As data becomes the new “oil” of the digital era, organizations are making it their top priority to protect this valuable asset. Today, cyber security sits firmly on the meeting agendas of companies and governments amid the rising number of cyber attacks.
This heightened urgency for cyber security has created vast opportunities for those aspiring to start careers in the field. But a lack of clarity on cyber security has discouraged many from entering a field in dire need of talent.
In this article, we demystify the field of cyber security. What skills do you need to start a career in this field? Do you need to be a tech wizard to enter cyber security? Is earning a bachelor’s degree the only way to become a cyber security practitioner?
To answer all that, we sat down with cyber security experts Ashley Mataya and Stephen Heaton from Canada’s leading bootcamp Lighthouse Labs. They offer firsthand insights into what it takes to start a cyber security career.
Top Cyber Security Skills Experts Recommend You Should Have
While a technical skillset is imperative to becoming a cyber security professional, you’ll need more than that to break into the field. Below, we outline the top soft skills you must have to start your cyber security career.
1. Problem-Solving
You’ve probably heard of cyber security likened to a chess game. Much like chess, you’re constantly looking for ways to outsmart the opponent (cyber criminals)—anticipating their moves and developing an adaptable strategy to protect your king or, in this case, your company’s valuable assets. The only difference is that the stakes are definitely higher with cyber security.
For this reason, “anyone who’s a problem-solver is immediately important in cyber security,” shares Ashley Mataya, senior manager of Cyber Security Partnerships for Canadian-based tech bootcamp Lighthouse Labs. To be fair, critical thinking and problem-solving skills are vital to all professions. That said, it’s particularly key in IT security, where you’re constantly challenged to develop swift and practical solutions.
2. Curiosity
A 2018 annual report, titled The Life and Times of Cyber Security Professionals, revealed that “93% of survey respondents agree that cyber security professionals must keep up with their skills or else the organizations they work for will be at a significant disadvantage against cyber attackers.”
“In cyber security, you always need to be willing to learn more because information becomes out of date so fast,” says cyber security analyst Stephen Heaton. Not just that, cybercriminals also continue to evolve, formulating more advanced and sophisticated plans to exploit any vulnerabilities they can find.
3. Team Mindset
Every 11 seconds, a ransomware attack takes place, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. If you’re a lone cyber security practitioner, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of cyber attacks occurring daily. That’s why cyber security is a team effort. Mataya shares: “Nobody is solving problems alone.”
4. Communication
Communication is probably the most overlooked yet one of the most essential skills in cyber security. As a cyber security practitioner, you must be able to communicate risks and strategies not just to your team but also to non-technical folks, mainly business executives. Clarity in communication across departments is key in developing effective response plans.
If you already possess the above skills, cyber security should be right up your alley. Of course, you would still need to equip yourself with the right technical skills to break into the field. This is where a cyber security education comes in.
Enhance your cyber security skills in 12 weeks and get hired with the help of Lighthouse Labs.
Learn more about the program here.How to Get Started in Cyber Security
A lot of misconceptions surround cyber security, two of which are:
- You need a bachelor’s degree to become a cyber security professional, and
- Only the tech genius can break into cyber security.
Lighthouse Labs rebuffs these myths with its Cyber Security Bootcamp program.
You Do Not Need a Degree to Start a Cyber Security Career
Plenty of learning alternatives have cropped up over the years to help you kickstart your career in cyber security. One of these is Lighthouse Labs’ Cyber Security Bootcamp program.
The bootcamp program is an intensive training program that lasts 12 weeks and costs $14,000. That’s a fraction of the time and cost required to complete a four-year Bachelor’s Degree in Cyber Security.
In the process, you’ll learn about fundamental cyber security practices and strategies, including digital forensics, incident handling and response, malware analysis, and white hat hacking. The program also prepares you for industry certification exams like CompTIA Security+ and GSEC.
[See our comprehensive review of Lighthouse Labs’ Cyber Security Bootcamp here.]
You Do Not Need to Be a Tech Wizard to Excel in Cyber Security
As Mataya shares, “Over the past few years, we have seen people—who we might not have seen before—become successful in cyber careers. People from hospitality and retail, for instance, have been excelling in this career transition. We have also seen more and more chefs and prep cooks come into cyber careers and do really well.”
“Many people think only tech-savvy people can get into cyber security,” says Mataya. “Meanwhile, there are lots of different roles in cyber security that one can specialize in based on their interests.”
“For example, if you have the sales acumen, you could work for a company that does cyber security as a service and use your expertise and gift of gab to explain very complex concepts to clients.”
“If you’re a cook or a chef, what’s the common thread? Passion and the ability to assess what’s missing in a dish and identify the right ingredient to make something perfect. We want that in cyber security—someone who can look at a company, assess where they’re at today, and say, ‘These are the things you need to implement for your company to be safe.’”
Put simply, if you have the right core traits, you have a strong chance of building a successful career in cyber security. This is why Lighthouse Labs’ Cyber Security Bootcamp welcomes everyone into the program regardless of their technical experience or skill level.
“We create unicorns in the industry.”
Lighthouse Labs Can Help You Switch Careers Into Cyber Security
Stephen Heaton is a prime example of Lighthouse Labs’ commitment to producing a diverse pool of cyber security talent. “I previously worked as a Tier 1 help technician for an ISP provider. We essentially provided Internet to rural areas, and most of what I did was provide customer technical support,” says Heaton.
“[While working there], the wildest thing happened. We got hit by ransomware. One of our salespeople opened an email, clicked a link, and ransomware ran through our network and knocked us down for a couple of days.”
His firsthand encounter with a cyber attack sparked Heaton’s interest in cyber security, eventually motivating him to enroll in Lighthouse Labs’ Cyber Security Bootcamp.
There, Heaton met instructors and experts with cyber security experience. “There were many people you could just reach out to and pick their brains for questions. They troubleshot with us to try and help guide us to our answers,” he shares.
“My favorite was learning about social engineering. I have obviously witnessed people trying to scam you into giving them information while working in tech support. But it was interesting to see the level of detail and frequency by which they do it—how they spam you over and over again to get you to accidentally click a button or a link you shouldn’t.”
“You think of hackers as people who break into firewalls, and it turns out the vast majority is social engineering…Cause it’s the path of least resistance. It’s way easier to hack a person than a computer.”
After graduating from the bootcamp, Heaton landed a job as a cyber security analyst. “For the most part, I instruct users on social engineering. I test them on things like what a spam email looks like, what an untrustworthy text message or DM looks like—things you should be cautious of. The other part of my job is working on certain apps and ensuring they’re secure.”
“Much of what I learned at Lighthouse Labs applies to my job. But, of course, since it’s tech, you always have to learn more. And it’s one of the things the bootcamp impressed on us: that a new vulnerability or update will come out, and you have to ensure your people and network are safe.”
Technical training is only one part of what Lighthouse Labs does. The other half consists of providing a tailored approach to career services.
Career Services at Lighthouse Labs
According to Mataya, career services at Lighthouse Labs is two-fold. On one end, they simultaneously work with students one-on-one to enhance their job search skills, such as how to ace job interviews, create their personal brand, and optimize their resumes. They also find ways for students to highlight transferable skills that help them stand out.
“Since most of the students who attend Lighthouse Labs come from different backgrounds, we make sure that their transferable skills—what they’ve done for years and years—are highlighted going forward,” shares Mataya. “This is how students become unicorns in the industry. Its their past experience coupled with their new technical skills that truly set them apart.”
On the other end, Lighthouse Labs works with companies across Canada to endorse the entry-level talents who come out of their program. “We work with companies to build out their talent strategy and provide the industry with a pipeline of entry-level talent. Now more than ever, companies are working in partnership with educators to develop talent. We support our students to land great jobs with great companies, and we want them to move up [the career ladder] quickly.”
“Career services at Lighthouse Labs is for life. And we always want people to know that because when they get their first job in cyber security and want to start moving up, it’s important they know that Lighthouse Labs will support them in that next role, and the next role, and the next.”
Get Started on Your Cyber Security Career
“When I first started working in the cyber security talent development space, we did a focus group with a bunch of 12-year-olds and asked them about the careers they’re interested in,” recounts Mataya. “A lot of them said doctor, police officer, or teacher, all of which share the task of helping people.”
“Cyber security does not have the same reputation. People do not automatically think of a cyber career in the same way. We need to change that narrative. We want to ingrain in the minds of people that cyber security is also about that; it’s a career of helping people.”
If you want to be in the business of helping people protect their data, take a look at Lighthouse Labs’ Cyber Security Bootcamp and kickstart your career in IT security.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
