To consider retraining in cyber security in my mid thirties?

[32flavours]

I have no experience in this field, but I do have a strong science background and a very logical brain. I currently work part time for myself and have two very young children. I'm craving a challenge though and feel like my brain is stagnating. Is this a completely ridiculous idea?

I moved from healthcare to software/IT. DH is in the field - so had lots of support and had been hobby coding for a few years. I would look at the jobs in your area (unless you don’t mind moving). I had a mortgage and kids, so wanted to keep my location.

Look at the specifications required for the different jobs and look at entry level positions. Then I guess maybe look into how you might be able to pick up those skills. It may be that there are entry level positions in related IT sectors and it might be easier to launch into cyber security from those? (I’m not in cyber security).

my ideal job would be running an animal rescue center
That made me laugh out loud!

Have a look at Hacker High School PDF lessons aimed at teens.

Poke around on Microsoft Auze Fundamentals course and security related ones.

Both free.

Take a look at NIS regulations and GDRP.

NSCS website has lots of information on there.

I think cyber IT will become saturated soon but the operational technology aspect is very interesting and newish.

NCSC

I'm more on the governance side of things rather than actually implementing the IT controls, so focus is on certifications and standards like ISO27001, SOC2, Privacy regulations like GDPR.

My role includes activities like defining the corporate policies, making decisions with the exec team on what certifications we will get, working with the business to develop training/education programmes, identifying what our customers/industry is looking for in security/privacy assurance, what the next moves need to be strategically to be competitive and win contracts.

Privacy is a really quickly expanding area of expertise which links closely to IT security. The EU bought in GDPR in 2018, UK has the Data Protection Act, the US have privacy shield but last year the European Courts deemed Privacy Shield to have inadequate security controls to protect EU data, that's created lots of concern amongst EU companies using suppliers with operations outside the EU. Add in that lots of countries, inspired by GDPR and seeing the impact of data breaches are starting to bring in their own sets of Data Protection legislations, and there is a big demand for Data Protection Officers out there.

Thanks everyone! Will definitely have a look at the resources mentioned. I've done a little bit of coding before in pearl during my masters. But that was several years ago now and I haven't done anything since.

I think it's a really good option. The company I work for have hired a good number of people in the area over the past years.

It's a booming area. The future looks good too when you consider safety, privacy, etc.

Some really good links and resources on here- thank you!