How to Start Your Security Specialist Career

Struggles and challenges becomes more difficult if you don’t know where to start. If you graduated from a very promising school, but don’t have the required experience and skills need to land the job, the chances of your resume being viewed by prospective employers might be slim. Information from this article is based from my personal experience and from experiences shared by mentors.

TIME. Time is the most valuable asset you need to spend in order to acquire the necessary learning and skill-sets. Most people I know who got a job spent more than 3 years working in various cyber sectors, which lead them to have the expertise.

MONEY. Yes, money, money and money. Now that you have allotted enough time to learn what it takes, you need decent amount of money to attend a review class then buy your voucher to get certificated.

CERTIFICATION. Why do you need certifications? Your skills will be validated by an institution to accredit your knowledge, experience and expertise.

Below are areas you can start to study and work in/with:

• CompTIA A+
• CompTIA Network +
• MCSA
• MOUS
• Python, Java, html, sql, C, C#
• Linux

What jobs do we need to get involved with in order to acquire necessary skills? You don’t have to start working as System admin, Server admin or firewall admin or anything like that. You can begin your career as a Technical Support Rep for an ISP, Security software vendor, IT helpdesk Tech Support Rep, Salesforce Developer, Database admin, NOS or Network Support and then work your way up and learn as you work and get certified.

Good luck and please post your questions/comments below!