What does a Day in The Life of an Information Security Consultant look like?

Cybersecurity attacks have been on the rise, making IT security one of the most demanding and critical industries to work for.

Businesses and government institutions have made it one of their top priorities to recruit onboard talent that can help in the safeguarding of their online infrastructure, since no one has an entirely fool-proof framework against cybersecurity breaches.

Just recently, former President Barack Obama’s twitter account, along with some high-profile persons like Joe Biden, Elon Musk and Bill Gates, appeared to be hacked by cryptocurrency scammers. This incident has just come after an attempt to access passwords and email addresses from the Bill Gates Foundation and WHO, after the COVID-19 pandemic began.

In other words, organizations don’t have entirely infallible frameworks that can work to their leverage; hence they’re always on the lookout for consultants with a CompTIA Security+ accreditation.

In this article, we’ve pieced a comprehensive overview of a cybersecurity consultancy job and how a typical day in the life of a CompTIA Security+ certification holder looks like.

What a cybersecurity consultant does

Unlike other cybersecurity professions, a consultant with CompTIA Security+ training provides contractual services to different clients rather than being hired to work for a single company.

Essentially, a consultant tests the organization’s security measures then designs, implements, and examines a more elaborate defense system.

As a consultant, you’ll use your vast experience to advise organizations, companies and businesses to secure their physical and monetary investments like offices and IT resources.

Responsibilities

Pursuing the consultancy career path with a CompTIA CySA  comes with a mammoth of responsibilities and perks.Typically, you’ll use the expertise drawn from your CompTIA CySA+ certification to decide what your clients will take by meeting them to discuss various individual goals and objectives.

Besides, you’ll be researching different elements of your client’s business as you assess how you could improve their existing IT infrastructure while enhancing their staff’s knowledge and taking care of their clients.

You’ll be assessing whether the existing hardware components are working well for the company, design training programs and provide general advice to the client with maximum clarity.

Remember that your client may not be tech-savvy; hence you should explain technical terms in a simple manner to ensure they’re happy with the initial budgets and plans.

Additionally, you’ll draw a timetable of action and budgets, design improvements to the current system and explore innovative technologies like cloud hosting that would work with maximum efficacy for the client.

Before completing the project, you’ll have to ensure the new software solutions work well and are user-friendly, after which you write reports and present it to the client.

The unique part about this profession

Unlike other professional 9 to 5 jobs, there is always something new to learn regardless of how much you know or how many certifications you have. For this reason, you’ll always be on toes, continually interacting with your clients and encountering new problems that would transform your approach methodology and give you an edge over other cybersecurity professionals.

Moreover, identifying and fixing vulnerabilities in a system using different learning approaches, resources and tools is enjoyable, and it’s hard to get bored since you won’t be working like a ‘robot.’

The end game is usually an in-depth knowledge of the field, a successful vulnerability test of the system and a satisfaction emanating from fulfilling the client’s needs.

Career growth

You’ll go through a rigorous phase of training through different cybersecurity professions before being accredited as an accomplished IT security consultant.

According to most cybersecurity consultants, you’ll have to start with a CompTIA Security+ certification to cover practical and theoretical aspects of cybersecurity like network attacks, countermeasures, risk management and operational security.

Afterward, you’ll pursue the ethical hacking course that helps you think like a malicious hacker, identify soft system vulnerabilities and implement appropriate countermeasures.

Once you complete the ethical hacking course, you’ll pursue CISA – an auditing course to get an insider view of auditing security controls and overseeing compliance at enterprise levels.

The final cybersecurity courses you’ll have to take are the CISSP and CISM, which are expert level courses meant to help you have mastery of vital cybersecurity management practices.

While this process may seem like an uphill task, the perks of being an IT security consultant are overwhelming. Nonetheless, you should find a seasoned professional to mentor you as you work towards achieving your goals.

That said, you should be passionate about serving others, appreciate small details, have the bravery to step out of your comfort zone and have the willingness to learn and explore new challenges.

Conclusion

Across the globe, cybersecurity professionals enjoy significant salaries, immense growth in their field, job security and overwhelming satisfaction from being able to make a difference.

As a cybersecurity consultant with a CompTIA CySA+ training, you’ll have the embodiment of all it takes to understand various business models and where potential risks lie.