PenTest+ is for intermediate level cybersecurity professionals who are tasked with penetration testing to manage vulnerabilities on a network. CISA is charged with leading the nation’s strategic and unified work to strengthen the security, resilience, and workforce of the cyber ecosystem to protect critical services and American way of life. CISA’s cyber professionals work to assure the security, resilience and reliability of the nation’s cyber systems. They also lead the effort to protect the federal “.gov” domain of civilian government networks and to collaborate with the private sector – the “.com” domain to increase the security of critical networks. Most recently, CISA was designated as a Quality Services Management Office (QSMO) for cybersecurity services.

Consider earning the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate to develop some of these in-demand skills at your own pace. Your ability to think through what could possibly go wrong, assess the severity of threats, and gauge the potential impact empowers you to focus your energy on the tasks where you’ll have the biggest impact. Project+ gives technical and non-technical professionals the basic concepts to successfully manage small- to medium-sized projects. Security+ provides a global benchmark for best practices in IT network and operational security, one of the fastest-growing fields in IT.

Partner Certifications

An information security analyst would also consider the security of data stored elsewhere, like documents in a filing cabinet or insider knowledge possessed by some employees. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what working as a cybersecurity analyst is like, why you might choose to pursue a career in cybersecurity, and how to get started in this in-demand field. According to a study by the cybersecurity professional organization (ISC)², there are some 3.4 million unfilled positions worldwide [1]. Cybersecurity has to protect an organization from attack, theft, and loss, as well as comply with industry regulations. If you’re working for a company that does business around the globe, familiarity with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) could be beneficial.

But it is considered a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concentration, and familiarity with math will certainly get you farther as you move forward in your career. While you likely already possess some of the skills listed above, developing those you’re less familiar with could make you a more competitive candidate when you start applying for jobs. As an analyst, you may need to communicate technical concepts to individuals without a technical background, such as executives or legal teams. You may also be asked to write incident reports, where you’ll have to document what you did in a concise and clear manner. The difference is that coding is static, whereas scripts can make images and text move around.

Security clearances for cybersecurity jobs

In the federal hiring process, eligibility is based on inclusion in a particular group of people an agency wants to hire. These groups, called hiring paths, include classifications such as current federal employees, veterans, recent graduates, or someone from the general public. While the federal government offers a competitive pay scale (see the General Schedule section below), many people are attracted to government work because of the job security and superior benefits. Layoffs of government workers do happen, but the government is not nearly as susceptible to market forces as are private companies.

Security professionals often calculate risk, which involves using math, statistics, and logic. Finally, cryptography is the science of codes and encryption, and a part of cybersecurity, in which knowledge of math can help decipher and create algorithms for automated reasoning and data processing. As more and more businesses move to cloud environments, professionals with cloud expertise are in demand.

Finding entry-level cybersecurity jobs

The reasons for choosing to work for the federal government rather than private enterprise will vary with each individual. Every job seeker must assess their needs, values, and individual circumstances to determine whether government service is right for them. As with any career, education is a key element of entering the workforce. There cybersecurity specialist courses are many different educational paths that individuals can take to learn the tools of the trade. Individuals interested in pairing passions of law enforcement and technology may find a good fit in a computer forensics career. Computer forensics analysts work directly with both law enforcement and private firms to investigate cases.

Unlike private companies that often need employees only at specific locations, the federal government has job openings in every state and many foreign countries. The State Department alone has embassies or consulates in 180 countries. Most government jobs are based outside of the nations’ capital, Washington, DC. One of the most attractive aspects of working for the federal government is choosing a career that allows you to live in your desired location. Before deciding whether or not to spend money on formal education, these online classes can introduce students to the basics of the cybersecurity field.