With rising demand in cybersecurity jobs, joining a SOC Analyst training can pave the way to a successful career for network and system administrators.
According to a PWC study, 45% of companies worldwide say they struggle to hire cybersecurity analysts. As a result, the U.S Bureau of Labor’s Statistics claims cybersecurity jobs are the fastest growing job in the United States alone, and will grow by 31% through 2029. With such growing demand, there is no doubt opening up to a cybersecurity career will lead to a secure career with potential high salaries. If you are already familiar with networks and system administration, you have therefore the perfect profile to start a cybersecurity program and become a SOC analyst. Â
What is a SOC Analyst?
The Security Operations Centre (SOC) analyst is the person in charge of monitoring and fighting threats to an organization’s IT infrastructure. The missions of SOC analysts are divided into three categories or tiers.
- Tier 1 SOC analysts are monitoring, managing and configuring security tools for optimal security within an organization. They will be reviewing incidents, evaluating their importance, and escalating them if necessary.
- Tier 2 SOC analysts are next in line to remediate serious attacks flagged by Tier 1. They will assess the importance of the attack and see what systems are affected by it. They will also be collecting data for further analysis and to prevent similar threats.
- Tier 3 SOC analysts are threat hunters, they will be testing the security systems to find breaches and potential weaknesses which could lead to successful attacks. Some Tier 3 analysts will also analyse data to better understand what’s happening before and after cyberattacks.
Alongside SOC Analysts, SOC engineers are responsible for building and maintaining the systems that the analysts use to perform their security checks.
What skills do you need to become a SOC Analyst?
Becoming a SOC Analyst requires attention to details and basic knowledge related to networking, malware analysis, incident response and cyber etiquette. The SOC Analyst will have to be a critical thinker and be able to examine facts and form a judgement. In terms of education, most companies hiring a SOC analyst will be looking for someone who graduated from a bachelor degree in computing science, cybersecurity or a related field.
Experience working as a network or system administrator and being familiar with security policies and programming languages will also be valued by recruiters and will help when joining a SOC 2 security analyst course. A SOC analyst will also need to be able to work closely and effectively with colleagues, to make sure all the team is on the same page, regarding potential threats to the company or organization.
What should you find in a good SOC Analyst training?
A good SOC Analyst training such as the SOC 2 security analyst course will help you secure fundamentals in cybersecurity, giving you the knowledge to understand threats to IT and industrial environments. It will also train you to get a good grasp of the legal and normative context related to IT. Completing the course, you will learn what are the main countermeasures to a vulnerability and how to apply the main security principles.
You will also get to know the main attack and defence tools used in cybersecurity. Generally, the SOC 2 security analyst course trains you to everything you should know to prevent and manage a cybersecurity attack. At Cyber University, which delivers the SOC 2 security analyst course, modules are taught by cybersecurity experts from ISE Systems, one of the best consulting firms in information systems.
Practice and real projects in your security analyst course
When choosing your cybersecurity program, make sure to opt for a course based on practice in which you will face real challenges met by most companies in cybersecurity. At Cyberuniversity, the SOC 2 security analyst course, gives a lot of importance to practice and completion of a real life Build & Run project that will help you understand the security challenges met by real companies and organizations.
The course requires on the job experience in IT and knowledge in Windows and Unix/Linux operating systems and will also enable you to certify skills you gained from previous job experience. To follow the SOC 2 security analyst course you will need to dedicate 8 to 10 hours per week to the course. The course is 100% online, which allows you to follow the course at your own pace and gain certifications while you keep working for your current employer.
Joining a level 2 SOC Analyst course is therefore a flexible solution that will open your career to sought-after cybersecurity jobs and reinforce your profile in front of recruiters. In terms of salary, you can also expect a nice upgrade: according to Glassdoor, in France, a level 2 SOC Analyst can expect €41 000 per year on average.