Picture your dream job. Maybe the salaries are competitive. Maybe there’s a shortage of well-trained professionals in the industry, so your skills will be sought after and you will have your pick of positions. Maybe the work is innovative and different every day. Maybe you get to be part of a team. And maybe you get to help make the world a better place.
When many people think of a “cybersecurity professional,” they often picture someone obsessed with coding and technology, who likes to sit in a dark room lit only by a computer screen. But the job actually combines a diverse set of skills that should appeal to people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities.
Yes, cybersecurity professionals need top-notch technical expertise – for example an ability to explain technical topics in clear prose; computer science fundamentals; programming skills; an understanding of attack tools and techniques; facility with tracking complex engagements and managing multiple pieces of evidence; information management; and high-risk decision making. But cyber professionals also need interpersonal expertise, so called soft skills like leadership; active listening; clear written and verbal communication; attention to detail; curiosity; humility; creativity; adaptability; a team-mindset; and calm and poise in challenging, high-stress situations.
This career choice also brings job security. As Lisa Ardill reports, citing research from Cybersecurity Ventures, “it is predicted that there will be 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally by 2021.” This “talent gap,” Ardill writes, is due to “the massive demand for unique and specialist skills” and to “the inability of the market to continually master new technologies at the same speed as vulnerabilities are discovered.”
Jobs in cybersecurity, besides offering competitive salaries, matter to the organization and the global economy. It’s often stimulating work that changes every day. And for students or people making a career change, it offers the opportunity for career growth and ongoing professional development, intellectual challenges, and the chance to make a difference both in your place of work and in the world at large.
Cyber security professionals maintain the safety of an organization’s software and network security system. They test, implement, and analyze the efficacy of a company’s cybersecurity systems. They find potential vulnerabilities; they recommend protection and prevention strategies; and they help keep a company’s assets safe. This matters to the global economy.
Cutting edge products bring new security challenges – which means ongoing cybersecurity training is always needed, and there is never a dull moment in the field. At ATCorp, we offer an online cyber range training platform called CYRIN, which is ideally suited to train IT professionals and those who would like to enter the cyber defense market. Our online educational resources are interactive and available on your schedule and according to your needs. This includes companies looking to keep their cyber security team ever-ready or an educator training students looking to enter this exciting career opportunity and marketplace. See our full course catalog which can be viewed online.
The possibilities for positions in cybersecurity are endless. According to TechRepublic, a career in cybersecurity can include everything from chief information security officer (CISO) to penetration tester to security engineer to incident responder to security auditor to security software developer and more. Top companies looking for such professionals include Apple, Lockheed Martin, General Motors, Cisco, and Capital One. And, as TechRepublic notes, “Industries such as healthcare, education, and government are most likely to suffer a cyberattack, which will probably lead to an increase in the number of IT security jobs in these sectors.”
Forbes urges people to get into the cybersecurity field: “cybersecurity is an attractive career for ambitious people and a great way to make the world a better place. If you want a career in cybersecurity, don’t wait.”