Switching careers towards a technical field without any specialized degree or experience is tougher, especially if you are getting started in cybersecurity. As per the report by CyberMagazine, the job openings substantially increased from 1 million in 2013 to 3.5 million in 2024.
This sudden upsurge in vacancies and opportunities in white-hat hacking has made cybersecurity a lucrative option for many career shifters. Most of the seekers might wonder how to get into cyber security without any recognized degree or prior experience.
It is totally possible to kick-start your career in the field of cybersecurity even if your basic requirements are not fulfilled. All it takes is just a bit of effort and sticking to the end of the article to clarify all your doubts.
So let’s assume that your theoretical knowledge in white-hat hacking and cybersecurity management is negligible. In this case, begin with collecting all the knowledge and information related to career opportunities and job descriptions. As a freshman, you are required to pass through various stages, starting with exploration.
Explore various dimensions of cybersecurity to choose a particular skill or path; during this process, gather as much basic information as you can; this will help you in the later stage of your career. As an entry-level, the job opportunities are junior forensic analyst, junior security analyst, junior penetration tester, source code editor, and so on.
You can take your time and discover the depth of information technology and based on that, your next step requires you to pursue the online course.
Once you are clear with all the entry-level opportunities and have chosen the path that aligns with your interests. Hunt for the best online course available or join an institute that has comprehensive guides and a credible degree that is valued among employers.
This is the traditional method for building your career in cybersecurity without any prior experience. A degree is a testament to all your skills inherent throughout the course that assist you in getting a job.
Opting for the best cyber security certifications can easily get you placed in highly reputable organizations. So make sure before you sign up for an online program to look for their reviews or talk to alumni and make informed decisions.
But, not everyone has the resources to access such expensive online courses and get admission to prestigious institutes. Proficiency in cybersecurity can also be achieved through self-training and online videos from YouTube.
Another best way to build your career as an entry-level cybersecurity associate is through self-teaching. This would save you a lot of expenses on purchasing books and paying hefty amounts of tuition fees. There are a variety of YouTube channels available that provide free-of-cost guidance.
You can check out the full cybersecurity course playlist from Simplilearn, and access free certification courses from Udemy, Great Learning, and Coursera. As you continue your path in self-teaching, you’ll come across various doubts and missing gaps in courses. To easily leap over such issues, it is advisable to find yourself a mentor.
Self-teaching in cybersecurity is not as easy as it looks; there are various complicated terms and practical applications that require guidance. Finding a guide that can assist you wholeheartedly is a tough task. Start with building connections through LinkedIn; here’s how to do it:
Make sure to greet them politely and ask for their permission if they’ll be able to guide you with doubts related to how to get into cyber security risk management. Keeping in touch with current field professionals might also assist you in knowing current trends and what exactly an employer is looking for. Keep building your networks and growing your connections; this will help you land an internship or job.
Once you have completed your course and thoroughly understood all the basic concepts and relevant skills, start looking to get hands-on experience. Start hunting for internships as soon as you can, as these will help you secure a full-time job.
You won’t directly get such a highly-accountable job without any prior experience, so get as much as experience you can and diversify your resume.
The path to get into cybersecurity without any degree and prior experience is not as easy as it is stated here. Especially if you are a self-taught candidate, for such a high-accountable field it requires more in-hand experience.
Self-teaching is undeniably a cost-effective method to boost your skills, and it is totally fueled by intrinsic motivation. As a cybersecurity professional, your responsibility is to handle the entire server and mitigate the risks in cyber security. Even a small negligence can impact the workflow of an organization and incur huge losses. This leads to a series of challenges with a self-taught career, those are:
It creates distress among paid workers, ultimately increasing unemployment and decreasing tax revenue for the government, which leads to an ill effect on the economy. Another issue with self-taught candidates is they sometimes miss out on certain skills required to get into cybersecurity. There are certain skills that every cybersecurity professional should be aware of.
A vital cybersecurity expert should be able to handle attack vectors and penetration tests and provide upgrades to strengthen the server networks. Moreover, the expert should be well-versed in risk management and early follow-up action in case of compromise.
Some of the must-have skills for cybersecurity experts are:
Apart from these hard skills, a cybersecurity specialist should also have several soft skills such as effective communication, critical thinking, quick decision-making, the ability to adapt according to dynamic environments, and so on.
Once you have mastered the basic skill set through working on various projects and internships, then you should apply for entry-level jobs in cybersecurity.
Once you are clear with all the relevant skills with how to get into cybersecurity, the opportunities available for entry-level jobs are as follows:
| Job | Job Description | Average Salary |
| Security Analyst | Monitor network and security. Develop strategies to secure sites and servers. Investigate security breaches | $70,000 |
| Security Tester | Monitor server security. Documenting all security issues and reporting them to developers. Perform various white-hat hacking to determine the quality of the site. | $90,000 |
| Forensics Expert | When data is compromised and damaged then a forensic expert comes in place to conduct an investigation. They may also be required to retrieve information and reconstruct damaged servers. | $76,000 |
| Source Code Auditor | The day-to-day task of the source code auditor is to perform daily penetration checks and update the code based on the company’s policy. Investigate breaches and leaks. | $82,000 |
As you gain experience and build your portfolio through these entry-level jobs, you can take a step ahead over time and enter into an advanced level that will pay you much higher.
The average salary of a senior cybersecurity analyst and network security engineer is around $137,000 — $200,000 in the US.
Cybersecurity may hold exciting and enthralling career opportunities, ranging from tester to ethical hacker analyst. Pursuing these career options would’ve been easy with certification courses and a proper degree, but the path becomes arduous without any of it.
The honest answer to how to get into cybersecurity or any other technical field without any certified degree or prior experience is to do self-study. However, the credibility of this method may be questioned by many of the employers without initial hands-on experience.
Attaining early experience by working with a firm and enthralling exposure as much as you can is the best way to get into cyber security.
In the US, entry-level jobs in cybersecurity can get you up to $40,000 to $80,000 annually. Whereas the advanced level gets you anywhere between $90,000 to $180,000 annually.
Penetration testers, security auditors, digital forensic examiners, and cryptographers are some of the easy-level jobs in cybersecurity.
First and foremost, get yourself connected with the experts in the field of cyber security through LinkedIn. Determine what kind of job would be perfect for you and fulfill the requirements for that position.
Surely it will affect your pay scale, but if you have prior experience and achieved high practical skills, then your salary won’t be compromised much.
Self-study and developing your skills with the help of a mentor is the only way to kick-start your career in cybersecurity.
