Cybersecurity specialists earn $6-8 thousand per month working remotely for Western companies. At the same time, 60% of employees independently retrained as penetration testers and security auditors, already knowing the basics of programming. And the remaining 40% became experts by studying free courses online. So, everyone has access to the most promising field today, the unemployment rate, which is zero.
What attracts the field of cybersecurity? For a long time in the West, it was believed that people with disabilities and the elderly could earn money online in three areas:
- Conducting online courses
- Services with apa paper writing
- Organizing their own online business
- Working in administrative positions
- Coordinating the organization’s work
That’s not the truth. Your smartphone can also be a source of cyberbullying. Nobody is safe in the cyber world.
However, each of these areas has drawbacks. To earn money in online learning, you need to have a name, and the competition in the market is enormous. It is not easy to find such a unique selling proposition that will make students from all over the world choose you. As for online stores, there are also disadvantages – e-commerce requires competent targeting and finding the audience and the original product. With the ability to move, it is easier to do. Finally, working as an administrator imposes restrictions on salaries.
At the same time, to start a career in another profession, you will have to get an education – and therefore pay for it. Of course, today, most companies are ready to teach, but the reality is that there is an unspoken age limit in organizations. In turn, to enter the field of cybersecurity, you only need your desire and diligence.
And, of course, a computer on which you will practice and later work. Let’s give an example. One of our heroes – John Farr – is a veteran of the US Army. Having worked for thirty years in telecommunications, he was left without a job during the crisis. He suffered from post-traumatic syndrome. Trying to find a new meaning in life, he enrolled in online courses – and after a year of diligent study, he received a degree in information technology, specializing in cybersecurity. He passed the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certificate, learning how to work with routers and switches. He sent a resume indicating that he was new to the field and ready to learn a lot.
First, John was invited to a three-month internship and offered a job in this field with a salary of $70,000 per year. First as a network and then system administrator, and a few months later, he was already working as a network security auditor. John is satisfied with life and plans to master new heights, checking mobile applications for vulnerabilities.
The next hero of our material – Franz – comes from Germany. The chemical engineer was rejected by employers several times due to minor physical anomalies. One of the HR managers advised him to retrain as a Quality Assurance specialist. Franz took six months of online courses and quickly found a job in a company headquartered in New York. Currently, working remotely, Franz earns $89,000 per year. Introductory courses, without which nowhere. Let’s move on to the practical part. There are several introductory courses that everyone who is thinking about a career in cybersecurity should take. This training is an introduction to the specialty and will give an idea of the industry and provide basic theoretical knowledge. Only after that can you move on to honing your skills.
1. Introduction to Cybersecurity “Introduction to Cybersecurity” is a course developed by the University of Washington in cooperation with edX. During four weeks, students learn from the experience of the Director of the Center for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity. The course includes the following topics: Identifying the players at risk, Understanding the motivation of hackers, Understanding the types of control over the system and users, Describing the differences between the world’s leading organizations working in the field of cybersecurity, Analyzing the difficulties associated with the legality of actions in the area of information security.
2. Introduction to IT and Cybersecurity If you are thinking about a career as a system administrator, network engineer, or penetration tester and also want to work in the field of instant incident response and forensic computer expertise (forensics), the course “Introduction to IT and Cybersecurity,” developed by Cybrary IT, will suit you. The training is designed for entry-level professionals and lasts 1 hour and 40 minutes. After completing the course, students are certified, but to access the classes, you must register an account on the site.
3. Mobile App Security Training Mobile application security is a hot topic. Only the lazy do not talk about smartphone application developers stealing personal data and reselling it to marketing agencies and third parties. There are also known facts that many mobile applications have SDK trackers and sensors, called Mobile App Security Training Mobile app security is a hot topic. Only the lazy do not talk about the fact that through a smartphone application, developers steal personal data and resell them to marketing agencies and third parties. There are also known facts that many mobile applications have SDK trackers and sensors designed to monitor users’ location. Therefore, searching for vulnerabilities is one of the most important topics for any specialist who plans to connect his life with cybersecurity. As part of the free training on smartphone application security from Cybrary It, you will study the mobile landscape, learn the difference between devices and AppSec specifications, and learn how to work at the so-called entry level.
4. Building a Cybersecurity Toolkit If in the previous courses you learned the theoretical foundations that guide experts in this field, in training “Building a Cybersecurity Toolkit,” you will gain practical skills. The University of Washington has recorded a course designed for six weeks (provided that the student devotes 2-5 hours per week). Here you will gain skills in working with essential tools such as VPNs and firewalls, understand the differences between SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS cloud platforms, and you will be explained what programs are used by security testers and auditors, how to identify system vulnerabilities, what to do with exploits. In general, you will get a decent toolkit, after which you can search for your first job.