Cyber Careers

Cyber Careers Resources

• Interested in cyber, but not sure what a cyber career actually is?
  • Look at the NIST CSF information at the top of the parent page. Depending on how small or large your organization is, you may specialize in a very specific sub-activity, or you may have a broad responsibility across multiple domains. No cyber career is going to be the same - which is part of the fun!
  • To get an idea of the types of cyber activities there are, consider this mind map of what a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) must consider in their organization. What activities sound fun or interesting to you?
  • The demand for cyber talent is very high, and the vacant cyber jobs number in the hundreds of thousands - with demand increasing all the time. There are resources to help you understand the demand for cyber jobs, as well as typical roles & salaries.
  • Engage with your network to learn more! Talk to family & friends who are in the information technology (IT) or cyber field and learn about what they do. Some CAP Senior Members have cyber careers. Alumni from your school may be another valuable resource. Career counselors and recruiters may be another path. The government and the industry are hungry for cyber talent, so there are development opportunities...you just need to find them and take advantage of them!
• Interested in cyber for the military or Federal government?
  • Review the different military options at US Cyber Command.
    • Some services have their own pages for cyber opportunities, including the Air Force, Army, Space Force, and Navy.
  • The intelligence community (IC) is another area recruiting cyber talent, including the DIA, NSA, and CIA.
  • Other agencies are recruiting cyber talent as well, including the FBI and DHS.
  • Even more opportunities are listed on USAJobs, the official US Government jobs site.
• Interested in learning about the different types of cyber certifications?
  • This is a comprehensive chart of the different certs, organized by topic (left to right) and experience level (top to bottom), updated frequently.
  • The military has a list of certifications (DoD 8570 Baseline) that it requires depending on the type of cyber job & the experience level; if you are thinking of cyber in the military, consider prioritizing these certifications in your career.
  • Many intermediate / advanced certifications require an "experience" component before the certification is officially awarded...however you may still be able to take the exam in advance, then accumulate the relevant experience afterwards. Check the specific requirements for certifications you are interested in to see exactly what is required in addition to passing an exam.

Preparing for interviews

• A leading practice to answer behavioral interview questions is the STAR method.
• You can identify a behavioral interview when you hear a prompt like:
  • Tell me about a time when...
  • Give me an example of when...
  • Describe a instance when...
• You can frame your response with STAR:
  • Situation
    • Describe the context & set the scene / background.
  • Task
    • Describe your responsibilities - what needed to be done? What task needed to be accomplished?
  • Action
    • Explain what you did. How did you do it?
  • Result
    • Describe the outcome. If possible, quantify the result. Was the task accomplished? If yes, what was the benefit? If no, what lessons did you learn & how would you approach the task differently next time?
• You don't need to have had a job in order to have STAR examples...think about class projects, community service events, sports teams, even CAP activities. Scenarios that show how you approach and overcome a challenge are the key to behavioral interviews.
• Consider making a list of STAR examples that you have ready to go (consider practicing telling them too). If you are in an interview and have some STAR stories that you know very well and have already practiced, you won't have to try to remember something in the moment!

Last updated: September 2022