Learn How To Become A Cybersecurity Specialist – Forbes Advisor


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Cybersecurity specialists perform crucial work in protecting sensitive digital information and communications. These professionals work with public and private employers of all sizes to ensure the safety of data for customers, government entities and healthcare organizations.

This guide offers information on how to become a cybersecurity analyst, along with details on other cybersecurity roles such as information security specialist. If you’re wondering how to get into cybersecurity, read on to explore salaries, job outlooks and available certifications in the field.

What Does a Cybersecurity Specialist Do?

Cybersecurity specialists handle a broad set of technical responsibilities related to safeguarding sensitive digital information and data. Depending on the size of their employer, these cybersecurity experts may work in niche, specialized areas of the field or oversee more general security tasks. They provide ongoing oversight for organizations’ cybersecurity efforts through several methods.

Cybersecurity specialists perform similar work to information security specialists but may focus more on hardware. As experts in cybersecurity, these specialists help to create, analyze and deploy organizational security systems. Cybersecurity specialists test for areas of potential exposure in interconnected computer networks, document their findings and provide solutions for vulnerabilities.

These professionals also educate co-workers on best practices, as breaches may occur accidentally or deliberately by bad actors within their companies. Cybersecurity specialists must remain up to date with changes in the field by researching emerging threats and fixes.

Cybersecurity specialists earn relatively high salaries. Payscale reports an average annual cybersecurity salary of around $97,000, and these wages typically increase with experience.

Cybersecurity specialists can anticipate strong employment growth over the coming decade. For example, The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 32% projected employment…

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