Careers in Cybersecurity

What skills and experience do you need?

There is no single career path that makes someone ideal for a role in cybersecurity, because there are so many types of jobs. Instead, certain skills and personal qualities may make you stand out, depending on the role, including:

• Inquisitiveness, a desire to learn
• A ‘gaming mindset’ – competitiveness, with the ability to defend and a desire to win
• Technical skills and knowledge of multiple disciplines
• Ability to follow procedures while thinking outside the box
• Creative thinking, problem-solving capabilities
• Presentation and negotiation skills
• Being a team player and, for some roles, demonstrable leadership experience.

You do not need a technical or engineering degree for all roles. Other degrees that could make you ideal for a cybersecurity job include psychology, languages and political sciences.

Certifications and training

For some cybersecurity roles, it could be an advantage or may be a requirement to have one or more technical certifications, such as:

• CISSP, CISA, CRISC, SANS, Security+, data privacy and/or specific security standards.

These not only validate your knowledge but also give employers confidence that you can meet security challenges.

To work with some organizations, including some RHEA clients, you will need security clearance because you will be working with restricted information. Having security clearance when you apply can be an advantage, but it is not a mandatory requirement for the right candidates.

At RHEA, we provide the training you need to do your job, whatever skills and experience you start with.