Cyber security jobs with no experience provide gateways to a budding industry. If you have a passion for programming or computer science, you may prepare to enter the field of cyber security (also called “cybersecurity”). Your role will be to protect your clients from hackers and data thieves, as well as establish and maintain their hardware and software security networks.
This job path involves becoming a better hacker than a hacker. This job, therefore, includes extensive programming, software design, network, and even management experience. It often requires higher degrees and industry experience.
However, you may just be getting started in cybersecurity, looking for jobs that require no experience. Consider the options in this brief guide to get started in this lucrative field without experience.
Cyber Security Jobs that Require No Experience
Despite being a lucrative field, cybersecurity positions may not require any experience to attain. Large firms like IBM often hire unskilled cybersecurity staff to test programs and hardware. Sometimes, even extensive video game experience is enough to acquire a low-level position.
Security software developers often don’t need industry experience if they have a portfolio of projects. Companies need secure coding and often value an employee’s coding practices more than their experience.
Penetration testers need communication skills at least as much as being programming savvy. They must create reports that communicate complex information to non-technical personnel. Therefore, industry experience may not be as important to an application as management skills and communication. If you’re looking for cybersecurity jobs that require no experience, look no further than these positions:
- Software/hardware tester
- Security software developer
- Penetration tester
- Entry-level consultant
- Risk analyst
These jobs often favor programming education, management experience, software testing experience, and other skills over industry-specific job history.
Certifications as Replacement Experience
Industry certifications can substitute for experience in higher-demand jobs. This means that with no job experience, you can have your skills examined and certified by well-known industry professionals. These organizations will provide you with training and testing that proves your aptitudes in aspects of cybersecurity.
These certificates are essential to prospective applicants that want to get into this field without prior job experience. Consider one or several of these certification programs as essential first steps to entering this industry:
CompTIA
CompTIA provides several certificates for cybersecurity professionals. These include experience in network management, cryptography, risk assessment, network engineering, and security architecture. Their flagship certificates – Network+ and Security+ — thus tell major firms that your application carries industry-certified expertise, even with no experience.
EC-Council
The EC-Council offers a certificate called “Certified Ethical Hacker.” This follows from the logic that to beat hackers at their data fraud game, you have to be a “better hacker.” This certificate gives IT professionals the chance to prove their security savvy in assessment, analysis, and threat prevention measures.
ISC
The ISC offers the CISSP or Certified Systems Security Professional, which is a certificate for passing common knowledge exams in cybersecurity. This certificate passes as an equivalent to basic industry experience in network engineering, architecture, design, and management. It shows that the applicant has a working knowledge in at least two primary bodies of cybersecurity protocols, though they have yet to acquire real industry experience.
The Takeaway for Applicants
Cyber security jobs with no experience can still be acquired through certification. Applicants need to be aware of their basic skills and knowledge earned through their degrees and test those skills through appropriate professional organizations. Those listed above offer certification programs and exams for new and old cybersecurity professionals to hone their skills and prove their competency to prospective clients.
Today, cybersecurity jobs are in high demand due to the sensitivity of company data. We rely on data storage systems that hold the weight of entire industries. Therefore, companies seek out qualified cybersecurity personnel to build, manage, and refine their security networks. While industry experience certainly gives an application a leg up, the certifications listed above can offer the same or even greater credentials to your application.