Want a career in cyber security? Explore what that could look like for you

Cybersecurity has many career paths, from breaking into systems (offensive security) to defending organisations from attacks (defensive security).

You don’t need a specific background to start. If you enjoy solving problems, being curious, or understanding how things work, you’ll likely find a role that fits you.

Why get a career in cyber:

• High demand: over 3.5 million unfilled roles.
• Strong salaries: competitive pay even at entry level.
• Constant learning: the field evolves fast.

Are you ready to learn more about some of the leading roles involved in cyber security? Let's begin!

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Detail-Focused, Curious and Love Puzzles

Security analysts are often referred to as the digital defenders of an organisation and sit on the blue team. These people monitor, investigate and respond to activity taking place on an organisation's devices and network, and play a significant role in an organisation's defence.

Using their skills, security analysts investigate and piece together potential security incidents, known as alerts, to decide if further action is needed and respond appropriately.

An example of a potential security incident is an employee who works in the London office who suddenly logs in from another country. An investigation is required to determine if this is legitimate.

Not only that, but security analysts are one of the most in-demand roles within cyber security, offering a long and rewarding career path.

A Typical Day as a Security Analyst Involves:

• Monitoring activity taking place on the devices and network of the organisation.
• Investigating unusual or suspicious activity, such as strange logins.
• Piecing together information to understand what has happened, when, and how.
• Working with other teams to improve the organisation's defences.

Progression

Security Analyst is a broad entry point into defensive security, with many paths to specialise later. You can move into areas like threat hunting, incident response, or malware analysis. Incident responders handle active attacks, while malware analysts examine the tools and code used by attackers.

This role could be for you!

If You Enjoy Problem-Solving and Building Things

At a high level, Security Engineers build and maintain the systems and processes that protect an organisation's network and devices and are known as the architects of cyber security. 

For example, a Security Engineer will be responsible for maintaining an Intrusion Detection System (IDS), which can be considered a security camera within an organisation's digital environment.

Systems like these use a mixture of rules and intelligence to detect and prevent attacks from occurring.

A Typical Day as a Security Engineer Involves:

• Designing and maintaining security systems.
• Keeping up to date with the latest and greatest hacker techniques being used.
• Documenting processes and procedures.
• Assessing risk and making sure systems and applications are protected against vulnerabilities.

Progression

Security engineering is already a specialised defensive role, but you can go even deeper into areas like application security or cloud security. The skills you build here also transfer well into other fields, including offensive security.

This may align with you!

Are You Methodical and Curious?

You may hear penetration testing referred to as “pentesting” or “ethical hacking.” A penetration tester’s job is to check how secure a company’s systems and software are by safely trying to break into them.

They search for weaknesses and vulnerabilities and then test if those can be exploited - just like a real hacker would, but in a safe and controlled way. Everything is done under an agreement between the company and the pentester. This process is known as an engagement. 

The results of these tests help the company understand risks and address problems before real cybercriminals can exploit them.

A Typical Day as a Penetration Tester Involves:

• Testing the security of computer systems, networks, and websites.
• Performing security assessments, audits, and analysing security policies.
• Analysing the results and creating reports, advising an organisation on how to prevent the attack from occurring.

Progression

Penetration testing is a strong starting point for an offensive security career. You can specialise in areas like network or web application testing, and later progress into red teaming, where you simulate full-scale, long-term attacks across an entire organisation, sometimes even involving physical intrusion. Red teaming is a senior, advanced progression from pentesting.

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