What course should I do if I want a career change into Cybersecurity or IT?

[sunshineandstarsgirl]

I already have a Psychology degree, but struggling to get a job. I would like to know what it is like to work in cybersecurity and what skills I need?
I enjoy admin a lot.
Thank you.

I saw a course on the website of a local university - cybersecurity online bootcamp- for a couple of months.. Should I give it a go?

What computer science qualifications and skills do you already have?

I know basic Excel and basic Word. That's it.

You’re looking at it backwards.

don’t just do a random course.

find some jobs that you would like and what they ask for. There’s usually an email contact, reach out and start asking questions.

i’m in a related field. Training is entirely on the job- there are aspects to the job that you can’t learn on a course because of the security issues.

Yes, the skills bootcamp would be a great idea:
https://www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/training-choice/skills-bootcamp

Have a look at courses ran by Code First Girls. They run "kickstarters" which will give you a taste of different areas and this should give you an idea of what you're interested in.

They also do a "degree" which is a boot camp which is fantastic - you can apply for jobs through them too (when applying for the degree!)

What about IT Project management? No IT skills needed. It pays well and you can work across lots of sectors.
I have a MSc in Cyber Security and it was hard. No guarantees of a job after unless you know both hardware and software.

https://www.gchq-careers.co.uk/our-careers/technical-roles/computer-network-operations.html?adhoc_referrer=58632710010]]

GCGQ do courses for cyber security.

Have a look on Corsera they do taster courses in all sorts. And it's free. You may find your best job.

Would data science work better? I imagine you'd already have skills in that area.

I have no idea what data science is. Please explain? 😊

Will you please tell me what I would do in IT Project management?

Here's a reasonable description

https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/data-science#:~:text=Data%20science%20combines%20math%20and,decision%20making%20and%20strategic%20planning.

And here's a course

https://onlinecareeraccelerators.ice.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-data-science-career-accelerator?utmdevide=m&utmmterm=data%20science&utmcampaign=GGL%7CCAM-DS%7CUK%7CSEARCH%7CNON-BRAND&utmmsource=adwords&utmmedium=ppc&hsaaacc=1402186800&hsacam=20582884990&hsaagrp=167079542555&hsaad=710471793962&hsaasrc=g&hsatgt=kwd-2506849165&hsaakw=data%20science&hsamt=e&hsaanet=adwords&hsaver=3&gaddsource=1&gbraid=0AAAAABUXGcILhb4rk1jPlTlvNNBWvly36&gclid=CjwKCAiA7Y28BhAnEiwAAdOJUE4kyZp5xkVkIOcwrMvYHUrO1vjYhYEF6duR9NdcUglgj10LM0zmhoCD3oQAvDD_BwE

@sunshineandstarsgirl
I would suggest Agile project management/ Scrum Master. It relies on softer skills not IT knowledge. More helping people to be empowered to do their job. Help them with any problems and make sure they do their job.
Salary wise £50k+ often remote/wfh.
Happy to advise

Working in ‘cyber security’ is quite a broad phrase. And will likely look very different in differing sectors and organisations.

Is it the Manchester uni course you’re looking at? Id just be cautious that they sell you an easy way into a career but if you don’t know what you want to do then it’s hard to say what course is best.

You need to remember a lot of firms outsource their cyber security operations to a third party so most of the jobs are with those companies. Take a look at NCC group for an example. You can see what jobs they have at the moment and the qualifications they require. Some firms will have in house teams that look after elements of information security or cyber security but in my experience it’s usually staffed by people that know the IT systems and networks inside out. I think having an interest and knowledge of IT architecture would be essential as a very minimum.

you could look at apprenticeships in this area. That might be a good way in.

Yes I am looking at the Manchester university course.
I also keep seeing ads for Netcom training - is this a reliable company?
Thank you for replying.

Thank you each and everyone of you for replying. If I choose to work in general IT rather than cybersecurity, what are the entry level job titles / roles?

If you are non-technical but like the idea of working in a Security related field perhaps look at Personnel, Physical or Information Security roles?
Of those, a lot of people start in Personnel Security roles (sometime Security Administrators) and work their way up.

OP - perhaps you could tell us why you are considering jobs in IT or cybersecurity, what your interests are and what your skills are?

Knowing basic Word and Excel are not skills that are particularly relevant to an IT job.

I'd also suggest you need to do a lot of research of your own first to understand the question you actually want answering.
"IT" covers a huge variety of things. It's no good us advising you how to get a job in operations if you want to be an engineer.

Entry level jobs these days are often apprenticeships.

I don't think I would get into an apprenticeship because I already have an undergraduate Psychology degree. IT seems like an interesting job.

Thank you 😊. I will look into what you said.

What do you mean by IT though? It is a broad category with many jobs within it. If you mean something technical then a degree or masters in computer science, computer science is a competitive area and there are many with degrees in this competing for jobs. A few months course isn't going to make you competitive, especially without experience or prior knowledge.

You can do an apprenticeship if you already have a degree.

You say "IT seems like an interesting job". What particular aspect of IT do you find interesting? There is a huge range of jobs in IT.