Hey Cyber Security Experts, I have some questions!

#career #cybersecurity #discuss #help

I am thinking of expanding my knowledge on the field. Based on that thought, I am considering doing a Master.

What should one know, to be able to work on the field? Do you think a Master is a waste of resources(money, time, etc)?

Currently I am a developer, will that help me on that journey?

Thank you!

Top comments (5)

Chapin Bryce • Nov 19 '19 • Edited

Moving from development into Cyber Security makes things life easier on the technical side of things. There are many paths - both in and outside of academia - to get into infosec. Since there is a lot of variety in information security, is there a certain area you are interested in?

Some common areas are (don't let this list limit you):

penetration testing/red teaming
proactive security/blue teaming
investigations (digital forensics/incident response) (also blue teaming)

And some specializations are:

malware reverse engineering
embedded device testing/security
mobile device testing/security
cloud investigations/testing/security
too many to fully list

If you are looking to beef up your resume/get your feet wet, I'd recommend spending some time working on some projects related to the field (similar to recommendations for those looking to transition into a development role). It doesn't have to be a development-related project, but there sure are a lot of needs in info sec and a very active open-source community.

If you are not sure where to start, consider working on a capture the flag (CTF) in the area you are interested in. For the areas you are stuck on, you can usually find a write up that guides you through it or a video walking through it.

Petros Stergioulas • Nov 19 '19

Unfortunately I am not really interested in any specific area, while I don't have a generic knowledge about it.

Thank you for your response!

Chapin Bryce • Nov 20 '19

Of course! I would recommend spending some time on Twitter looking into #InfoSec and #DFIR to see what interests you, there are also a bunch of great books in the field, conference videos on youtube, etc.

I would recommend exploring and a get a sense of what specifically interests you (its okay for it to be multiple areas) before pursuing a degree program. Just my $0.02 :)