Five Cybersecurity Careers You Need to Know
This article is the second in a two-part series about cybersecurity written by experts at Girls Who Code, a nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology. Read the first part here.
What if your job were to outsmart hackers, protect people’s private information, and stop cyber criminals before they struck? That’s what people in cybersecurity do every day. Cybersecurity isn’t just one job. There are many careers in cybersecurity, including investigating cybercrimes like a detective, teaching companies how to stay safe online, designing secure apps and games, and even working with the government to protect national secrets. For some of these careers, you don’t need to be a programmer. Some tech skills help, but the people who are really good at this work are creative problem-solvers who can think like the bad guys, work well with others, and explain complicated stuff in ways that anyone can understand.
Because the field of cybersecurity is growing rapidly, it needs more skilled professionals. Whether you love solving puzzles, protecting people, teaching others, or outsmarting the bad guys, there are lots of job opportunities in cybersecurity. Here are just a few to explore.
Ethical hacker: Hackers are usually people who harm systems and steal information, but ethical hackers do the opposite. They are hackers for good. Companies and organizations hire ethical hackers to break into websites, apps, and networks to find security holes before real criminals do. Ethical hackers identify safety issues so companies can make changes to ensure their sites and people’s data are safe.
Cyber investigator: Cyber investigators are like online detectives who help prevent and solve cybercrimes, such as hacking, identity theft, online scams, and threats. They look for warning signs, monitor suspicious digital activity, and study how cybercriminals operate, to stop attacks before they happen. When a cybercrime occurs, they work to determine who - is responsible, what happened, and how to prevent it from happening again. They follow digital clues across the Internet, such as suspicious accounts, messages, websites, server logs, or IP addresses, and might work with companies, schools, governments, or law enforcement to help protect people online.
Game or app security designer: Designers build security features into the games and apps you use every day to do everything from protect your login info to ensure in-app purchases are safe and prevent cheaters from ruining everyone’s fun. These designers think about security from the very beginning when creating an app or game. They might develop encryption for your personal data so hackers can't read it, create secure payment systems to keep your parents’ credit card information safe, or build systems that detect bots or hackers. They also design security that blends seamlessly with the user experience, making an app or game easy to access and play.
Digital forensics expert: When there’s a cybercrime, data breach, or suspicious activity, a digital forensics expert examines computers, phones, tablets, servers, and other digital devices to figure out exactly how the crime or breach was carried out. Using specialized software and tools, they recover deleted files, analyze emails and messages, trace online activity, and uncover hidden or encrypted data. Their job requires strong attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and patience, because even the smallest clue, like a time stamp or a hidden file, can help solve the case.
Cyber teacher or advocate: You can use the cybersecurity skills you learn to help others by becoming an educator. Cyber teachers help people learn to stay safe online and use technology responsibly. Teachers are important in helping others understand topics such as creating strong passwords, recognizing phishing scams, protecting personal information, and avoiding cyber threats. They make tech security concepts easier to understand, so everyone is aware of the risks and solutions.
