Cyber Security Questions

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice please.

I'm thinking of getting into cyber security as a job career, im currently working already and want to do a career change. Ive got some fundamental IT related qualifications such as level 2 and 3 in Computing one being an A Level. also a Computer Science GCSE and other basic IT Related BTECs from School.

What is the best starter qualifications to have to land a entry role in cyber security?

Ive been looking at doing an Bachelors Degree in Cyber Security, is this worth doing and spending the money to land a job etc?

Also if anyone has any insight on the day to day tasks of being cyber security would appreciate their views on the matter

Do like the idea of Cyber Security but am open to other areas in IT but not too sure where.

Also what are peoples stance on the probability of this career and IT in general being a good long term choice with the current increase in the AI market and other compelling factors.

Looking forward to any replies.

Thank you

Reply 1

iive

Original post by Begls

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice please.
I'm thinking of getting into cyber security as a job career, im currently working already and want to do a career change. Ive got some fundamental IT related qualifications such as level 2 and 3 in Computing one being an A Level. also a Computer Science GCSE and other basic IT Related BTECs from School.
What is the best starter qualifications to have to land a entry role in cyber security?
Ive been looking at doing an Bachelors Degree in Cyber Security, is this worth doing and spending the money to land a job etc?
Also if anyone has any insight on the day to day tasks of being cyber security would appreciate their views on the matter
Do like the idea of Cyber Security but am open to other areas in IT but not too sure where.
Also what are peoples stance on the probability of this career and IT in general being a good long term choice with the current increase in the AI market and other compelling factors.
Looking forward to any replies.
Thank you

Hello, I am looking to enter the industry myself so I'm not sure I can help with some of your latter questions but I'm happy to share some of the advice I have received.

In terms of starter qualifications, I have been recommended to do at least one of the Comptia ones (A+, Network+ and Security+) and companies such as Microsoft and Google also have their own certificates for courses they run as well. I have also been working through the Cisco's Networking Academy Cybersecurity Courses (https://www.netacad.com/catalogs/learn/cybersecurity) and I personally find these more comprehensive compared to some other introductory courses I have been on.

To build your technical/practical skills, I would recommend going on platforms such as TryHackMe and Immersive Labs to get a feel at some of the types of tasks you might be required to do in a day-to-day role.

In regard to a Bachelors Degree, again this is more just my opinion but, if you have the time and the money to invest into the degree then I dont see why not! If you go to an university with a prominent Cybersecurity society then you'll also potentially get access to events and industry talks to help boost your knowledge in the industry. Depending on the university, the content might be more theoretical compared to practical application so that is something to consider. If not, there are alternative pathways such as through boot camps you can do or if this applies to you I believe Code First Girls does 'degree' programmes in partnership with companies that then lead to a role (https://codefirstgirls.com/courses/cfgdegree/#cfgdegreespec)

I would also recommend joining networks like the one below if you want to (https://www.ukcybersecuritycouncil.org.uk/careers-and-learning/cyber-access-network/) The Cyber Access Network is a new initiative launched by the UK's Cyber Security Council to give career changers & students with more opportunities to boost their skillset and there's been a few networking events so far.

I hope this helps! Overall, I think taking what opportunity you can to develop your skillset would be a good start whether that's from taking online course to joining hackathons to completing your own research project 😁

Reply 2

Begls

Thank you for your help. What do you think to the industry? Do you believe it will still be a good strong career for the next 20 odd years with the increasing amount of AI ect?

Reply 3

iive

Original post by Begls

Thank you for your help. What do you think to the industry? Do you believe it will still be a good strong career for the next 20 odd years with the increasing amount of AI ect?

I think AI primarily is (and should be in my opinion) a tool rather than a replacement to human workers. AI-based systems are still fundamentally code that can be 'tricked' and manipulated at the end of the day.

While human behaviour can be universal (and therefore actions can be predictable to a certain extent), I don't think AI will ever truly be able to truly understand the complexities behind the individual's self and the flexibility that comes with it. It cannot fully comprehend the human experience and therefore will always be limited in what it can understand when interpreting human behaviour & the threats inevitably generated by those humans. Plus people and other AI machines will always try to find innovative ways to outsmart AI-based defence systems so having a human on hand may be handy 🤷*♀️

That's my slightly philosophical take to it but keeping in mind that I very much don't see Cybersecurity as just a 'technical problem', which may be the reason behind people's inclination towards AI. You can build the smartest defence system in the world, but fundamentally if people aren't able to interact with those systems safely and securely someone's going to break something. Cybersecurity as an industry is very unlikely to die out, as unfortunately there will always be people with bad intentions in the world so if you're up for the challenge I would say it's worth navigating

(edited 1 month ago)

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