| By Donald Greene If you are a transitioning veteran who likes technology, wants to utilize your military skills, and desires a career with great growth opportunities and strong six-figure earning potential, you should consider cybersecurity. Information security is a $122 billion industry today and is expected to grow to $202 billion by 2021. There were an estimated 313, 000 job openings posted for the 12 months spanning September 2017 to August 2018. And job prospects will remain strong for the foreseeable future. Employers are eager to find talented professionals who have hands-on skills. They favor former military veterans for cybersecurity positions because of their demonstrated discipline, teamwork and integrity. Search for Computer and Tech jobs. I speak from experience. I recently transitioned from the United States Air Force (USAF) with more than 23 years of service to our country. Today, at age 43, I am a Cyber Security Analyst for RBR Technologies, working with the United States Department of Defense.
We outline the steps you need to take to become a cybersecurity specialist and enter a rewarding and exciting career path. Cybersecurity is one of the fastest-growing fields today. As a result, there is a huge skill gap in the cybersecurity industry. This gap has been widening. Organizations report that the shortage of cybersecurity skills has increased in every year since 2016. [1] Similarly, the World Economic Forum indicated in a 2019 report that the U. S. has more than 200, 000 cybersecurity specialist positions that are hard to fill. [2] However, organizations are prioritizing cybersecurity due to an increase in cyber-crime. This leads to our question: How can one take advantage of the situation and become a cybersecurity specialist? First, Identify your desired career path Cybersecurity is a broad field with multiple career paths. You should first identify a suitable career before you join the industry. Various cybersecurity careers have different roles and responsibilities. There are different skills required for different roles.
Your HackerOne profile is a perfect addition to (a substitution of perhaps) your resume. It enables you to showcase security vulnerabilities you've found, how you interacted with the organization, and how you're stacked against other hackers in the community. Perhaps a good example is my own HackerOne profile, where I disclose a lot of security vulnerabilities I've found. Another great example is Frans Rosén's resume on HackerOne. Always be learning There is no human being who knows everything about cybersecurity. Successful people in this industry will know that, so don't ever worry about acknowledging you don't know something. Instead, figure out how you learn best. Knowing how you learn is an indispensable skill that allows you to quickly take in new information and put it in context. Make yourself smarter every day. If you're interested: I also answered a question on Quora about how to get started with hacking, which has a few more hands-on tips. This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Through a holistic cybersecurity approach, you gain enough skills which enable you to anticipate security risks and threats and be proactive in developing new solutions. It further provides you with the knowledge needed to handle cybersecurity incidences as they occur. A holistic program enables you to adapt to technological changes since they significantly impact the cybersecurity landscape. A cybersecurity specialist must be able to apply hands-on experience to adapt to new trends. A holistic cybersecurity program provides such capabilities. Understand the cybersecurity industry It is vital to first understand the industry before embarking on a cybersecurity career. You should: Have an understanding the available cybersecurity jobs Know the training required for each job Understanding the cybersecurity industry plays an integral role in the decision-making process when choosing the field in which to specialize. People sometimes rush into a career only to switch to a different domain.