How To Become a Cyber Security Analyst Without A Degree

Getting a Bachelor’s in Cybersecurity could help you land your first job in the field – but is it the only way? When it comes to tech, recruiters care more about experience and abilities than college experience. So, how can you become a cybersecurity analyst without a degree?

Self-learning, doing certifications, and getting field experience is the best way to become a cybersecurity analyst without a degree. Having military experience could also help you get a job in the field. Entry-level IT jobs are also a great way to jumpstart your security career.

Did you know certifications are enough to start your path as an analyst? This career is similar to a trade: what you know and your experience have more weight than your degree. We’ll show you a 9-step guide you can follow to start your career.

Table of Contents

Is College Necessary To Become a Cybersecurity Analyst?
9 Steps To Becoming a Cyber Security Analyst With No Degree
Conclusion

Is College Necessary To Become a Cybersecurity Analyst?

A degree is not necessary to become a cybersecurity analyst. Employers care more about your experience and certifications than anything else. Of course, having a cybersecurity degree wouldn’t hurt, though you could get the same results by having any other tech-related degree.

Then again, how can you get a job without experience if most employers care about experience the most? The best way to overcome that first barrier of entry is to look for an entry-level job, like a help desk position.

At the same time, having military experience could help you get your first cybersecurity job. Simply put, there’s more than one way to become a cybersecurity analyst – and getting a degree is not even the best one.

9 Steps To Becoming a Cyber Security Analyst With No Degree

1. Start Learning About Cybersecurity by Yourself

Experience is the most important thing in IT. Of course, no recruiter will look at your resume if you have no way of proving that experience – but we’ll help you sort that out later.

First, start learning! Visit Reddit, StackExchange, and a few other sites that’ll help you get started with cybersecurity. Those sites will help you answer any questions you already have or will soon have.

You can also download a few books for a better-structured learning path. However, googling is more than enough to start your journey.

2. Try to Apply as Much as You Can (Without Harming Others)

Once you have basic cybersecurity knowledge, you probably learned a few things you can try (like SQL injections). Of course, that means exploiting vulnerabilities – and that’s not something you should do to third parties without their consent.

For that reason, you should search for hacking labs or websites designed for hackers to practice. Capture The Flag competitions are great for practicing your skills too. However, don’t get too excited about CTF since it doesn’t replicate what happens in real life.

3. Do an Introductory Course for Free

After toying around with a few hackable sites or CTF challenges, it’s time to figure out if cybersecurity is a good career for you. Don’t skip the first two steps and jump straight into a free course! Otherwise, you may end up wasting your time.

Here are a few of the best choices for free cybersecurity beginner courses:

PortSwigger Free Courses
CISCO Free Courses
Professor Messer Free Courses

Don’t spend too much time doing courses. Choose the one you like best and finish it. After that, ask yourself if you truly like cybersecurity enough to do it for a living. If that’s the case, it’s time to invest in your future career.

4. Get a Few Certifications To Put In Your Resume

The key to unlocking a cybersecurity job without a degree is getting certifications. Having a few under your belt will show recruiters you know enough to do the job. However, not every certification is the same, and you should focus on making the most out of the right ones.

The best certifications for beginner cybersecurity analysts are:

CompTIA Network+
CompTIA Sec+
Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP)

Make sure you read the requisites for every certification you want. CISSP, CISA, and CISM are frequently talked about (and rightly so) – but they require a few years of experience before taking them, so they’re not for beginners.

5. Participate in Competitions and Open-source Projects

There are hacking competitions and conventions you can join to get more experience and start getting contacts in the industry. Another great way to do the same from home is to join open-source projects.

In other words, get involved with the community! You never know who can help you get a job. At the same time, you’ll enjoy your time helping out if you love cybersecurity.

6. Create a Resume Detailing Everything You’ve Done

It’s time to make a resume. It should detail everything you’ve done so far. Show any certification you got or project you participated in. Add any IT experience if you have it.

Your cybersecurity resume should have the following:

Personal information
IT Experience
Certification and courses
Programming accolades (including a portfolio link if possible)
Skills (e.g., are you better with malware, social engineering, or something else?)

It’s time to land your first job once your resume is ready.

The cold, hard truth about becoming a cybersecurity analyst without a degree is that you’ll have to start from the bottom. That means looking for a help desk position in a company and climbing the corporate ladder.

Sure, it’s not the most glamorous way to do it – but it’s the best way to become the best in the business. A good cybersecurity analyst knows everything about systems, including who uses them and how.

Use the time you spend in your entry-level position to do advanced courses and certifications until you’re ready to ask for a promotion or jump ship.

8. Switch Jobs Until You Get the One You Want

One of the best ways to advance in your career is to switch jobs. The days of spending 50-odd years in a company and then retiring no longer exist. Technology is too fast-paced for that to happen.

So, what’s the best way to switch jobs when working in tech? Create a LinkedIn and participate in everything that you can. You’ll hear from nobody at first. Soon enough, you’ll have countless job offers come your way daily.

However, you should apply to jobs you want at first to get your career going.

9. Continue Learning and Looking for Opportunities

Becoming a cybersecurity analyst is not a one-and-done task. You have to continue learning throughout your career – because that’s what threat actors are doing.

You probably love cybersecurity if you’ve made it this far, meaning you’ll have no issue spending your time finding out about the latest exploits and news. HackerNews, Reddit, and Twitter are the best places to stay updated in the fast-paced security world.

Continuing to do certifications is also a great idea. Certs like CISSP may not be within your reach when you’re starting out – but will surely be a nice addition to your resume down the line.

Conclusion

You need to learn the craft to become a cybersecurity analyst. In other words, you need real-life experience you can leverage to get your first job. A degree will be beneficial but far from necessary, meaning you don’t need one to become an analyst.