Introduction

Security Consulting is a high-level career for security professionals and can be critical in protecting companies from cyber security threats, and like many IT jobs out there, they are in need of trained candidates to take on these roles. I am providing a content analysis of Job Advertisements being promoted and in my chosen field of career and study. The definition of content analysis that will be set as a guideline for this paper will be the version provided by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, which defines content analysis as “a research tool used to determine the presence of certain words, themes or concepts within some given qualitative data”, and using that data to “quantify and analyze the presence, meanings, and relationships of such” (Content Analysis Method and Examples | Columbia Public Health, 2023). As I am a Cyber Security Major, I want my career to have a focus in

Enterprise Cyber Security. Thus, the type of job I feel will best fulfill my career goal is a role as a Cyber Security Consultant. Cyber Security Consulting involves evaluating organizations’ security posture as well as internal and external attack surfaces so that they can be best prepared for hackers and other threats to protect customers and employee data. Doing this research is important as I may be able to leverage the information and findings to better prepare me for applying for these types of roles as well as knowing what qualifications and experience I need to be suited for this line of work. The main points of analysis I will showcase in this paper are the technical skills that employers and recruiters are looking for, the communication and collaboration skills needed to be able to effectively when working with clients, and what may be any hardships that entry-level candidates would need to overcome. This next section will highlight the job itself and its attributes.

General Job Description and Job Postings Content

As I previously stated, the job I am pursuing after my degree is a cyber security consultant role.

Cyber security consultants have been in high need due to the advancement of technology and increasing complexities and persistence of cyber threats. As reported by the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2023, employment of Security professionals is projected to increase by 33% in the next ten years referenced by Coursera (Staff., 2023). Security consultants’ main purpose is to evaluate an organization’s security infrastructure and ability to conduct incident detection, response, and analysis. They also provide solutions so that organizations can effectively carry out these tasks (Staff., 2023). Attached in this paper are also the job postings from which I sampled my research and where content will be evaluated. Based on these postings as a collective, employers are seeking full-time positions for candidates to fill. Not only that, but I did find the type of work, whether that be remote, on-site, or hybrid, varies between each posting as these companies have different work environments and have separate projects. The job duties in these positions are also quite similar, as they include the Consultant working as a subject expert in cyber security, finding ways to improve the security posture and allow the company to follow security best practices. These jobs also involve talking with customers and meeting deadlines with customers to ensure exceptional customer service. A few of the phrases used that were seen in each of these job postings were “leadership”, “security best practices”, “mitigation”, and “risk management”. Security Consulting jobs are not usually entry level and each of these jobs require between 3-10 years of experience in Security or Information Technology. Not only that, but since these positions are high-level, and the work can be seen as critical, these jobs pay handsomely, with salaries ranging between 70-100k ranges depending on location, company size, and job duties. Next I will dive into the skills and experience necessary for someone like me to be able to operate efficiently in a Cyber Security

Consultant Role.

Experience and Certifications

The most common trend I found within these job advertisements was that experience and skills

were at the top of the list. If you are going to be able to be an expert on your subject matter, in this case Cyber Security, your knowledge base must be not only wide, but still growing. This is due to two things, one of them is cyber security being an ever-evolving industry as new cyber attacks and threat vectors are being discovered every year. The other is due to the specific organization needs. Visualize an organization that specializes in health insurance working with private health information. Their security needs would differ in comparison to a shoe manufacturing company with industry and trade secrets. Thus, an aspiring security consultant needs to create a well-balanced background using real-life work experience, practice labs, and education. Another way to develop as well as show your attributes to employers is through certifications. A guide published by Global Risk Solutions Inc. claims that

Information Technology and Security certifications are “indicators of a consultant’s commitment to their profession, expertise, and adherence to industry standards” (Global Risk Solutions, n.d). Some foundational certifications that are helpful to any entry level Security professional are the CompTIA Security+ and ISC2 security certificate. And as your experience and skills progress, I would recommend the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), as it was the most requested in all four job advertisements. This certification is well liked by employers because of its wide knowledge base and covers a lot about what high-level security professionals face. Not only that, but it requires about 5 years of Information Technology experience before you can take the exam. Next, I will talk about an equally required skill set for you to become a great security consultant: collaboration and customer service.

Communication and Customer Service

Without having strong skills in Customer Service and Collaboration, being a Security Consultant will be increasingly difficult. As most of these jobs require it because you have to convey what you are seeing and what operations you are going to perform. It involves more than simply a conversation, you have to be able to negotiate, establish trust, and actively listen to what your clients’ needs are and meet those needs in the most effective and efficient manner (Institute of Data, n.d). Additionally, customer service is essential when working with clients and customers. Being able to provide just one good customer service experience can have clients running back to you time and time again. Take it from PwC, a well-known consulting firm who published that giving customers a great experience will grow your brand and is the golden standard companies “strive for” (PwC, n.d). Building these skills up through interactions with coworkers, business professionals, and general customers from previous experiences will go a long way in landing that first Security consulting job. With this in mind, I will conclude with the key takeaways from these advertisements and how to apply them into my career development for security consulting.

Conclusion

To sum up the content and findings of this paper, becoming a Security consultant is not an easy career to pursue. Both clients and employers will be looking for candidates with exceptional and crossfunctional experience in Cyber Security, and a strong skill set in technical skills and verifiable certifications. A candidate like me must be able to provide the service of evaluating security postures and infrastructures as well as create, plan, and test solutions tailored to each organization based on their security needs. A cybersecurity candidate must also be personable, trustworthy, and connect with people in a way that allows collaboration and ease of communication between client and consultant. Accomplishing these goals will not be easy. The best way to do so is to take every opportunity to grow your communication as any interaction is beneficial in the long run. And to never stop learning. The more security knowledge you keep up to date with, the more solutions you can provide and stay an expert.

References

Content Analysis Method and Examples | Columbia Public Health. (2023, March 30). Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/research/population health-methods/content-analysis

Staff, C. (2023, November 29). What is a cybersecurity consultant? (And how to become one). Coursera.

Global Risk Solutions. (n.d.). Guide to choosing the right security consultants for your needs. GRS Protection. https://www.grsprotection.com/guide-to-choosing-the-right-security-consultants-for-your needs/#h-assessing-industry-specific-knowledge-and-skills

Institute of Data. (n.d.). Mastering consulting: Essential interpersonal skills for success in cybersecurity. https://www.institutedata.com/us/blog/mastering-consulting-essential-interpersonal-skills-for-success in-cybersecurity/

PwC. (n.d.). Future of customer experience. PwC. https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/library/consumer-intelligence-series/future-of customer-experience.html

Job Advertisements Analyzed:

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Content Analysis of Job Advertisements