Cybersecurity Engineer: What It Is and How to Become One

Cybercrimes cost companies millions and threaten their survival, according to Chari Henry-Wilson, Rivier University’s director of graduate business programs. Incidents like these demonstrate the vital need for educated, highly trained leaders in cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity engineers are one of the first lines of defense against company data breaches and cyberattacks. These engineers use computer science, math, engineering, and security skills to develop, maintain, and test the defenses of a company’s or government’s computer systems. These engineers are responsible for keeping critical information like consumer data, financial documents, and other sensitive info safe.

Cybersecurity engineers are in demand and critical to improving data security as malware and hacking tools become more advanced. Read on to learn about how to become a cybersecurity engineer by completing a bachelor’s degree program, certification, or bootcamp.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of information security analysts is projected to grow by 32% from 2022-2032, meaning cybersecurity job seekers should have plenty of opportunities. Between 2022 and 2023, the cybersecurity field grew by 8.7% while the need for cybersecurity engineers grew by 12.6%, according to a 2023 study by the cybersecurity certification provider ISC2.

Not only are there many available jobs in cybersecurity — they’re high-paying positions, too. Cybersecurity engineers made an average annual salary of $101,950 as of May 2024, according to Payscale.

Different cybersecurity roles feature different pay ranges. For example, information security analysts — responsible for planning and executing security measures for computer networks and systems — earn a median salary of $120,360, according to the BLS (May 2023).

Pay also differs by industry. Analysts in the information industry made the highest median salary of $133,530 while those working in management, scientific, and technical consulting services had a median pay of $112,140.

Cybersecurity jobs often require a bachelor’s degree to apply, with the most popular degrees being computer science or cybersecurity. If you want to change careers or don’t have a degree related to cybersecurity, you can also learn through bootcamps, self-teaching, and certification courses.

Computer science is one of the most popular majors to pursue if you want to become a cybersecurity engineer. Computer science programs teach you how computers work and how to write computer programs. They also explore various software applications and programming languages. You can choose elective classes and program concentrations to focus on what you want to specialize in.

Typically, taking math and science courses in high school, like calculus, can help prepare you for your first year in your major. If you’re enrolling in a traditional four-year college or university program, it should take roughly four years to graduate.

You can further hone your skills during your time at school by participating in cybersecurity competitions like hackathons, where students try and hack a system within a certain timeframe. You can also get a jump start on work experience through internships in your department or with the help of an academic counselor.

Additionally, some universities offer online cybersecurity degree programs that may cost less than traditional in-person offerings. These programs still typically take four years to complete. You can often enroll on a part-time or full-time basis, with many programs adding asynchronous or accelerated pathways to accommodate online learners.

Beyond a bachelor’s degree, pursuing a master’s degree in cybersecurity can help you earn a higher base salary. Professionals with a BS in cybersecurity earn an average base salary of $77,000, whereas those with an MS in cybersecurity earn $96,000 a year, according to Payscale (May 2024).

While most employers require a relevant bachelor’s degree for a cybersecurity position, getting into the field with a bachelor’s in another field by completing an online cybersecurity bootcamp is still possible.

Bootcamps feature shorter, focused online coursework. Most bootcamps cost $10,000-$15,000, although some start as low as $1,000. They typically take a few weeks to a few months to finish and give you specialized skills without the general education requirements required by traditional degrees.

Bootcamps can teach you essential cybersecurity skills, including:

Pairing bootcamps with other credentials that prove your skills to employers can boost your chances of setting yourself apart from other candidates.

Cybersecurity builds on foundational skills in computer science, like working with different coding languages and operating systems. If you’re interested in learning more about to field but want to avoid paying for a degree or bootcamp, you can find online cybersecurity and computer science courses to get you on the right path:

Some cybersecurity professionals actually prefer experience and certifications to a degree. An ISC2 study found that 70% of professionals said they prefer entry-level cybersecurity experience over cybersecurity bachelor’s degrees for new candidates.

You can also build experience by completing threat-hunting cyber-bounties for money through websites like Hacker One and taking courses to pass certification tests to prove your cybersecurity skills to an employer.

Certifications can set you apart from other applicants by showing proof of skills. Certifications are credentials earned from private companies that are respected in the industry. Some certifications come with test preparation plans, or you can take the exam without the preparation materials.

Cybersecurity certifications often require some work experience. Some are meant to serve entry-level positions, while others go to mid-career and beyond. If you don’t know where to start, Paul Jerimy Media has a roadmap of certifications from entry-level to most advanced to help you determine what area of cybersecurity you want to focus on and the steps to build up to certain ones.

If you attend a college or university, reach out to an advisor or look out for networking events and career fairs to make connections with professionals and prospective employers in the industry. You can also network and find summits and events like the Official Cybersecurity Summit and FutureCon CyberSecurity Events on professional social media sites like LinkedIn.

Job posting sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter offer a wide range of jobs across all fields, but Dice may yield the most impactful results to a prospective cybersecurity engineer. Dice is one of the most common technology job websites where you can search for full-time, part-time, contract, hybrid, remote, or in-person tech careers by companies like Capital One.

If you prefer freelancing or want to gain some experience before applying to a full-time position, you can pursue cyber-bounty websites like Hacker One. Hacker One hosts bounties from companies like Yahoo!, Visa, and REI that challenge cybersecurity engineers to find flaws in their systems for money. The more challenging the exploit, the more money companies typically offer.

If you land the coveted interview, employers may ask you to parse data using a coding technique called Regular Expressions (Regex) to extract information from unstructured data and make that relevant data easily readable. Common questions could include knowing different types of encryption and how they’re used, as well as basic cybersecurity principles.

Once you start your career, you may be assigned to work in “blue team” jobs, which are entry-level positions that are defense-driven positions. You would ensure the system is safe from breaches and control damage fallout after a breach.

Afterwards, you can pursue “red team” jobs — high-level jobs that build on “blue team” skills that go on the offensive. These positions consist of ethical hackers who exploit systems and report findings to companies to protect themselves from exploits.

Tamarcus Person, a senior manager at General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), has some advice he’s gathered throughout his 20-year career in cybersecurity.

You know, when I came into cyber, I had a misconception that it was all about mathematics like it was just numbers and that’s not the case, Person said.

Choosing a career that fits your skills and interests can be daunting. That’s why trying various roles is important.

If you get bored [of a job], don’t get frustrated; don’t look at it as a negative…just move on to something else. That’s why I say trial and error, Person said. Figure out if you really like [this role] or not. If you don’t, move on, but you’re taking that experience with you. That’s the benefit.

Person said that you have to try a little bit of everything to find the career you want to become an expert in.

Just figure out which areas…interest you the most — master that field and build from there. And then, in due time, you’ll be labeled a cyber subject matter expert or SME, Person said.

As a senior manager, Person suggests that candidates should have the right certifications. With certifications like Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), you’re instantly a more attractive candidate to hiring managers. Having the CISSP certification proves that you can design and manage a cybersecurity program.

I went my entire career, literally almost my entire career, without this certification, and that kind of limited me with opportunities, Person said. Certain customers and clients would make this a requirement before you could work on that contract.

Person also recommends CompTIA and Security Plus certifications.

Note: The insights on this page — excluding school descriptions — were reviewed by an independent third party compensated for their time by BestColleges. Page last reviewed April 1, 2024.