If you’re in the market for a job in tech, there’s a good chance you’ve come across cybersecurity roles during your search. In the United States, there are an estimated 700,000 open cybersecurity positions that need to be filled.

There are a couple factors contributing to the current demand for cybersecurity professionals: The Covid pandemic accelerated the digital shift that was already taking place across industries. At the same time, organizations recognize that security breaches cost businesses millions of dollars, making cybersecurity a top priority. Companies need skilled cybersecurity pros to help organizations keep information secure and defend against constantly evolving threats.

Curious what types of careers you can have in cybersecurity? Here, we break down the cybersecurity jobs with the most demand, plus the online courses and paths that will teach you the skills you need to get hired.

Information Security Analyst

Companies today generate huge swaths of data and rely on it to drive business decisions. Naturally, organizations need cybersecurity professionals to keep that data safe.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Information Security Analyst is one of the fastest-growing occupations, and the demand is projected to grow 35% in the next 10 years. Information Security, aka “InfoSec,” is a subset of cybersecurity that involves protecting information and information systems from attacks.

An InfoSec Analyst would be responsible for safeguarding an organization’s data (in any form) from landing in the hands of the wrong people. InfoSec Analysts use a range of methods to protect data, including installing and managing firewalls and developing security standards and best practices.

Security Engineer

There are lots of job openings for Security Engineers, which are essentially developers who build secure systems and software, says Ricki Burke, founder of CyberSec People, a global cybersecurity recruitment and staffing company. Security Engineers assess potential threats to systems, design targeted solutions, and then implement them. Since Security Engineers are developing systems and auditing code, strong coding and scripting skills are a must. Curious which programming languages you should learn if you want to work in cybersecurity? Check out this list of programming languages that cybersecurity professionals use the most.

A Security Engineer’s role tends to be collaborative, so it’s a good fit for someone who likes to work in a team environment. They also need problem-solving skills and the ability to work in high-pressure situations.

GRC Specialist

GRC is short for “governance, risk, and compliance.” GRC Specialists are the people who establish and uphold an organization’s security frameworks, policies, and guidelines that protect an environment. Companies look for GRC professionals who have knowledge of a particular sector, and can understand how international, federal, and state laws and regulations for security affect the industry at a high-level, Ricki says.

GRC Specialists might use threat intelligence techniques to continuously gather and process data that could point to possible attacks in the future. Good to know: Cybersecurity professionals who work in the GRC domain often use data science and machine learning techniques to parse through data more efficiently.

Penetration Tester

Penetration Testers, also known as “pentesters” or “ethical hackers,” help organizations identify their vulnerabilities by attempting to breach their cybersecurity defenses — in other words, they’re hackers who use their skills for good. According to survey data from CyberSeek, Penetration and Vulnerability Testers are some of the top job titles requested by employers within the cybersecurity job market.

Pentesters use various techniques that malicious hackers use during a cyber attack, like phishing and social engineering, in order to test systems and identify weaknesses. In our free course Introduction to Ethical Hacking, you’ll get to practice the hacking process as an ethical hacker, and learn about the types of careers you can have as a hacker.

Network Engineer

A network is two or more computers or devices that are linked so they can share information. Network Engineers are one of the top job titles organizations are looking for within the cybersecurity market, according to CyberSeek data.

Network Engineers figure out how to design, set up, and manage the computer networks within an organization. The daily responsibilities of a Network Engineer can include things like installing and configuring equipment like routers and switchers, troubleshooting network issues, and implementing security measures like firewalls, VPNs, and antivirus software.

Since Network Engineers have a hand in hardware and the nitty-gritty network specifics, you need programming and computer science knowledge. When you’re ready to start applying for Network Engineer positions, be sure to review these tips for creating a resume and portfolio that will stand out to recruiters, and practice these Network Engineer interview questions.

Cloud Architect

Cloud computing is an emerging (not to mention lucrative) area within cybersecurity that’s worth having on your radar. More and more organizations rely on cloud computing services — software, analytics, servers, and storage that run over the internet — because the technology enables them to scale quickly. A 2022 survey from ISACA, a professional association for IT, found that cloud computing is one of the top skills employers seek in candidates.

Our course Foundations of Cloud Computing is a platform-agnostic introduction to the foundational skills you need to work in cloud computing. You’ll receive an overview of the types of careers that you can have in cloud computing, plus get to know the drawbacks and advantages of using different deployment models and types of cloud services.

Kickstart your career in cybersecurity

It’s thrilling to think about all of the ways that cybersecurity impacts our lives. If you’re ready to start a career in cybersecurity, you got this! We have lots of cybersecurity courses and paths that will help guide your journey and ultimately land a job.

Not sure where to start? Our beginner-friendly Introduction to Cybersecurity course covers the key concepts of cybersecurity and the various methods (like cryptography, authentication, and authorization) that are used to keep our data secure online. You can also expand your understanding of cybersecurity by learning to identify common cyber attacks in the path Fundamentals of Cybersecurity.

If the idea of ethical hacking gets you excited, you should check out the course Introduction to Ethical Hacking — there are even interactive demos that will put you in the shoes of a hacker. No matter what area of cybersecurity you decide to pursue, it always helps to have programming skills. Be sure to check out our full course catalog, or take our personality quiz to find out which languages match your interests and goals.

Cybersecurity Courses & Tutorials | Codecademy

Cybersecurity is a fast-growing field that addresses the security risks of our increasingly connected digital world. Learn cybersecurity, and you will learn how users, companies, and even governments protect themselves and recover from cyber threats and attacks. Start defending yourself or your orga…

There are an estimated 700,000 open cybersecurity jobs in the United States — and you might have the skills necessary to fill one of them.

As tech continues to transform our lives, more people are needed to defend these technologies and keep up with their advancements, says Okey Obudulu, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Skillsoft, the company that owns Codecademy. “The blatant attacks on companies’ networks have led more and more companies to really get serious around the demand for cybersecurity professionals,” he says.

Cybersecurity is an umbrella term for protecting computer systems, networks, people, and organizations from online threats and bad actors. The roles within a cybersecurity team range from Penetration Testers who hack into an organization’s network to uncover vulnerabilities, to Incident Response Analyst who are essentially detectives who solve crimes with digital data.

A lot of cybersecurity professionals get their start in other technical jobs, like Software Developer or Network Administrator, explains Ricki Burke, founder of CyberSec People, a global cybersecurity recruitment and staffing company. With the right cybersecurity skills on your resume, you can feel confident about breaking into the industry.

Curious which skills cybersecurity recruiters are looking for in job-seekers? Here are the programming languages, technical capabilities, and marketable skills you should know about to get a job in cybersecurity.

Coding

One of the most in-demand cybersecurity jobs is a Security Engineer, which is a programmer who can design secure systems and software, Ricki says. “When I talk to a lot of security companies, their version of a modern security professional can code, they can build, and they can problem-solve through automation,” he says.

The role of a Security Engineer is a lot like a Software Engineer, so coding and scripting knowledge is a must-have, Ricki says. It’s pretty common for developers to pick up some security-specific skills and then transition into the cybersecurity space, he says.

The more technical skills you grasp, the more opportunities you’ll have to contribute across a broader domain, Okey says. If you’re just starting your coding journey and wondering what you should learn, these are the programming languages that are used in cybersecurity:

Feel confident in your coding abilities, but want to know more about cybersecurity? Check out our skill path Fundamentals of Cybersecurity to learn the attack techniques that threat actors use to gain access to computers and systems, and strategies that can protect you.

Threat-hunting

According to Ricki, there are lots of opportunities for jobs within SecOps, which is the term for IT and security teams who work with the security operations center (SOC). “Security operations essentially are like the defenders of the company or organization,” he says. Threat Hunters, for example, are Security Analysts who proactively look for threats in systems. (You can think of Threat Hunters as kind of like security guards at a museum who are always on the lookout for intruders.)

Mature companies with robust cybersecurity teams often hire Threat Hunters to comb sources and accumulate “threat intelligence,” Ricki says. These people need to know how to gather intelligence and analyze it using techniques like packet-sniffing. In our course Introduction to Ethical Hacking, you’ll learn about the tools used in packet-sniffing and get to practice using the network analysis tool TCPDump to perform packet analysis.

In order to be successful in these types of roles, you need to have an in-depth understanding of not only the technology used to find threats, but also how your findings correlate to the industry at large. “Business context is fundamental,” Ricki says. “You can be the best hacker in the world, but if you can’t explain what the vulnerabilities actually mean for business, then it means nothing.”

Automation

Understanding automation can give you a leg up when you’re applying for cybersecurity jobs, because companies rely on automating security tasks (like identity and authentication) as they scale, Ricki says. For example, an organization might want someone who can develop automation APIs that allow them to detect and triage cyber threats faster and more efficiently. You can learn how to build web APIs in our course Create REST APIs with Spring and Java, or take your API skills to the next level with API Development with Swagger and OpenAPI.  

People in cybersecurity use Python to automate lots of tasks, like pentesting and SOC analysis. In a malware analysis, for example, Python can be used to automate the process of searching through files and ports. Want to learn Python? Our Python courses cover everything from machine learning to data analytics.

Risk management

“Cybersecurity is not just technology — it’s more of a risk management function,” Okey says. Organizations need people who can develop best practice standards around security and make sure people are following them. These jobs tend to be less technical, but they’re critical to a company’s safety, Ricki says. You can learn how to create industry-standard cyber resilience policies for individuals and organizations in our course Fundamentals of Cyber Resilience and Risk Management.

Larger companies typically have Governance, Risk, and Compliance (aka “GRC”) specialists within information security teams, Ricki says. These folks are responsible for establishing security frameworks, policies, and guidelines that protect an environment. For example, someone in a GRC role might train team members in specific security protocols, as well as assess the security risk of third-party vendors that an organization wants to use.

In certain sectors, like healthcare or finance, companies are looking for GRC professionals who have backgrounds in the field, because they have a high-level comprehension of the business’ broader needs, Ricki explains. “Say you’re a nurse who wants to become a security person: You know way more than some outsider coming into the business who has never worked in healthcare before,” he says. Don’t hesitate to leverage your past work experience or industry knowledge, because it could help you stand out in a pool of applicants.

Get started in cybersecurity

Whether you’re starting from scratch or hoping to supplement your technical experience, we have lots of cybersecurity courses and paths for you to consider.

In our course Introduction to Cybersecurity, you’ll learn the fundamentals of network security and authentication, plus grasp concepts that you need to protect yourself from common cyber attacks. Then, you can take your knowledge a step further with the path Fundamentals of Cybersecurity, where you’ll learn about basic social engineering techniques like phishing. And you can discover how to think like a hacker with our new course Intro to Ethical Hacking.

When it comes time to apply for cybersecurity jobs, the Cybersecurity Analyst Interview Prep path is great practice for completing scripting challenges and answering cybersecurity interview questions.

Cybersecurity Courses & Tutorials | Codecademy

Cybersecurity is a fast-growing field that addresses the security risks of our increasingly connected digital world. Learn cybersecurity, and you will learn how users, companies, and even governments protect themselves and recover from cyber threats and attacks. Start defending yourself or your orga…