Ask HN: Is Cyber Security still a good career path? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Is Cyber Security still a good career path?

3 pointscodetinkerer7 comments

Is it oversaturated? How does the future look for security people?

As I was told at the last security conference I attended, we are all in security. Security isn't getting smaller it's just expanding into every aspect of IT.

Unfortunately our industry has become the go to for job changers and those looking to improve their lot in life quickly. Lost your job at the mill....just learn to program. Can't pass Calc 1, just get your CCNA and become a Sysadmin. Tired of working retail, go to boot camp and in 6 weeks you can be a Cyber Security professional. It's no wonder our wages have receded in the last decade.

Security was never where you started in IT, it's where you ended up. Most people in security have had lengthy careers in different areas of IT like programming or networking before they got into security because security requires a large depth and breath of knowledge to be good at the job. As far as future, who knows, in 10 years we could all be digging in a mine with spoons working for our AI overlords, but my guess is it's not going anywhere.

How do you get into security from other parts of IT without downleveling and having a huge pay cut?

I wanted to get into security, but as a Senior Software Engineer I earn twice as much as I would get as a Junior Security Engineer. Anywhere I tried, they don’t hire into senior positions if you dont have relevant security experience (understandably)

And based on my experience certifications are not enough

I've been a part the security/hacking community for years so some people know me or know me by reputation. I actually wasn't looking for a career change but we had a product that straddled both my area and security so I stepped up and became the SME on that product. Over the course of about 2 years more and more of my concentration went from DC work to security work to where I am now where I'd guess I'm 80% security focus and 20% Data center/disaster recovery -but again DC/DR is security.

good or bad being a software engineer now is top of the heap as far as pay so you can't expect the same amount of money. I was lucky to be able to do a lateral move within my company so no pay cut (actually a small increase). Your best bet in my opinion is to get involved in the community and get a job by referral -it's just easier and you can ask for more money.

In a business there are profit centers and cost centers. Life is better when you work in a profit center. Having worked in security this general rule applies.

I see it expanding. Corporate customers are getting more strict not less about security. Security therefore can be a big unblocker for revenue. In a sense it is security but it is sales too. Like no compliance is no sale, whereas no feature XYZ may be negotiable.

Now add in the hellishly complex cloud environments and k8s, terraform and the like.

It's still an incredibly promising career path! With the increasing reliance on digital technology, the demand for skilled professionals who can safeguard sensitive data is higher than ever. The evolving landscape offers room for specialization, be it in ethical hacking, threat analysis, or security architecture.

Security/secure software engineering - yes

"cyber security analyst" - no

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