I recently got this question:
“Please I want you to share your views briefly on what it takes for people who did not study Computer Science to break into Cybersecurity.”
Breaking Into Cyber Security From a non related field? Say you studied Chemistry, Physics or Biology at undergraduate level and you wish to break into cyber security, so what does it takes? The reality is that Cyber Security career isn’t an entry level career. You can’t just break into cyber security. Getting a job in Cyber Security field requires years of experience in the IT field. So for someone with a degree in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics wanting to break into cyber security, I will advice him/her to first get a Postgraduate Diploma and perhaps a Masters Degree in Cyber Security or Information Technology related fields: Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering etc. A degree looks good on a CV.
Then the next important step is getting a cyber security certification. Comptia certifications makes a good start with starting with the trifecta – Comptia A+, Comptia Network+ and Comptia Security+. After getting Comptia Security+ then you can decide your path. To specialize as Cyber Security Analyst go for Comptia CySA+ and to specialize as a Penetration Tester go for Comptia PenTest+. Alternative to CySA+ is the Cisco Cyber Ops but Cisco certifications are vendor based certifications meaning they seem to be concentrated on their own technologies unlike Comptia Certifications that are vendor neutral. Alternative to PenTest+ is the EC Council CEH – Certified Ethical Hacker and Offensive Security OSCP – Offensive Security Certified Professional. Offensive Security is the most pretigious of the three certifications.
Now that fulfills the educational requirements for a start. Next is getting experience to apply for a job. Most Cyber Security jobs require that applicants have an experience. So how do you get experience? The best option for getting experience in the field is through volunteering. Volunteer as an intern to get the prerequisite hands on experience to help you get your cyber security job.
What’s your view? Please drop a comment below. Thank you.