Cyber Might Surprise You
If you think cyber security is exclusively technical, then cyber might surprise you.
If you think cyber security is out of your reach, then cyber might surprise you.
If you think cyber security is a screen full of flashing code, manic keyboard smashing, or “hacking into the firewall”… then guess what? Cyber might surprise you.
And if you think any of these things, then that’s not at all surprising. We have a bit of a problem in the industry, where even the phrase “cyber security” conjures up a whole host of implications and associated meanings, and most of those connotations are inaccurate.
What Does Cyber Security Actually Look Like?
As an industry, cyber security encompasses a huge diversity of people, roles, skills, and opportunities. Rather than imagining the common ‘hacker behind a laptop’ caricature, think of cyber security as an ever-expanding, ever-evolving network of creative, curious, and skilled professionals.
Cyber roles can be highly technical, not very technical at all, or most often, somewhere in between. All cyber roles require the kind of transferable impact skills that you likely already have: good communication skills, good problem-solving skills, and good business understanding, among other things.
There are many attractive aspects about cyber security as an industry. Across the spectrum of jobs available, cyber roles offer appealing rates of pay, lots of opportunity for growth, future-proof job security, and the chance to make the world a safer place. These elements are attractive to many people, and that’s why we’re trying to make cyber jobs more accessible to more people.
Causing Controversy
With our ethos of diversity, inclusivity and accessibility, CAPSLOCK was always going to upset some people. Our entire reason for existing is to do things differently and help break down the (very deliberate) barriers surrounding cyber security. By challenging the accepted wisdom that only certain people can work in cyber, we’re upsetting the industry apple cart somewhat.
But our approach is already proving that greater diversity can be injected into the UK’s cyber talent pool by breaking down the academic, financial, and demographic barriers that have made cyber security an exclusive Boy’s Club for so long.
One way of trying to get this message across is our latest batch of Facebook adverts. They’ve gone a bit mad, heaving been seen nearly 1 million times at the time of writing, and they’ve been upsetting people left, right and centre. We’re clearly doing something right.
Dubbed “insulting”, “trivial” and “brain-dead”, it’s clear our adverts have struck a nerve. One particularly charming gentleman went so far as to comment, “If this is cyber security, we are screwed.”
Whilst our adverts are a little tongue-in-cheek and simplistic, the message behind them is absolutely true.
Cyber security is all about critical thinking, attention to detail, and being able to solve problems. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not all about intense technical knowledge and computer wizardry.
We’re saying that the desire to crack a code, the desire to think outside the box, the desire to get involved and ‘have a go’ is a great starting point for any budding cyber security professional.
Our intention is not to trivialise the industry, but to de-mystify it.
Too many people wrongly believe that cyber security is an unreachable career path and an impenetrable industry, full of technical jargon and smoke and mirrors. We’re committed to plugging the UK cyber skills gap by helping people realise that cyber is an attainable career path, and that the skills required to succeed in a cyber role are far more diverse than people think.
Some of our most recently hired learners (who have landed roles as SOC Analysts, Cyber Security Consultants, Insider Threat Analysts etc) had completely non-technical backgrounds (professional dancer, composer, store manager), and prior to finding the CAPSLOCK course had thought that they would never be able to start a career in cyber.
What we’re trying to convey in our recent adverts is that, actually, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have tech experience, don’t know how to code, or don’t have a degree in IT. If you have an interest in cyber security, then you might be surprised by how many transferable skills that you already possess which would be hugely beneficial in a cyber career.
These little adverts might be the first falling domino that helps someone realise that they could actually pursue a new career path. In fact, they have already resulted in lots of enquires and applications on our website from extremely promising people. Which isn’t surprising at all, because we’re not trying to appeal to people who already work in cyber. We’re trying to inspire the people who don’t… yet.
As far as we’re concerned, the more our cyber landscape reflects the diversity of our society, the better our cyber solutions will be. And the more curious, passionate people we can bring into the industry, the better!
If these adverts encourage just one person to begin the journey to working in cyber, when they previously thought they could not, well, we think that’s worth upsetting a few traditionalists.
The Bottom Line
So, if after all that, cyber security doesn’t sound as scary as you first thought, then cyber might suit you.
Can you see yourself working in a dynamic and diverse industry, helping to protect people and vital assets from malicious actors? Can you see yourself learning new skills, whilst drawing on your pre-existing experience and transferable knowledge?
So can we.
Change your career and future-proof your income by re-skilling in cyber security at CAPSLOCK.
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