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The demand for Cyber Security professionals in 2020 is increasing at a rapid rate. There are presently over 500,000 jobs just in the United States alone that go unfilled because there are not enough qualified people to fill the roles. Cyber Security professionals have had a 0% unemployment rate since 2013 and this trend continues into 2020 and beyond. There has never been a better time to get started in the industry. But the challenge for all newcomers to Cyber Security is that it is a profession that can be difficult for entry level candidates. The catch 22 is how do we get started in a profession that seems to require mid career or professional level experience to get started? In this article, I want to provide some tips on how to get started in the industry as well as the four technical skill sets that are the foundation of getting started as a cyber security professional in 2020.
Before I begin, I want to stress that the skills I'll be listing are technical ones but THE SINGLE most important item that you can possess to do well in this industry is a passion and desire to learn technology. Tech changes rapidly and it is a profession that absolutely requires people who enjoy learning new things throughout their career. Some people aren't that excited about having to constantly read articles, learn new things and if that is you, I wouldn't recommend this industry. But, if you like technology and want to constantly learn more about it, this is a fantastic career path for you.
Another myth or misnomer that people may have is that someone may be discouraged to begin because they do not possess a background in Computer Science or Cyber Security in their past. The truth is the industry has roles that are both highly technical and some that deal with people and human interactions. Some deal with the business side of the fence that require a basic understanding of technology but a higher level of knowledge on the corporate side. A basic understanding of technology is needed to help secure it but Cyber Security is a massive field full of specialties that require different skill sets. The vast majority of current Cyber Security Professionals didn't start their careers on that path. Many come from different backgrounds from legal to gardening. The key is that ability and desire to learn and blend the things you do well with this technology component to provide value.
Skill #1 - Server Administration
This skill articulates the managing and configuration of servers. This can be installing operating systems, managing patches, setting up different services and installing applications to those servers. This skill starts by learning an operating systems, be it Linux or Windows. Both are used in Cyber Security but Linux provides a lower barrier to entry as it is free to obtain so I would start there. Linux is prolifically used in Cyber Security and the world in general so this is a skill set that can be highly useful. Windows servers are also used quite prolifically as well and you can get trial versions of Windows Server operating systems to begin testing. Learning how Windows and Linux work are both a huge pillar of Cyber Security as these are the two operating system flavors that dominate the corporate world and provide the most value.
Skill #2 - Computer Networking
Computer networking is the circulatory system of the computer world. It is how the internet keeps the world connected, delivering data from one endpoint to another. Learning networking will help you understand how computers move data. Virtually everyone uses a computer network on a daily basis. If you are reading this article, you are already using multiple networks to view the blog. There are several vendors that provide this type of equipment and learning their hardware is definitely recommended. The big vendor in this space is Cisco but there are others are well including Juniper and Palo Alto. This is the skill set that I started my career with and I highly recommend it as all businesses have to have a network and good networking people are always welcome in the Cyber Security world.
Skill #3 - Programming
Programming is the single most in demand skill in 2020 as this includes both Cyber Security Professionals as well as web developers and application developers. This skill allows for the creation of apps, website and scripts that can provide value, efficiency and automation to a company. There are a ton of different options in this sector as the big question is which computer coding language should I start with? My recommendation is Python as it is reasonably user friendly and can literally be used to do anything. Another good option is Java and C++ which are both more difficult but ubiquitous. Having coding skills is invaluable and highly marketable.
Skill #4 - Cloud Computing
The world has made quite the polarity shift in the past several years to leverage the Cloud more prolifically. It has become a huge skill set that is in desperate need of more qualified professionals. Cloud Computing is really just offloading your computer infrastructure to a third party. The big players in the market are Amazon Web Service, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. The main advantage to doing this is cost savings and access. Having a cloud presence allows multiple office locations a one stop location to house their servers and connect each remote office or data center accordingly. There are security concerns with all of these options from what kind of data you want to put into the cloud versus how you secure all of endpoints in the cloud to how does the parent company control access to all parts of the cloud computing environment. This is a reasonably new field but one that has some huge potential.
My recommendation when getting started with these skills is to start with the basics, which to me are Server Administration and Networking. Learning how servers and networks function is a huge start. A great starting place for learning is YouTube. There are huge volumes of videos and articles online to help teach the basics of Linux or Computer Networking. Our channel on YouTube will begin providing videos in the near future to provide training to get you started so if you are interesting in learning, keep an eye out!
Another fantastic resource is books. There are huge volumes of books that will articulate the basics in very fine detail and can get you started in the right direction
Which of these options interests you the most? What questions do you have about each of these? Let me know in the comments below!
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