Table of Contents
Introduction
In case the assumption didn’t hit the jackpot, and you are a complete beginner, you should read about security+ certification and its job roles first of all.
It’s very possible you won’t be looking for what job roles CySA+ certification could get you if you are an absolute beginner in cybersecurity.
Nonetheless, the content is for everyone, whether novice or professional, you can still read ahead. High five! Let’s briefly talk about the certification in question — CompTIA CySA+
CompTIA claimed CySA+ to be the only professional cybersecurity analyst certification that implements behavioral analytics to devices and networks to detect, combat, and prevent cybersecurity threats by monitoring the security continuously.
Yes, it’s amazing! The question now is (in your voice):
Supposing I go ahead and burn the candle at both ends to pass the CompTIA CySA+ exam, which cybersecurity job can I secure with the CySA+ certification? Check them out below:
The list at a glance
- Application Security Analyst
- Cybersecurity engineer
- Cybersecurity analyst
- Threat hunter
- Threat Intelligence analyst
Application Security Analyst
The job of an application/system security analyst is to examine web applications and security systems by scanning them against likely attacks and vulnerabilities.
These IT professionals perform series of vulnerabilities identification and analysis by carrying out the following operations:
- Look for risks and cybersecurity threats hiding inside an application or a system before the attack is being executed by a perpetrator
- Handle pen-testing services
- Incorporate security standards, tools, and processes into the lifecycle of the product.
- Recommend security measures and develop them to protect information against attacks.
- Manage perimeter security and application framework projects
- Improve application security tools
In order to successfully become an application/security analyst, you should have competency in threat detection, protection, and analysis. Elementary knowledge of HTML, application security, and web development is also essential.
Salary: It certainly varies from one location to another. However, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, application/system security analysts make a median annual salary of $99,730.
Cybersecurity Engineer
Cybersecurity engineers play the role of building and maintaining robust systems with potential security against cyberattacks. Their aim is always to fix and protect the system they build and to stay updated on the release of new technologies that may influence their security system.
The roles they perform include:
- Handle information security problems
- Define, apply, and manage corporate security policies
- Create new solutions to solve existing security problems
- Oversee changes in hardware, software, telecommunications, facilities, and user needs.
- Improve security abilities consistently looking up for new processes and technologies
Some of the skills you’re expected to possess include being able to implement cybersecurity solutions for on-site and cloud systems, ability to evaluate and build cybersecurity operations within an organization’s network.
Salary: According to CyberSeek, the average annual salary for a cybersecurity engineer is $99,000.
Threat Intelligence Analyst
Threat intelligence analysts detect cyber threats and malware. They evaluate the level of threat for cybersecurity businesses to make appropriate decisions. They’re skilled to identify the impacts of threats from one to another, know how to focus effort, and what assets need to be secured.
The role of threat intelligence analysts evolves around three major roles:
- Intelligence research
- Technical research
- Reporting the outcome of research to the necessary bodies
Other activities include;
- Carry out digital forensics
- Find and describe threats to executive and stakeholders in layman’s term
- Analyze blog posts, social media presences, and emails to identify threats that are being posed by perpetrators.
Salary: According to Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insight Jobs, the median advertised annual salary for a threat intelligence analyst is $98,000.
Cybersecurity analyst
Protecting an organization from cyber threats and attacks to a computer network and hardware is an important task which a cybersecurity analyst performs.
To be a cyber-security analyst, you must be willing and able to easily identify attacks and develop solutions to stop such attacks. The job description includes:
- Understand computer IT infrastructure in detail
- Monitor and evaluate threats that can violate network security
- Configure tools and management software to protect network security
- Analyze the tools, Identify and report any unusual change
- Continually test the network to evaluate weakness before the network can be compromised.
- Recommend changes to increase network security
All these may seem a bit overwhelming particularly if you are considering a career switch to cybersecurity but not to worry CompTIA CySA+ is made just for you.
It takes a step-by-step approach from the most basic IT information straight to you being a cybersecurity analyst you can be proud of.
Plus, a CompTIA certificate is highly recognized and valued and will tell your potential employers that you are up to the task.
In addition to the actual job, as a cybersecurity analyst, you should be knowledgeable of some common software vulnerabilities such as:
- Improper handling of errors which may result in system crash
- Sensitive data exposure
- Insufficient logging and monitoring
- Security misconfiguration
- Broken authentication
Cybersecurity analysts may take on a different name depending on the level of the organization. At low-level organizations, it takes the form of an information security analyst or an intrusion detector while at higher-level organizations, a team may be deployed specifically for security and your job as a cybersecurity analyst will be to work with a host of others to protect the security of the organization also called a security operations centre (SOC).
Salary: Cybersecurity analysts averagely earn an annual salary of $96,000, according to CyberSeek.
Threat Hunter
Threat hunting is the act of actively searching for cyber threats before they compromise the security of an organization.
A threat hunter, therefore, is someone or a group of people who are charged with the responsibility of searching for undetected threats before they’re exploited and compromise network security.
This is not an easy task and requires a lot of technical know-how. The responsibilities of a threat hunter include:
- Search and Detect unusual actions that may indicate malicious activity
- Investigate the detected activity to confirm the possibility of an attack
- Communicate relevant information about the attack to the security team
- Analyze collected data to determine vulnerability trends
- Use collected data to eliminate present vulnerability and predict future attacks
When seeking to work as a threat hunter, you’re expected to know how to establish a hypothesis, reduce attack surface areas, bundle critical assets. profile threat activities and their actors, and many more.
To some extent, threat hunter is quite new as a job stand-alone job role, many believe this role to be an extension of cybersecurity analyst role. The main difference is, as a threat hunter, you’re charged with more advanced threat handling that could evade the SOC.
Salary: According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, threat hunters earn a median salary of $99,730 per year.
Closing Thoughts
These job roles are beautiful, their job growth is imminent, plus, they’re highly paid roles. So, you have all reasons to switch your career into any of those, for example, you can decide to be a hunter — a threat hunter. Our study resources here at CompTIA.training could be part of your success stories of becoming CySA+ certified. See how we can help.
