5 Skills that Can Transition into a Cybersecurity Career

Cyber crime is on the rise, and the cybersecurity field has grown accordingly. Computer science professionals are prime candidates to fill the growing need for cybersecurity roles. A background of systems and networking is a great way to gain the experience to work in cybersecurity. And when your professional background is coupled with the right industry certifications, your options grow exponentially. If you have one of these five computer science skill sets – here are potential certification paths that can help you transition into a cybersecurity career.

1. Network Administration

As the professionals that organize, upgrade, and support a computer network, network administrators are often the lynchpin that keep an organization running smoothly. Depending on where you work, this role may also handle aspects of system administration. With the vast majority of companies depending on computers to conduct business, ensuring systems, software, hardware, and other IoT technology is working efficiently is critical.

What you can work toward: A network administrator is well positioned to move into cybersecurity as a security administrator or analyst. Understanding how to maintain a network is a great segue into learning how they are vulnerable. Security analyst and administration roles can then progress to security engineer or auditor.

How you can transition to cybersecurity: Most employers are looking for security analyst candidates with a degree in computer science or computer engineering. If you work as an administrator, it’s likely you have one of these. More technical certifications, such as CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CCNA: Routing and Switching, or Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), are important for staying up to date with industry standards.

2. Network Engineering

Often considered the next step for network administrators, engineers implement, develop, and design a communications network within an organization. Network engineers may also lead a team that implements their design and protocol.

What you can work toward: Network engineers can transition to security architect role. Having a mind for building and maintaining network infrastructure is key to building the secure system that protects them from sophisticated cyber attacks.

How you can transition to cybersecurity: Demonstrate your expertise by earning cybersecurity certifications such as CompTIA Security+, CCNA: Routing and Switching, CCNA: Security.

3. Network Security

The ability to monitor and detect security threats is, at its core, a tenant of cybersecurity. A network security specialist is responsible for installing, administering, and troubleshooting an organization’s network. While cybersecurity tends to focus on attacks from outside an organization’s network, network security focuses on protecting an internal information from within.

What you can work toward: Network security professionals may take on roles as cybersecurity specialists, auditors, or consultants.

How you can transition to cybersecurity: To stand out from other job candidates, certifications such as Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) or CompTIA Network+ are essential.

4. Cryptanalysis

Cryptanalyst is an unforgettable job title, and it’s an indespensible role. It takes an extremely specialized skill set to analyze and decrypt hidden information such as encrypted data, cipher texts, or telecommunications protocols in cryptographic security systems. Cybersecurity is as broad as the industries that rely on cloud-based data (most industries globally). So, security for a biotech company may look vastly different than protocal used at telecommunicaitons organization – which is great for the cryptanalyst role.

What you can work toward: In cybersecurity terms, this role may be called ‘cryptographer’ but would still decrypt encrypted data. Additionally, this skill set could also transition into a ‘white hat’ or ethical hacker position tasked with breaking security protocols to discover their vulnerabilities.

How you can transition to cybersecurity: Employers expect a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, computer science, computer engineering, or a related field. You may also want to look at earning a Certified Encryption Specialist (CES) or Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification to round out your professional tool kit.

5. Digital Forensics

Similar to the forensic scientists that gather and confirm evidence in law enforcement, digital forensic specialists investigate, recover, and assess intelligence/assets stored on digital devices. This role started in the 1970s as computers became more prevelant, and evolved as personal computers grew in popularity. With data moving from physical storage to the cloud, digital forensics can specialize in cybersecurity. With cyber attacks on the rise, many private and public sector organizations call on digital forensic experts after a cyber attack has occurred.

What you can work toward: For digital forensics experts, a career change may not specifically be a change in job title, but a shift in professional specialty. As the expert on analyzing a breach and amassing evidence, the foresenics expert passes their findings on to security analysts and engineers to prevent further attacks.

How you can transition to cybersecurity: A digital forensic expert can transition to more cybersecurity-focused career by gaining some mid-level security certifications. Earning a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) credential is an ideal way to understand and eventually reverse engineer cyber attacks.

There’s no definitive cybersecurity career path, but there are numerous ways to apply your skills to a growing field. Consider what you specialize in, what you want to do, and how you can fill that skills gap. There’s an entire industry waiting for skilled professionals like you.