In this era where cyber threats are becoming more prevalent, the need for efficient cybersecurity measures is most important for businesses of all kinds. As technology is advancing at a rapid rate, the ways cyber-attacks are committed are becoming more innovative and sophisticated.
Therefore, organizations need to design and implement a robust cybersecurity solution where identifying threats, their prevention, and steps for a prompt response in case an attack happens, everything should be in place.
Cybersecurity consultants are the experts in this domain who help organizations achieve their cybersecurity goals by providing excellent consultancy services. In this article, let us delve into the world of cybersecurity consultant and explore what they do, what it takes to become one, and what’s their job outlook.
What do Cybersecurity Consultants do?
They are cybersecurity professionals who use their cybersecurity skills and knowledge to protect their client, or organization’s networks, infrastructure, and digital assets. To ensure this, they do security evaluations, and risk assessments, and design security policies to enhance the company’s security.
Cybersecurity consultants are often referred to as information security consultants as well. They may be required to serve clients from across the industries. They can work for cybersecurity organizations that provide security solutions, can work in-house, or as a freelance consultant. They have to perform a wide array of tasks. Let’s understand this in the following categories:
Prevention: This includes preventing unauthorized access to the organization’s network, systems, and data. They also perform vulnerability testing, draw new security protocols to maximize the organization’s security, and configure access rules to the firewall.
Detection: Identification and detection is another important responsibility of cybersecurity consultants. They discover vulnerabilities within IT infrastructure, establish threat analysis schedules, and present reports to clients.
Response: Cybersecurity consultants recognize and provide prompt responses to any kind of cyber-attack happening. This can be done by analyzing breaches and supervising the implementation of security solutions.
What Skills do you need?
Students and professionals looking to make an established career in cybersecurity often aspire to become a cybersecurity consultant. And they often wonder what it takes to become one. So, here are some must-have skills to become a cybersecurity consultant:
Technical Skills
- A sound understanding of various cybersecurity concepts and fundamentals of cybersecurity
- Knowledge of ethical hacking or penetration testing
- Proficiency in programming languages like Python, R, JavaScript, HTML, Golang, etc.
- A strong understanding of different types of operating systems such as MacOS, Windows, Linux, etc.
- Familiarity with proxies, firewalls, load balancers, and other security monitoring tools
- Good knowledge of IT infrastructure and architecture, etc.
Soft Skills
Just like any other job, you need to be good at various soft skills as mentioned below to excel as a cybersecurity consultant job as well.
- Communication
- Critical thinking
- Problem-solving
- Team management
- Adaptability
- Quick thinking ability, etc.
You can master the technical skills with the help of training courses, cybersecurity certifications, online courses, etc. And you can learn soft skills either by taking personality development classes or working on yourself regularly.
Roadmap to Become a Cybersecurity Consultant
Now, here’s a simple roadmap to becoming a cybersecurity consultant by following 5 simple steps:
1. Acquire relevant educational qualification
Cybersecurity is a highly technical field. Therefore, cybersecurity professionals must be good at computer systems, mathematics, and other network-related knowledge.
A study from Burning Glass Institute stated that 44% of cybersecurity consultant jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree. So, it is highly recommended to earn a bachelor’s in cybersecurity or related fields such as Computer Science, or Information Technology. Having a specialized master’s degree or Ph.D. will be an added advantage.
2. Gain relevant skills
The cybersecurity domain is a combination of computer science and network security systems. So, you need to gain the relevant skills before getting into this field. You can gain a majority of cybersecurity skills through boot camps, and top cybersecurity certifications such as Certified Cybersecurity Consultant (CCC™) from the United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI®), or through online video courses.
3. Build a portfolio of practical projects
Employers value a candidate having prior experience. Also, having worked on various cybersecurity projects will help you gain extra confidence. So, after gaining the relevant degree, certifications, and skills, start with some entry-level jobs, and internships, work on self-projects, participate in competitions, etc. Doing these will help you build a strong portfolio of real-world cybersecurity works to showcase to probable employers.
4. Network with Cybersecurity Professionals
Participate in online discussion forums, attend industry meet-ups, and socialize on online professional platforms like LinkedIn. Ensure you network with other established cybersecurity professionals and it will ultimately help open a plethora of job opportunities in the cybersecurity field.
5. Job Hunt
It is the most important thing to do. Even after doing all the things mentioned above, the competition in the cybersecurity market can affect getting the right job quickly. So start job hunting. Do this as your full-time job till you get the desired offer. Apply for as many positions as you can that matches your interest and career goals. You will soon receive the good news from employers.
Job Outlook
With hard work and dedication, you can land your job as a cybersecurity consultant. But is a career in cybersecurity worth considering?
Well, let us have a look at some numbers to get to a conclusion. According to Research and Markets, the global cybersecurity market is expected to reach a market size of $244.4 billion by 2024. And according to Cybersecurity Venture, there will be around 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2025. So, we can imagine the huge opportunity cybersecurity consultants will get in the coming years.
If we look in terms of salary, then according to PayScale, the average salary of a security consultant is $93,862 per annum. So, cybersecurity jobs not only have huge opportunities but they are highly lucrative too.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity is an ever-growing field, and the opportunities in this field are huge. We recommend students and professionals get the right education, skills, and experiences, and then they can easily ace this career path.
