Cybersecurity is a growing threat. Last year, we saw 143 million Americans lost their personal, sensitive information in an Equifax data breach. This year, we saw Facebook allow our personal information to be mined by third party company without our consent or knowledge. In the year of 2016, the US. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) claimed that around 100,000 cybersecurity career job openings were available. With good pay and a high potential for growth rate (The BLS states that the job outlook from 2016 to 2026 will be at 28%, a rate much faster than average), now is the time to invest in a cybersecurity career.
There are many types of cybersecurity careers to choose from. Here is a brief list of the many different jobs you can find within the field.
Security Analyst
A security analyst studies data and assesses potential vulnerable spots in a given systems’ infrastructure. This could be software, hardware, or a network. Seen more broadly, a security analyst is responsible for identifying the root cause of a security breach. Additionally, they must study the information to make sure that a breach does not happen again.
Security Engineer
A security manager, in the context of cybersecurity career placement, is on the same level as a security analyst, ranking-wise. However, a security engineer is the exact opposite of a security analyst. Think of it this way: While a security analyst tries to break the network to find vulnerabilities, the security engineer makes the network in the first place. It is important to note that many cybersecurity career opportunities will combine the roles of security engineer and analyst. Therefore, if you can do both, companies will want to hire you.
Security Architect
If you are a security architect, it is your job to design a security system within a network that can protect your network from DoS attacks and Malware. Additionally, a security architect is responsible for overseeing the effectiveness of said system. A security architect is a management position and a highly regarded cybersecurity career position. They rely on the security analysts to test their systems.
Security Administrator
A security administrator is an entry level position in which the hired administrator installs and manages the security systems. A security administrator does the ground work. For example, a security administrator will trouble shoot security solutions.
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
A Chief Information Security Officer is the top rung of the ladder within the cybersecurity career world. A CISO is responsible for maintaining the entire origination’s vision, strategy, execution, and implementation. The main goal of a CISO is to call the shots on a specific risk management within the company. They make the tough calls, such as where data is located, or what to do when data is compromised. In addition to the many, many technical responsibilities that come with being what is the equivalent of “head of IT security”, the CISO is also responsible for managing the office in the same way any manager would.
Chief Security Officer (CSO)
A CSO, on the other hand, is a senior level executive who must oversee the entire IT department. They work to find new modern solutions in updating their digital management techniques. While a CISO is more explicitly involved in doing technical work, a CSO is often more involved in the business side of security. A CISO and a CSO will often work closely with each other. However, in the case of a smaller company, their job responsibilities will often overlap.
Choose your Cybersecurity Career
It is important to know where your strengths lie when choosing a cybersecurity career. While there are different levels within the corporate ladder to climb, but every single role is essential to protecting information. A CISO needs a security architect to execute his plans. But a security architect needs a security analyst to test their system. Additionally, a security analyst needs a security administrator to install those systems and manage them. A good security plan has every person within their role propping each other up and doing their job well.
Tags: BLS, CISO, CSO, Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity careers, Equifax, Facebook, Security administrator, Security analyst, Security architect, Security engineer
