If you want to find out what the best SOC Analyst Career Path is, you may be in for a surprise. The Cyber Security industry is not very friendly when it comes to fresh college/university graduates mainly because the skills and knowledge they learn there will be irrelevant in the job market by the time they graduate. The way traditional education systems teach and get students to learn also doesn’t naturally align with the Cyber Security industry which is a very non-traditional career path, based on skills, aptitude, and experience.
What are different Cyber Security Courses?
There are quite a few different Cyber Security jobs available, but a lot of them require years of experience as well as knowledge mainly gained from “out of class activities” such as online Capture The Flag (CTF) and Hack The Box (HTB) challenges, something that most traditional and online training providers DO NOT offer to their students.
Some of these online penetration and cybersecurity testing platforms such as Hack The Box will even offer you job applications and opportunities based on how deep you hack and get involved in their platform as it’s often hard to get real-life experience with no experience… ironic right?
The two biggest challenges with learning Cyber Security is speed and experience, something that the traditional education system has always struggled with. Speed is related to how rapidly the environment is changing (hackers are almost always one step ahead of their victims) and experience is all about how up-to-date you are with the latest practices, techniques and methods used offensively and defensively.
Is Uni A good alternative to a cyber security course?
A traditional university degree in Cyber Security most likely won’t cut it unfortunately for the majority of Cyber Security enthusiasts as it’s slow (4+ years), expensive and may not offer real-life experience as part of its package - if you haven’t caught on already, Cyber Security jobs need people who want to get their hands dirty, not sit in a dusty room studying from old textbooks. Their lesson structure as well is often rigid and does not suit the busy lives of military veterans.
Luckily, organisations have since realised the university system sometimes takes too long with cyber security breaches and financial impacts skyrocketing and thousands of cyber security job vacancies globally (training volume can’t keep up with employment volume). This is therefore not a very efficient SOC Career Path and there needs to be an alternative.
These organisations need Cyber Security graduates, have realised the traditional pathways are too slow and irrelevant, and, having learnt their lesson, now come to training providers such as ourselves to employ thousands of Cyber Security Analysts per year (veterans who are eager to help, already have security clearance and have a unique skill set that non-veterans simply can’t offer). They are often seeking those on our SOC Career Path, waiting for them to finish so they can scoop them up!
Alternatives to University - Cyber Security Courses.
To date, our 100-hour online Cyber Security Analyst Course has helped hundreds of our students begin entry-level jobs in Cyber Security in a variety of industries including Government, Military, and International Companies such as Deloitte, Accenture, and PwC. We have a testing suite that can match you to a SOC Career path and get you going for free (if you're a military veteran).
For veterans wanting to learn Cyber Security, our training and job placement is completely free and we currently have over 1,000 entry level Cyber Security jobs available globally. With our course only taking 100 hours to upskill you, you can become Cyber Security job-ready in 12 weeks, through a practical and online learning environment that suits your lifestyle and learning style with one-on-one teacher support.
Online Courses To JumpStart Your SOC Career Path
Our method of training works because our course is constantly updated to keep up to date, our teachers have real-life experience, they openly SHARE this practical experience with students through boot camps, cybersecurity contests such as Hack The Box challenges, and because we are constantly in touch with the world’s largest employers of Cyber Security analysts - governments, military, and large multinationals. Oh, and did I forget to mention that we are run by military veterans?
If you’re still not convinced or we sound too good to be true, I’d highly encourage you to sign up for our free cybersecurity training for veterans or book a call with our veteran success team to find out more! These are the best ways for you to find your SOC Career Path and get on your feet.
If you enjoyed this article and would like to get the word out I'd appreciate you sharing the article!
Alternatively, if you would like to add your thoughts to the discussions please do so below, I will look forward to connecting and engaging with you.
If you'd like to follow this article on Reddit you can do so by clicking on this this text.