Cybersecurity Engineer: What's Your Role?

Hundreds of thousands of cybersecurity roles are unfilled.

Yes, we said that first part right.

So which one is your next move? You might consider the role of  a cybersecurity engineer.

What are the job expectations of a cybersecurity engineer?

If you're asking yourself, "what do cybersecurity engineers do, anyway?," we're here to help.

According to the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS), these are a few of the common job duties that this position handles in an organization:

• Create new ways to solve existing production security issues
• Configure and install firewalls and intrusion detection systems
• Perform vulnerability testing, risk analyses, and security assessments
• Develop automation scripts to handle and track incidents
• Investigate intrusion incidents, conduct forensic investigations, and mount incident responses
• Collaborate with colleagues on authentication, authorization and encryption solutions
• Evaluate new technologies and processes that enhance security capabilities
• Test security solutions using industry standard analysis criteria
• Respond to information security issues during each stage of a project's lifecycle
• Define, implement, and maintain corporate security policies

How much do cybersecurity engineers make?

Needless to say, cybersecurity engineers can live very comfortably.

The median salary for this position is over $90,000, more than double the national average. And some experienced cybersecurity engineers make more than $120,000 a year.

Do cybersecurity engineers need a degree?

It's true, many companies are looking for cybersecurity engineers with a bachelor's degree, ideally in cybersecurity or computer science.

Some companies specifically advertise for "entry level" security engineers which gives you a place to start in that role.

Which soft skills help in a cybersecurity engineer role?

There's more to a successful cybersecurity engineer than computers and coding.

It's also a job with interpersonal demands, and people in the role should expect these soft skills to come in handy:

• Complex problem solving
• Creativity
• Strong communication
• Ability to work in a team
• Capable of handling stress

Is a cybersecurity engineering role the perfect new job for you?

Check out more details from NICCS here.

Learning resource: SecureWorld web conferences