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.
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.
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.
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.