If you are a student or graduate interested in working in cybersecurity, here are some valuable pieces of advice that I have learned working in the industry.
Learn the fundamentals and foundations first, especially in areas like cloud security, application security, and risk management. The foundations will provide you with a base to build upon, trust me you will refer back to the foundations time and again. An example foundation is CIA, if you don’t know what that is, go learn it now, there are many more to learn from there.
Never stop studying, value education and gain at least one certification, consider pursuing a degree or certification program in cybersecurity to enhance your knowledge. It shows commitment to attain a certification, examples to aim for are Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), or CompTIA Security+. Not everyone has the opportunity for quality education so always take every opportunity to learn. Perform quality over quantity, one or two certifications are fine.
Develop technical skills, the core of cybersecurity is technical, anyone who says otherwise wants to justify and avoid the effort to study. Avoid becoming a car salesman within the industry. Learn about networking protocols, operating systems, programming languages, and tools commonly used in the field. Practice hands-on exercises and participate in cybersecurity competitions to sharpen your skills. Keep a record of your learning, you may not apply knowledge straightaway so when you need it, use your reference material rather than trying to remember everything.
Stay updated with the latest news, this one can be difficult to keep upto with everything in cybersecurity as it evolves rapidly, the vulnerabilities, attack techniques, new laws. Follow blogs, attend conferences and webinars, and engage in communities to stay current with the cybersecurity landscape. I would recommend focusing on a particular area to avoid information overload. For example cloud security or application security.
Get hands on practical experience, look for opportunities to gain experience in cybersecurity. Internships, part-time opportunities, volunteering with organisations that work within cybersecurity. Practical experience will not only enhance your skills but also provide valuable insights into real-world scenarios. It is really helpful to have some examples of your work especially for interviews.
Work on your communication skills and soft skills, communication is critical in the cybersecurity field. As a professional, you’ll need to convey technical concepts to non-technical people. Practice your communication skills to be able to articulate ideas clearly and concisely, both in written and verbal. You will also have to deal with success, failure, rejection and work that can take a long time to complete, learning that having technical knowledge does not guarantee success. Being able to work alongside people from different backgrounds, knowledge levels, diversity, language and cultures adds additional dimension to working in this field.
That’s it, good luck and if you need any advice or help you can reach out directly to me and I will do my best to help!
Check out my free How to Career Guide into Cyber Security Course on Udemy https://www.udemy.com/course/how-to-career-guide-into-cyber-security/
Thanks and take care.