According to a report published by The New York Times, it is predicted the jobs for cyber security will see a significant gap of 2 million open positions compared to the 1 million as per the cyber security job statistics of 2014. Predictions further reveal that cyber security jobs will increase up to 3.5 million by the year 2021. And it has resulted in creating an active push to attract individuals to cyber security. 

One of the major fears most cyber security individuals succumb to is that they are afraid to fail when it comes to resolving complex technical problems. Hence, these roles are commonly assumed as more technical than they actually are. But good news, we now have artificial intelligence and machine learning to our expense. These tools of trade have made our life much easier and tasks more simple. 

In fact, cyber security jobs can be an extremely informative and highly rewarding career choice. As a cyber security specialist, you are generally tasked with the following interesting responsibilities: 

• It enables them to build technical strategies, utilize new security tools and implement best techniques in order to secure potential information. 
• They are tasked with the responsibility of running risk analysis and focus on methods that will allow them to mitigate security concerns. 
• It helps them to understand the complex cloud computing architecture in much clarity. 
• It helps them to get familiar with the legal requirements, understand privacy concerns and audit significant processes within the cloud environment
• Get familiar with IT compliance, understand the enterprise integrity in-depth and learn how to establish a secure enterprise IT framework. 

Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Plus, how about having some AI and ML tools at your expense to help. 

Which Cyber Security Jobs are the Best to Consider in 2020?

So which cyber security job roles are the best to take on in the coming year of 2020? 

• Cyber Security Analyst
• Network Security Engineer
• Penetration Tester
• Security Risk Analyst
• Security Developer

How About Becoming a Cyber Security Analyst? 

Who are these guys? Well, Cyber Security Analysts (CSAs) are individuals tasked with the responsibility of playing an important role in protecting the organization against potential cyber threats. These guys work with a variety of techniques and interesting technology which allows them to prevent, detect and manage potential threats that can damage the integrity of the system.

As a CSA, your responsibilities include monitoring network for breaches and overview other types of potential attacks that can damage the integrity of the computer system. You will have to be vigilant enough to study all software-generated security alerts and readily respond/correct security incidents. You will also monitor current threats, understand the latest attacks and what are the vulnerabilities.  

They are usually hired at a security operations center (SOC) and they are paid around £25,000 – £30,000. In case, you are an experienced analyst, you can go up as much as up to £50,000 easily. 

How About Becoming a Network Security Engineer?

These individuals are tasked with the responsibility of running an organisation’s network infrastructure. They have expertise in configuring, deploying and optimising firewalls. They are also tasked with managing the firewall using some of the highly robust networking tools for handling intrusion detection, endpoint detection, and quick query response. They also configure routers, install switches and govern virtual private network (VPN) maintenance. 

Their major responsibility is to understand the networking environment and keep a tap of everything that is entering the system externally. May it be a request, a data file or a simple software download, if it is bypassing the firewall, it is their responsibility to ensure that this piece of information is secure. At the same time, they also have to make sure that they investigate and reduce the volume of cybersecurity alerts. When systems succumb to too many of such alerts, it results in cyber fatigue. 

Network Security Engineers easily get paid a handsome salary worth £45,000. 

How About Becoming a Penetration Tester?

Pentesting is a process of evaluating the security of an application or network by performing automated and manual testing. Penetration testers commonly known as pen testers are individuals who are tasked with the responsibility of identifying security leak holes within a network infrastructure. If you want to become one, it is important that you have a good command of software development, system administration, and understanding the ins and outs of networking. Pen testers usually begin their tasks in some other cyber security jobs and later on, develop their skillset on the way to become a professional pen tester. 

Some organisations demand that pen-testers should be certified ethical hackers. They are required to have some basic understanding of ethical hacking and at least 2-3 years of practical experience. 

It is an interesting job if you are just starting out your career in cyber security. As far as the salary is concerned, a penetration tester can easily get up to £25,000 initially. As you move along the path of development, you eventually see yourself excel and achieve significant experience. An experienced pen-tester can earn something in between £55,000 – £95,000 per month (approx ~ £400 – £500/day). 

How About Becoming a Security Risk Analyst? 

We live in an era where information is much more valuable than gold. As a security risk analyst, you are tasked with the responsibility of tackling high-end security risks and taking over full control of the network. They understand which threats can have a real deterimental impact on your business. Based on these vulnerabilities, they advise the company’s board of directors on an action plan describing how they should spend their budgets. At the same time, it is their responsibility to dictate it all in a non-technical way so the board of directors can understand the risks and threats a company faces. 

They should perform numerous assessments, perform quality assurance checks and study security assessments and audits. They also need to study management information (MI) reporting.

The average salary home takeaway for the Security Risk Analyst is approximately £35,000. 

How About Becoming a Security Developer?

As a developer of the modern era, it is important that you should keep cyber security as of key significance within your development process. And to make sure that your codes work perfectly, you need to employ dedicated Security Developers who can help you build codes that doesn’t fall behind.

As a security developer, you need to focus on evolving the powerful security strategy for your apps. It’s part of your entire business plan and in external cases, it is a part of your job requirements.  

You need to have a strong grasp of programming languages and software development. And you should understand the security principles which are involved in coding. You should also be able to perform threat modeling. The average salary of Security Developer is expected to be £70,000. 

In the End

Are you an individual seeking a career path in cyber security? If you aren’t sure which direction you should choose to follow, it’s a great idea to discuss important things with the people who are already working in the industry. If you can’t decide the right option, why not attend an industry event. It can be a great place to meet new people and have the opportunity to ask interesting questions. 

Do let us know what do you think? Do you have an interest in cyber security? Yes or No? Let us know.