It’s been listed as one of the fastest-growing career sectors in information technology by Forbes magazine, which predicts that it will grow into a $232 billion worldwide market by 2022. We’re talking about cybersecurity. As the always-on world of today continues to evolve, there’s never been a greater need for enhanced security. Cyber crimes are at all-time highs, with national brands falling prey to cyber breaches at unprecedented rates. Current estimates find that nearly 2 million jobs in this sector will remain unfilled by 2020. If you’re looking to break into this high-pay, high-demand career—the following tips can help you get started.
No. 1: Determine Your Niche
A cybersecurity training course does come with some prerequisites and necessary soft skills. But there are plenty of enticing career prospects you can pursue once you have some experience under your belt. Finding your niche can help you determine which prerequisites you need and what experience level you’ll want to be, so your resume is attractive to prospective employers.
According to Inc., IoT (Internet of Things) is the most popular niche in this field. In an IoT career in cybersecurity, you’d be helping to make things like online banking, Wi-Fi and connected devices more secure. There are ample other options in this career field, too, ranging from penetration testing to threat assessor, security architect, analyst and many more.
No. 2: Know Your Options
Once you have a good idea of what part of cyber security you want to focus on, you’ll want to figure out how you plan on making the change. Start with learning more about your options for getting certified in cybersecurity. You may find that there are some prerequisite courses that you’ll need to take before you can get certified (in many cases there are). Keep in mind that every school you consider will have different requirements. Perhaps the fastest path to getting certified will be to explore your options with online cybersecurity training courses that offer fast-track certification programs.
No. 3: Learn About Career Options
Making a career change is a big move. But knowing what your career options are and some statistical facts about the field beforehand can help you confidently make the switch. The good news about the cybersecurity field is that there aren’t enough skilled workers. Quick searches on the top job engines find more than 20,000 open positions at any given time. There’s a good chance several companies are looking to hire in your area—which means that you’d likely be able to avoid relocation once you are certified and working in your field due to high demand.
No. 4: Create Your Path
What is your plan-of-action? A career change is a big decision, so you’ll want to have a solid game plan in hand before pulling the trigger. Things to consider include where you’ll be going to school, what the overall cost is, how many hours it will demand, and whether you can take online classes to coordinate with your current work schedule. Once you do some searching, you will find that there are plenty of options for taking an online cybersecurity course. Take your time while conducting your due diligence about the various schools offering these courses, and you’ll find a good fit for your schedule and budget.
No. 5: Be Realistic
Once you start taking the courses, be realistic about your expectations from them. You will get out of this what you are able to put in, which means dedicating the time and energy to learning and mastering the necessary skills. The leading online schools offer HD video instruction and dedicated mentors to help you make the most of your time studying for certification. Make sure you take advantage of these benefits, so you can ace the courses you are studying and make a smooth transition to this new career field. On a final note, make sure the school you are considering offers employment assistance; this way you can be on the fast track to landing that dream job in cyber security you’ve always wanted.
