Cyber Security Careers: Education and Job Training Requirements for a Career in Cyber Security

Published Nov 10, 2009

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Cyber security careers are available in information assurance architecture, engineering, analysis and management. Education levels can range from a certificate or associate degree for cyber security technicians to a bachelor's degree or higher for a cyber security engineers. Job training requirements typically include 3-5 years of information assurance experience.

Cyber Security Career Summary

Cyber security professionals help develop and maintain network and database security applications and aid in information recovery. Some cyber security careers include management, engineering, analysis and research. Jobs are available in public and private sectors, including government agencies, educational institutions, banks and communication companies. Wages differ depending on the specific job title and employer. Information systems security administrators earn a median wage of $102,671, and systems applications security analysts earn $81,463, notes Salary.com.

Education Required to Become a Cyber Security Professional

Cyber security programs are available from undergraduate certificate to doctoral degree levels to accommodate educational requirements for many types of cyber security professionals. Cyber security technicians with professional certifications may only need an information security certificate or associate degree. In contrast, cyber security engineers are generally required to possess a relevant bachelor's degree. College courses in cyber security often include cyber security fundamentals, computer forensics, cryptography, data recovery, Internet security and information systems privacy.

Job Training and Certification Requirements to Become a Cyber Security Professional

Cyber security analyst and technician jobs typically require 3-5 years of information assurance experience, while cyber security architects may need ten years of work experience. Though some employers may prefer professional credentials, there are no required certifications or licenses to work in cyber security. Individuals with at least one year of cyber security experience can pursue Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute's Certified Computer Security Incident Handler award, www.sei.cmu.edu. Cyber security architects, engineers and managers can earn a subject-specific Certified Information Systems Security Professional accreditation, offered by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, www.isc2.org.

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