Key Takeaways

  • Red Team (Attack): Penetration Testers, Ethical Hackers. They break into systems (legally) to find weaknesses. Very competitive.
  • Blue Team (Defense): SOC Analysts, Incident Responders. They monitor logs, patch systems, and fight off attackers. High demand, great stability.
  • GRC (Governance, Risk, Compliance): The "Lawyers" of security. They handle audits (ISO 27001), policies, and regulations. Less technical, but often pays the most for C-level roles.

You do not need a degree. In this field, skills matter more than paper. If you can hack the box, you get the job.

The Certification Roadmap

1. Beginner (Entry Level)

CompTIA Security+: The standard first step. Teaches you the vocabulary (What is a Firewall? What is PKI?).
Network+: You cannot secure a network if you don't know how IP addresses work.

2. Intermediate (Specialist)

Blue Team: CySA+ (Cybersecurity Analyst).
Red Team: eJPT (Junior Penetration Tester).
Cloud: AWS Certified Security - Specialty.

3. Advanced (Expert)

OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional): The "Gold Standard" for hackers. a 24-hour brutal exam where you must hack 5 machines. If you have this, you are hired.
CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional): Required for Management/CISO roles. very broad, mile wide and inch deep.

Salaries

Entry Level (SOC L1): $60k - $80k.
Mid Level (Pen Tester): $100k - $140k.
Senior (CISO): $200k+.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Do I need to code?
Yes. You don't need to be a Developer, but you need to read Python/Bash scripts to understand exploits. Automation is key.
Where do I practice?
HackTheBox and TryHackMe. Join these sites today. They provide legal, gamified labs to practice hacking.

Start learning today.
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