Since cyber security is a broad subject area, there are many different paths which you can choose to specialise in within cyber security. It’s worth mentioning that job titles might vary from company to company, however, there are some common roles which we have outlined for you:

  • Cyber security generalist: Jack of all trades for smaller organization. 
  • Network Security Engineer: These people are involved in managing the network security of their company, from firewalls to routers to VPNs. They are usually found in bigger companies. 
  • Cloud Security Engineer: This role is mainly involved in providing security for cloud-based platforms. 
  • Application Security Specialist: These are the people who are involved in protecting applications from threats using a mix of hardware and software skills. 
  • Identity and Access Management Engineer: A sub-field of cybersecurity that mainly focuses on digital identities within an organisation to ensure correct levels of system and prevent unauthorised use.
  • Security architect: These are the people who are involved in designing, building and managing the implementation of network and computer security for a company.
  • Penetration Tester: Penetration Testers are those who get paid to legally hack into software systems to identify vulnerabilities. 
  • Malware/forensics Analyst: These are the people who are involved in digging the malware.
  • Incident Response Analyst: These are the people who responded to any type of security breach and limit the damage.
  • Cryptographer: Here people are involved in encrypting sensitive information to ensure corporate privacy.
  • Security Trainer: Trains employees in security practices.
  • Cyber Security Engineer: Designs, develops and implements network solutions to defend against cyber-threats.

We should mention that there are even more roles available than just what we have highlighted here. What is important to know is that these types of positions will usually require at least one or more cyber security certifications. 

What industries can cyber security professionals work in?

Now that you’ve seen the variety of roles that there are in cyber security; it’s time to understand which sectors you can work in. As a cyber security professional, you could work in industries, such as:

  • Banking Sector – The banking sector always operates in a highly regulatory environment, they usually face threats from cybercriminals.
  • Federal Government – The United States government spends about $28B per year on cybersecurity. In the USA all security personnel must complete cybersecurity certification courses that are approved for DoD 8570/8140.
  • Cybersecurity Law – Lawyers can specialise in information security to handle liability resulting from breaches.
  • Utilities – A cyber security professional is necessary for utilities such as our nation’s water, electricity, and power utilities as a hacker could cut off power to a water plant or a gas refinery.

Once again, just like the number of roles there are for cyber security, there are a lot more sectors which you could also work in as cyber security impacts all.

If you would like to find out more about cyber security and starting your career then get in touch with us today and our team of Course and Career Advisors will guide you through everything.