Cyber Security specialists are in charge of protecting digital information and defending computer networks from opportunistic hackers. Your job responsibilities include seeking to build in security during the development stages of software systems, managing and assessing system vulnerability, responding to security threats and attacks, finding the best way to secure an organization's IT infrastructure, building firewalls into network infrastructure, and developing threat prevention strategies. Your responsibilities also include generating regular reports for administrators and executives, identifying the perpetrators and liaising with the police if necessary, installing, configuring, and upgrading security software, and drafting policies and guidelines.
To be considered for the position of a cybersecurity specialist, you must have a bachelor's degree in computer science or STEM subjects and proven experience as a cybersecurity specialist. You should also be familiar with programming and have an analytical mind with excellent problem-solving skills. Your average annual salary is $111,052.
How to Become a Cyber Security Specialist
What is a Cyber Security Specialist
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Cyber Security Specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $46.04 an hour? That's $95,763 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 32% and produce 35,500 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Cyber Security Specialist Do
There are certain skills that many Cyber Security Specialists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Analytical skills, Detail oriented and Problem-solving skills.
How To Become a Cyber Security Specialist
If you're interested in becoming a Cyber Security Specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 55.8% of Cyber Security Specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 13.8% of Cyber Security Specialists have master's degrees. Even though most Cyber Security Specialists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Cyber Security Specialist. When we researched the most common majors for a Cyber Security Specialist, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Cyber Security Specialist resumes include Master's Degree degrees or High School Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Cyber Security Specialist. In fact, many Cyber Security Specialist jobs require experience in a role such as Information Technology Specialist. Meanwhile, many Cyber Security Specialists also have previous career experience in roles such as Systems Administrator or Network Technician.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
And if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Cyber Security Specialist Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of Cyber Security Engineer you might progress to a role such as Senior Security Engineer eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title Senior Director Of Information & Technology.
Cyber Security Specialist Jobs You Might Like
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Cyber Security Specialist
Calculate your salary
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Cyber Security Specialist Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Cyber Security Specialist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Cyber Security Specialist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Find the best Cyber Security Specialist job for you
Cyber Security Specialist Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Cyber Security Specialist Jobs - $128K and Up
- Work From Home Cyber Security Specialist Jobs
- Entry Level Cyber Security Specialist Jobs
- Part Time Cyber Security Specialist Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Cyber Security Specialist Jobs
Top Colleges for Cyber Security Specialists
1. North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC • Private
2. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
3. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Ponce
Mercedita, PR • Private
4. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Bayamon
Bayamon, PR • Private
5. Minnesota State University - Mankato
Mankato, MN • Private
6. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Barranquitas
Barranquitas, PR • Private
7. University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
8. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
9. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Aguadilla
Aguadilla, PR • Private
10. Saint Ambrose University
Davenport, IA • Private
Find the best Cyber Security Specialist job for you
Cyber Security Specialist Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Cyber Security Specialist Jobs - $128K and Up
- Work From Home Cyber Security Specialist Jobs
- Entry Level Cyber Security Specialist Jobs
- Part Time Cyber Security Specialist Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Cyber Security Specialist Jobs
Online Courses For Cyber Security Specialist That You May Like
Learn the basic and vital components of Cyber Security & Cyberspace. In this course you learn cyber security components!...
Volume 2: Network Security, WiFi Security, WiFi Hackers, Firewalls, Wireshark, Secure Networking. + Password Managers...
Learn Cyber Security, build analysis tools with Python, protect systems and web apps from vulnerabilities and more!...
Top Skills For a Cyber Security Specialist
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 13.6% of Cyber Security Specialists listed Cyber on their resume, but soft skills such as Analytical skills and Detail oriented are important as well.
Best States For a Cyber Security Specialist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Cyber Security Specialist. The best states for people in this position are Oregon, Washington, New York, and Delaware. Cyber Security Specialists make the most in Oregon with an average salary of $123,322. Whereas in Washington and New York, they would average $114,620 and $111,715, respectively. While Cyber Security Specialists would only make an average of $107,418 in Delaware, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Washington
$114,620
Avg. Salary
2. Delaware
$107,418
Avg. Salary
3. District of Columbia
$114,684
Avg. Salary
How Do Cyber Security Specialist Rate Their Jobs?
Top Cyber Security Specialist Employers
Cyber Security Specialist Videos
