Are you interested in cyber security but worried that you lack the necessary skills, such as a computer science degree, to succeed in the field?
Maybe you can’t afford a traditional degree or have no time to go to school again. Or you wonder if it’s too late to pick up the right skills. Maybe you have every reason to want a better life, and you’re considering a career change, but you’re wondering if it’s worth it.
Slow down. Take a breath. You’ve found the right place for answers. We’ve done all the overthinking for you.
This article will show you the reality of the cyber security skills gap, how valuable certifications and continuing education are, why it’s important to prioritize gaining cyber security experience, and how to get started today.
So, can you get a cyber security job without a degree? Let’s find out.
- The Cyber Security Skills Gap
- The Value of Certifications Over Degrees
- Cyber Security Certification Path
- Provable Skills and Experience Over Degrees
- Gaining Experience and Portfolio Building
- Continuous Learning in Cyber Security
- Networking and Professional Growth
- Accelerating Your Cyber Security Career Without a Degree
- Conclusion: Can You Get a Cyber Security Job Without a Degree?
- Frequently Asked Questions
The Cyber Security Skills Gap
The good news is that you have a much greater advantage in looking for a job in cyber security than in the past.
The cyber security skills gap is the disconnect between what skills organizations want for cyber security management and the skills available on the job market. According to our cyber security job statistics article:
- In 2023, employers had an estimated 4 million extra cyber security positions left unfilled. This labor gap increased by 12.6% compared to 2022.
- 67% of organizations worldwide report a staff shortage, impacting their ability to prevent and troubleshoot cyber security issues.
- Cyber labor shortages are most prevalent in the education and governmental sectors, with 78% of organizations within these sectors reporting cyber security staffing shortages.
There are more job openings than candidates in cyber security, and employers have no time to wait for the perfect candidate to appear.
They find important and urgent cyber security problems to solve everywhere, so they’re becoming less and less particular about checking traditional boxes, such as degrees, other formal education in computer science, and technology-related work experience.
When you feel discouraged, remember that you can help close these gaps in the cyber security job market and make the world safer. That’s one less reason to beat yourself up.
The Value of Certifications Over Degrees
Years of schooling, especially for older folks, may have convinced you that you can only learn new skills in a classroom and through formal education.
Still, the cyber security industry pays special attention to certifications, which demonstrate to employers that you’ve gained a globally standardized set of core abilities.
Industry-recognized cyber security certifications provide proof of competency in a specific specialization, such as exploit development, penetration testing, or digital forensics. Combined with your provable skills, experience, and personal branding, you can obtain such certifications more quickly and cheaply.
Instead of being concerned about tertiary degrees with varying syllabi across different institutions and countries, hiring managers worldwide clearly know the concrete skills you possess when they learn that you have a certain certification.
You’ve proven your capabilities no matter where you pass your cyber security certification exams. That’s why the cyber security field generally values certifications more than degrees, though the emphasis varies by region.
According to the ISACA State of Cyber Security Report 2023, which interviewed 2,178 cyber security professionals, 55% report that their organizations require a degree (Figure 2), though responses vary by geography.
For example, 78% of those responding from Africa indicate that their enterprises require a university degree to fill an entry-level cyber security position. In comparison, only 37% of those responding from Oceania noted that their organizations required a university degree.
Respondents from other geographies fall somewhere in between regarding the university degree requirement: Asia at 62%, Europe at 46%, Latin America at 64%, North America—including the Caribbean and Central America—at 54%, and the Middle East at 67%.
Figure 1 — Confidence in University Degrees: “To what extent do you agree or disagree that recent university graduates in cyber security are well prepared for the cyber security challenges in your organization?”
Figure 2 — University Requirements: “Does your organization typically require a university degree to fill entry-level cyber security positions?”
Do a simple job search in cyber security, and you’ll find many openings mentioning certifications such as Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and Security+. Such mentions are a strong sign of their universal recognition, underscoring the reality that hiring managers know they tie into day-to-day job competencies.
- CEH comes with an official training program, which is mandatory for all candidates unless they meet stringent guidelines and get a waiver.
- CompTIA leaves no room for guessing on Security+ exam topics. You can download the Security+ exam objectives or review our Security+ exam cheat sheet.
- Even at entry-level, many cyber security positions mention the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), an advanced cyber security certification. If you’ve passed this exam before getting relevant work experience, you can tell prospective employers about having passed the exam as an Associate of ISC2 and state your plan to gain the required experience on the job.
Here are examples of job listings naming the certifications needed, which may require you to scroll down the job description:
Cyber Security Certification Path
You’re eager to gain your first certification to boost your cyber security career, but where should you begin?
It depends on how much pre-existing IT knowledge you have. It’s prudent to set aside time to learn cyber security and be aware of the challenges ahead because, as with every other industry, it’s essential to build a solid foundation in cyber security before you can make a living from it.
A typical career pathway involves starting with CompTIA A+ to grasp the basics of computer hardware, software, and operating systems.
Next, you’ll move on to CompTIA Network+ to master networking and network security at an enterprise level.
Afterwards, you take up CompTIA Security+ to learn cyber security best practices and terminology and get hands-on practical experience.
Stage 4 is a fork in the road: whether or not to specialize. It’s time to choose appropriate certifications based on your cyber security career goals. Do you plan to go into consulting and business management or a cyber security specialization?
Suppose you focus on regulation, governance, and auditing, aiming for a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) position. In this case, you’ll pursue the CISSP, Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certifications.
On the other hand, if you intend to work in penetration testing, cloud security, or a security operations center (SOC), you’d do well to earn certification relevant to that particular goal, such as OSCP, AWS Certified Security Specialist, or C|ND.
Here’s a quiz to help you find out what your career goals are:
Provable Skills and Experience Over Degrees
Employers want provable skills and experience more than anything on paper, so you need something tangible to show you’re competent. Industry certifications help you go a long way, but what can you do about meeting experience-related job requirements?
It can be upsetting to see a promising cyber security job advertisement only to learn that it requires two, five, or even ten years of prior experience. It can feel like asking a child to run a marathon when it can barely crawl. We understand you. You’re not the only one feeling like a child here.
Unless your degree program helps create that volume of experience, you’d better spend time creating a portfolio, which you’ll learn about below.
Gaining Experience and Portfolio Building
How can you break into the cyber security industry if you need more relevant experience? The good news is that the required experience isn’t difficult to get.
Hiring managers are open to recruiting people from non-cyber security backgrounds, provided you’ve earned enough IT and cyber security credentials and experience. The key is to start small somewhere and maintain momentum.
- Set up personal cyber security projects. Here are some examples:
- If you can hack Wi-Fi, you can build a lab and write an audit report on securing a wireless network.
- If you can conduct social engineering, you can produce white papers and a text or video blog educating businesses about the dire risks of not adhering to information security processes.
- Thanks to ChatGPT’s popularity, if you can use it or even create your personalized cyber security GPT for hacking, you demonstrate to employers your mastery of cutting-edge technology in addressing cyber security problems.
- Win, win, and win: start gaining cyber security-related achievements in places such as:
- Bug bounty programs
- CTF challenges
- Hacking competitions
- Be active in the cyber security community:
- Blog about your cyber security journey on your website, LinkedIn, or Medium (or write for us).
- Post YouTube videos showing how to hack different devices, apps, and services, or walk through concepts in a certification exam.
- Give and take: become a mentor by answering questions from other cyber security students and professionals via text or video. Remember to ask questions and allow others to help you, too.
- Get a cyber security internship to get close to the action in a real-life cyber security workplace setting—especially if you’re young or already in another degree program.
Continuous Learning in Cyber Security
As the cyber security landscape is ever-changing, every area requires continuous learning and skill development. The modus operandi is online courses and workshops instead of another tertiary degree program.
Focus on gaining and maintaining your cyber security certifications through professional development schemes and courses. For example, at StationX, we offer courses and practice exams for the most popular cyber security certifications.
Networking and Professional Growth
You can gain much wisdom from networking with other cyber security professionals.
Some can show you how to navigate challenges in your studies and work, while others can point you in the right direction regarding a cyber security topic or specialization of interest. Many of them can share their findings and insights, which can inspire you.
When you do the same, they’ll respect you, too. Such give-and-take builds personal branding and helps you gain clout in a highly competitive industry.
Here are some ways to network with people in cyber security and develop personal branding:
- Join conferences. They’re great occasions to get exposed to different topics.
- Listen to experts. They’re passionate about cyber security, and their input can help you stay on top of everything.
- Engage with cyber security professionals on social media platforms such as LinkedIn. Popular hashtags include #cybersecurity and #infosec.
- Publish articles, videos, or podcasts on your journey in learning and applying cyber security concepts in response to questions you find in the field. Remember to include hashtags such as #cybersec and #infosecurity in your posts to help people find you.
- Get mentors. Many competent cyber security professionals are willing to answer your questions. You can also help others on their journey with what you know. Use topical search terms such as “cyber security education,” “cyber security skills,” “cyber security career,” and “cyber security professional” to begin networking.
Accelerating Your Cyber Security Career Without a Degree
Being disciplined, focused, and persistent in doing the right things can go a long way toward helping you get into cyber security without a degree and seamlessly beginning a new chapter in your professional life.
Maybe you want to do everything yourself, but you face many obstacles.
Think of the last time you had a sinking feeling because you were on your own and nothing was working for you. Think of the last time you gave up on something because your willpower failed you.
Before any of that happens, wouldn’t you appreciate it if you could turn to mentors for timely help, get clear and customized career and certification roadmaps, have suitable courses and practice labs curated for you, and find support from a vibrant community rooting for your success?
Our Accelerator program contains all of the above, so you’ll never worry about whether you'll succeed in cyber security. It’s our mission to help you succeed.
Conclusion: Can You Get a Cyber Security Job Without a Degree?
So, can you get a job in cyber security without a degree? We’ve shown you that you can. With the right certifications, experience, portfolio, and network, you can have a career in cyber security without the complexities of getting another college degree.
Let us help you get started today with our Accelerator program.
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