10 Tips for Landing a Job in Cybersecurity
Demand for cybersecurity professionals is skyrocketing. What should you do if you want to transition from another area within IT to a security career?
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If you've ever considered working in cybersecurity, now is a great time to be looking for a job.
Security incidents in the news are nothing new, but in recent months, cyberattacks, particularly ransomware attacks, have taken on a significance rarely seen before. Attacks are impacting global supply chains and disrupting the economy. And some victim companies are paying huge ransoms, which are further emboldening the cybercriminals.
As a result, companies are eager to hire cybersecurity professionals. But they can't always find the qualified staff they need.
According to CyberSeek, a website sponsored by Burning Glass Technologies, CompTIA, and the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, the U.S. currently has 464,420 open cybersecurity positions. It also classifies the supply of available workers as "very low" in every state but Maine.
As a result, pay for most cybersecurity positions is fairly high. According to CompTIA, the average pay for the nine most common cybersecurity job titles are as follows:
- Cybersecurity Analyst $95,000
- Cybersecurity Consultant $91,000
- Cyber Security Manager / Administrator $105,000
- Software Developer/Engineer $110,140*
- Systems Engineer $90,920
- Network Engineer/Architect $83,510*
- Vulnerability Analyst/Penetration Tester $103,000
- Cyber Security Specialist / Technician $92,000
- Incident Analyst / Responder $89,000
Those high salaries, in turn, have many IT professionals in other fields considering transitioning into cybersecurity. That sort of career move is not at all uncommon. In an ESG and ISSA Research Report, more than three-quarters (76%) of cybersecurity professionals surveyed said that they had worked in another area of IT before going into security.
But while it may be common, the path for getting from one point in IT to another isn't always clear-cut. Job seekers are often at a loss as to how to begin the process of making such a transition.
The following slides offer 10 tips from cybersecurity professionals and other experts about how to break into the lucrative field of cybersecurity.
Cynthia Harvey is a freelance writer and editor based in the Detroit area. She has been covering the technology industry for more than fifteen years. View Full BioWe welcome your comments on this topic on our social media channels, or
[contact us directly] with questions about the site.
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