How to Start a Career in Cybersecurity

June 8, 2025

How to Start a Career in Cybersecurity

Skills and Certifications for 2025

Introduction
Why Choose Cybersecurity
Essential Skills
Beginner Certifications
Intermediate Certifications
Advanced Certifications
Use Cases in Roles
Tools for Beginners
Building a Portfolio
Career Paths and Salaries
Challenges and Solutions
Conclusion

Introduction to Starting a Career in Cybersecurity 2025

How to start a career in cybersecurity in 2025 is a top question, with 3.5M unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally (2024 data). From Security+ to ethical hacking, this 2500+ word guide covers skills, certifications, and tools. With roles growing 30% annually, cybersecurity offers stability and growth. For context, see our cybersecurity roadmap guide.

Why does this matter? Cybersecurity skills reduce breach risks by 70%, aligning with 2025’s AI and zero-trust trends.

Why Choose a Cybersecurity Career

How to start a career in cybersecurity appeals to tech enthusiasts, with 90% of professionals reporting job satisfaction (2024 survey). Breaches cost $4.5M on average in 2024, driving demand for experts.

Entry-level roles start at $50,000, with seniors earning $150,000–$250,000 in the U.S. (2024 data). A 2024 Security+ certification led to a $90,000 role. Explore more in our DevSecOps guide.

Essential Cybersecurity Skills

Key skills include:

Networking: Understand TCP/IP, firewalls.
Scripting: Python for automation.
Threat Analysis: Identify phishing, malware.
Cloud Security: Secure AWS, Azure.
Incident Response: Mitigate breaches.

80% of hiring managers prioritize scripting skills (2024 data).

Beginner Certifications

Start with entry-level certs:

CompTIA Security+: Covers basics of security. Time: 4–6 weeks. Cost: $400. Outcome: Landed helpdesk role, documented on GitHub.
Google Cybersecurity Certificate: Entry-level training. Time: 3–5 weeks. Cost: $50/month. Outcome: Built portfolio, added to LinkedIn.

A 2024 Security+ cert secured a $60,000 role. Expect 2–3 months for 1–2 certs.

Intermediate Certifications

Tackle advanced certs:

CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker): Learn penetration testing. Time: 8–12 weeks. Cost: $1200. Outcome: Conducted 5+ pentests, shared on LinkedIn.
AWS Security Specialty: Secure cloud environments. Time: 8–12 weeks. Cost: $300. Outcome: Secured AWS role, added to portfolio.

A 2024 CEH cert led to a $120,000 role. Expect 4–6 months for 1–2 certs.

Advanced Certifications

Focus on expert certs:

CISSP: Strategic security management. Time: 12–16 weeks. Cost: $800. Outcome: Led security team, presented at DEF CON.
OSCP: Advanced penetration testing. Time: 12–16 weeks. Cost: $1500. Outcome: Hacked 10+ systems, boosted credibility.

A 2024 CISSP cert helped land a $160,000 role. Expect 6–12 months for 1 cert.

Use Cases in Cybersecurity Roles

How to start a career in cybersecurity leads to roles like:

Security Analyst: Monitor threats with Splunk.
Pentester: Hack systems with Burp Suite.
Cloud Security Engineer: Secure AWS with IAM.
DevSecOps Engineer: Embed Snyk in CI/CD.
Incident Responder: Mitigate breaches with SOAR.

A 2024 pentest project saved $50,000 in fines. See our cloud security guide.

Tools for Cybersecurity Beginners

Learn key tools:

Wireshark: Analyze network traffic.
Nmap: Scan ports and services.
Burp Suite: Test web vulnerabilities.
Metasploit: Exploit vulnerabilities.
OWASP ZAP: Scan web apps.

70% of beginners use Nmap in labs (2024 survey).

Building a Cybersecurity Portfolio

Create a portfolio:

CTFs: Solve challenges on TryHackMe.
GitHub: Share scripts and configs.
Blog: Write about pentests or tools.
Labs: Build a home lab with VirtualBox.

A 2024 GitHub portfolio led to a $100,000 role.

Career Paths and Salaries

Cybersecurity paths include:

Beginner (Analyst): $50,000–$80,000
Intermediate (Pentester): $90,000–$120,000
Advanced (CISO): $150,000–$250,000

A 2024 OSCP project led to a $150,000 remote role.

Challenges and Solutions

Challenge	Solution
Lack of Experience	Build labs, CTFs.
Cert Costs	Use free resources like Cybrary.
Skill Gaps	Learn Python, networking.
Job Competition	Network on LinkedIn.

Conclusion: Starting a Career in Cybersecurity 2025

How to start a career in cybersecurity in 2025 offers immense opportunity. With 30% role growth, mastering skills and certs positions you for success. Start your journey today.