Cybersecurity is the routine of protecting systems, networks, and users from digital attacks and hackers. As cyberattacks are mainly targeted at changing, destroying, or accessing an organization’s sensitive data, cybersecurity experts must keep systems updated and secure.
But, what’s life like for a cybersecurity expert in today’s world where hackers become more innovative by the day? Let’s discuss it.
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Types of Cyber Security Jobs
Security Engineer
Cybersecurity engineers design and implement security solutions that focus on defending the system against hackers and other threats. Preventing free web scraping proxies used to extract data from a company website is included in a cybersecurity engineer’s job description. Security engineers are also responsible for testing certain vulnerabilities that can sabotage network security.
Cyber Security Consultant
Independent cybersecurity experts are hired by clients to test their systems for vulnerabilities. Most cybersecurity consultants also design and implement security solutions for their clients.
Pentester
Pentesters or penetration testers are authorized company personnel who try to penetrate the vulnerabilities of a company network. As they are only responsible for testing for vulnerabilities, they don’t design or implement solutions.
Security Analyst
An analyst is responsible for keeping the company network updated on upcoming trends, analyzing security breaches, reporting suspicious activities, and much more. This is typically a managerial position that pays well.
Security Architect
Security architects or cybersecurity architects are the persons within an establishment who are the first point of contact when proposing new security designs. They also design and maintain new systems in accordance with security engineers and pentesters.
Detailed Career Description of Cybersecurity Experts
Security Engineer
| Minimum Education | Bachelor’s degree |
| Yearly Salary | $133,115 |
| Growth | 12% |
| Skills Required | Problem-solving |
Cyber Security Consultant
| Minimum Education | Bachelor’s degree |
| Yearly Salary | $92,600 (The average salary may vary depending on the skillset) |
| Growth | 28% |
| Skills Required | Business Management |
Pentester
| Minimum Education | Bachelor’s degree |
| Yearly Salary | $105,590 |
| Growth | 21% |
| Skills Required | Curiosity and keen to learn |
Security Analyst
| Minimum Education | Bachelor’s degree |
| Yearly Salary | $98,350 |
| Growth | 32% |
| Skills Required | Managing human resource and fragments of systems |
Security Architect
| Minimum Education | Bachelor’s degree and/or Master’s degree |
| Yearly Salary | $109,020 |
| Growth | |
| Skills Required | Problem-solving skills with creative mindset |
Pros of Cyber Security Jobs
As with every job, cybersecurity has its pros and cons. Let’s discuss the pros of a cybersecurity career.
The Salary Aspect
The average salaries of cybersecurity experts are generally quite impressive. And as the salary growth is already high for the various cybersecurity experts, the salary structure will only improve in the near future.
The average salary may not reflect your initial salary if you are just starting up in cybersecurity. But with appropriate certification and persistence, you can quickly reach the average salary.
Widespread Domain
Cybersecurity jobs are everywhere, from healthcare, finance, banking, IT services, governments, schools, and universities. Nearly every industry and company needs cybersecurity experts to run and sustain their online business. If you’re a qualified cybersecurity expert, you could land a job in any industry.
Cybersecurity Experts are in Demand
With the rise of the internet and online businesses, the demand for cybersecurity experts is growing in scale. The unemployment rate of cybersecurity experts is so low that it’s even considered zero in some areas. This means that there are more job openings than there are qualified cybersecurity experts. It also means that you can ask for better pay while working for a company.
Being Able to Learn
As there are many cybersecurity job opportunities out there, you can advance your career from one field to another by learning and doing certain certifications. In contrast to healthcare, law, and other regulated industries, cybersecurity experts don’t have to register before they start to work. Having a bachelor’s degree in computer science with knowledge of cybersecurity and ethical hacking is often enough.
There Will Always Be New Things To Learn
It’s true. As new code is developed and new hacking skills outlined, there will always be something for those in cybersecurity. Thats why there are often new learning opportunities for those interested in hacking and the cybersphere. Good hacking conferences can really help the community to learn from each other. At a conference, you can make sure you’re learning from someone who actually knows their stuff instead of someone whose sat behind a keyboard who doesn’t have a clue. It’s hard to find reputable hacking conferences, but checking the term hacking conference 2023 should bring up upcoming conferences that you can attend. The beauty of cybersecurity is that it’s a space that’s constantly evolving. That’s why these hacking conferences are so fun. You’re always going to learn something new.
Self Employment
There are hundreds of self-employed cybersecurity experts. As cybersecurity technology is often outsourced and many small organizations can’t afford to build their cybersecurity team up from scratch, self-employed cybersecurity experts are in demand.
Cons of Cyber Security Jobs
Nothing in the world is perfect. There are some cons to a cybersecurity career that can’t be ignored.
Demanding On-Call Hours
A cyberattack is critical and can happen anytime. Cybersecurity experts often rotate shifts and stay on call for weeks. It’s possible that you may never have to encounter night and weekend calls, but you’ll be on the alert all the time. Although most of the time issues are deemed false positives, prevention is a hundred times better than cure when it comes to cybersecurity.
Documentation and Reporting
As with any job, some aspects of your cybersecurity career will seem boring and repetitive. But documentation and reporting of threats and mitigations are absolutely necessary to prevent future attacks.
You Have to Keep Learning
Cyber attackers are always looking for vulnerabilities in systems and networks. You, as a cybersecurity expert, are expected to keep pace with them or even outrun their efforts. With the introduction of Malware as a Service (MaaS) and Ransomware as a Service (RaaS), cybersecurity experts’ jobs have gotten tougher. To match their ill intents, you need to keep learning new industry trends and penetration testing methods for as long as you work in the industry.
Inadequate Resources
As this is a dynamic career and you have to keep learning, you will initially have insufficient resources. You’ll have to keep experiencing failure to attain advanced knowledge in the field of cybersecurity. If a cyber attacker fails, they can try again. But, for a cybersecurity expert, failing means loss of investments and public confidence.
The main problem that cybersecurity professionals face while working for a company is that most managers don’t understand the work of cybersecurity experts and don’t deploy enough resources and funding for them.
The Bottom Line
While cybersecurity experts enjoy lucrative careers from both a monetary and satisfaction perspective, the career also holds responsibilities of higher priority. If you fail to do your job, it is not just your career at risk, but the company itself will have to manage a crisis.
As a cybersecurity expert, you can earn anything between $90,000 to $170,000 depending on your expertise. Advancing in a career in cybersecurity is quite fluid, but needs a lot of persistence and willingness to learn.