​Although the cyber market is growing ridiculously fast and would eagerly accept all candidates with a dash of IT experience, not everyone is on the hunt for a standard entry-level role. 

When you’ve been searching for a way to get ahead of the game and tap into the incredible opportunities that this industry has to offer, you’ll need more than some basic knowledge behind you.

Ultimately, any free time you’re willing to dedicate to studying cyber certifications is going to further your career and take you to new and unpredictable heights. 

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The Best Cyber Qualifications to Level Up Your Career

As you’d expect, the majority of advertised cyber jobs want candidates with relevant bachelor’s degrees. However, this isn’t the only certification that recruiters look out for when reviewing applications.

There are a bunch of different courses that you can study at home, including Security+ which is requested in over half a million job postings across LinkedIn, Indeed, and SimplyHired.

1. Beginners 

Just starting out on your career path? These are the certifications we’d recommend to you, giving you the best chance at standing out in the job market.

Google’s Cybersecurity Professional Certificate

Ideal for anyone who is new to cyber, Google’s Cybersecurity Professional Certificate can be taken through the skill development platform Coursera. This means that it is available and accessible to all. Throughout your studies, you’ll learn about different security practices (such as identifying common risks, threats, and vulnerabilities) as well as techniques to mitigate them. Perhaps more importantly, though, you’ll gain hands-on experience with Python, Linux and SQL.

IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate

For anyone wanting to undergo something a little more ambitious, the IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate is an 8-month course that’s perfect for beginners. It involves beginning-to-end training in areas such as analyst tools, threat intelligence and even response forensics. That’s not all. This certification is entirely self-paced, meaning students can learn at their own speed, in their own way. However, in order to make a reasonable amount of progress, we recommend spending 2-4 hours per week studying.

2. Intermediates

Looking to advance along your career path? These are the certifications we’d recommend to you, allowing you to impress your managers and earn that promotion.

Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

We all know that compliance is a big part of cybersecurity. Why not specialise in auditing and take your career to the next level? CISA is a vital credential that’s perfect for any IT professional currently stuck in a mid-level role. It will allow you to break the boundary between being a team member and being a manager, ensuring you score a top-level position within your company.

Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP)

To successfully complete this course, you’ll need experience with IT, architecture and web security. Therefore, it’s recommended that you have at least 5 years of working knowledge in a cloud-computing environment. The CCSP is a highly sought-after (and sometimes necessary) certificate across the entire cyber industry, meaning you’ll see bountiful rewards wherever you should you stick through to the end and graduate.

3. Experts

Ready to move to the final stage of your career? These are the certifications we’d recommend to you, ensuring that you have the knowledge behind you to become an incredible leader.

Advanced Cybersecurity Certificate

This certificate is available online through Stanford University and is suitable for anyone with a lengthy background working in the cyber space. It can help upgrade you from a mid-level role as an analyst to an executive title, setting you up for life. Through your studies, you’ll find yourself creating code, learning about cryptography tools, and assembling a security program from scratch. This certification takes you through a whole lot of in-depth training materials, totalling at least 70 hours of work.

Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)®

Are you looking to advance to a leadership position? You’ll need a CISM certification. With an expected requirement of 5-10 years full-time work experience somewhere in the cyber industry, this course is not for the light-hearted. It gets into the nitty gritty of tactical governance, risk management, and more. If that wasn’t enough to shock you, the exam itself takes four hours… so you need to be dedicated and stubborn.

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Choose Forward Role for Your Job Search

At Forward Role, we connect candidates with exciting and progressive job opportunities that’ll see them to the top of their careers.  We also go to the next level -- providing in-depth and personalised advice for anyone who wants to climb another rung of the ladder but isn’t sure how. Whether you’re an experienced cyber professional searching for your next challenge or a recent graduate who is just starting out, we would love to hear from you! Contact us today.

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