct stress tests and attempt to predict the weak spots and test them out. It’s not unusual to see job listings for a Security Engineer/Analyst, effectively rolling both positions into one.
Before we learn how to become a cyber security engineer, let us look at the required qualifications.
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Cybersecurity Engineer Qualifications
In general, a cybersecurity engineer must have the following qualifications:
- Degree in Computer Science, IT, Systems Engineering, or a similar field
- Two years of work experience in cyber security-related duties such as incident detection and response, and forensics
- Experience with the functionality, operation, and maintenance of firewalls and various forms of endpoint security
- Proficiency in languages/tools such as C++, Java, Node, Python, Ruby, Go, or Power Shell
- The ability to work in a fast-paced environment, often under pressure
- Possess the right eye for detail and outstanding problem-solving skills
- Up to date knowledge of the latest cybe rsecurity trends and hacker tactics.
Note that different organizations may have more or fewer qualifications or attach lesser or greater importance to any of the given criteria.
Let us learn how to become a cyber security engineer after understanding the salary stats.
Also Read: An Ultimate Guide to Cyber Security for Beginners
Cybersecurity Engineer Salary
The average cybersecurity engineer salary is around $101,000 a year, according to Glassdoor. Senior-level engineers earn an average of $145K annually, while beginners can look forward to $71K a year. Nice work if you can get it!
In India, a cyber security engineer’s salary averages ₹600,000 a year, while a similar engineer in Australia earns A$95K and an engineer in the UK can make £47,048 annually.
Of course, the above numbers can fluctuate depending on the demand in your part of the world. But regardless of the range, a cyber security engineer can earn some serious pay.
Before understanding how to become a cyber security engineer, let us learn about the demand for the role.
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What’s the Demand for Cybersecurity Engineers?
By the end of 2021, there was approximately 3.5 million cybersecurity vacancies worldwide. The demand for cyber security engineers will continue to grow as businesses, governments, and other organizations rely more on digital platforms.
That’s the good news. The bad news (at least from a business owner’s perspective) is that there will be a corresponding widening skill gap regarding cyber security professionals.
The Forbes article from a couple of years back called cyber security, “the fast-growing job with a huge skill gap.” The article cites an ISACA report that predicted a world shortage of two million cybersecurity professionals by 2019. And here we are in 2022, and not only has the Forbes prediction come true, but the situation is also getting worse.
In terms of cyber-related crime, Cybersecurity Ventures predicted that the annual costs of cyber crime damages would increase dramatically, going from $3 trillion in 2015 to $6 trillion by the end of 2021. Looking forward, Cybersecurity Ventures expects global cybercrime costs will reach $10.5 trillion per year by 2025. Consequently, Gartner predicts that cyber security spending will hit $172 billion this year.
Although countless companies are hiring cyber security engineers, these ten companies lead the pack in cyber security professional hiring.
- BAE Systems
- Symantec
- Check Point Software
- Lockheed Martin
- FireEye
- Amazon (Amazon Web Services)
- Microsoft
- IBM
- Cisco
- CyberArk Software
When taken all together, these forecasts paint a promising picture for anyone interested in becoming a cyber security engineer. It’s reasonable to call cyber security engineering (and related positions) a “recession-proof career.”
So now that you know what a cyber security engineer does, what they make, and how secure the career is, you no doubt are curious about how to become one.
Let us learn how to become a cyber security engineer with the following career path.
