Let’s talk about how education and the Skillbridge program can help you break into cybersecurity.

Education 

There is much debate about education for cybersecurity. Do you need a degree? Do you need certifications? Which certification should I get? There is not just one right path into cyber. You really can decide your journey. I know many cyber degrees have a lot of outdated information. On the other hand, I’ve heard great things about WGU from many people. I don’t have a cyber degree currently. I have a Bachelor’s in Music and a Master’s in Organizational Development and Leadership. A degree is not required to get into cyber, but depending upon the employer and the position, it could help even if the degree is in an unrelated field.  

When to Consider Certifications

In some positions, especially federal and DOD contractors, specific certifications are required.

I suggest deciding on the roles you will be seeking and then earn the certifications required and other training needed for those roles first. Don’t waste your time on certifications that will not benefit your career, unless you are doing it for other reasons. For military and veterans, don’t forget about the educational resources that are available to you, including:  For Military/Veterans – GI Bill, TA ($4,000 per year for credential assistance/college education), Onward to Opportunity (O2O), VET TEC, FedVTE. 

Skillbridge 

I could write an entire article series on Skillbridge alone. I believe it is a life-changing opportunity that everyone leaving the military should take advantage of. Whether you are ETS-ing or retiring, do a Skillbridge!  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, and you are in the military, then you need to google Skillbridge right now and read up on it. Essentially, it is an opportunity for you to make your transition from military to civilian employment smoother. During the last six months of your active-duty career, you can do an internship with a company or a training program. This is full-time. You are still receiving your full pay and benefits while upskilling into your new civilian career. There are many opportunities to do this in cyber.

Starting Your Skillbridge Journey

The first step is to talk with your command team and ensure that it is something that they will support since you will need your commander’s approval.

The Skillbridge I chose is called CyberWarrior. I briefly talked about it in my last article. But expanding on that, one of the things that set this training apart is that every week there is an event with a speaker who is a cyber security professional working in this field who imparts their knowledge to the students. It is an invaluable experience.

Personally, after each session, I connected with them on LinkedIn, and some even became friends and mentors who have helped me tremendously in my career transition. If you want more info on CWA, don’t hesitate to reach out to them and someone will help you out. If you’d like to know more about my experience, feel free to message me on LinkedIn and I am happy to share. Here is the Skillbridge LinkedIn page, which is called the DOD Skillbridge Community of Practice. There are new opportunities posted there often.  This is how I learned about Cyber Warrior. I was set to do a different program, but at the last minute, they cut the cohort because not enough people had signed up for it. At the time that was disappointing. However, it was a blessing in disguise because I found a much better one.   

Finding the Right Skillbridge Program

You should begin the Skillbridge process two years before separating from the military. In my experience, I spent 3-6 months researching programs and trying to find the one that was right for me. Then it took another 6 months to get it approved. This happened for many reasons but expect there to be many roadblocks and setbacks and ensure you have plenty of time to get approval well before you are 180 days from your ETS or retirement date. Contact your local Skillbridge representative to get more information.   

There is an official list of approved Skillbridge companies/opportunities, which are current industry partners/employers. These are companies that are vetted and approved. However, you can also do a custom program of your choice. Essentially, choose a company to intern with or a training program to attend. You will need them to sign paperwork agreeing to the terms, mostly that they can’t pay you during the internship (once on terminal/transition leave, you can get paid), and it needs to meet the criteria for a Skillbridge.  If you think this article series could help your friends, please share it! Also, stay tuned for next week as we talk about Networking, Mentorship, and Conferences.

Final Thoughts: Start Early and Be Persistent

This is part 3 of my series: How to Break into Cyber Security with no Prior Experience. From deciding to switch careers and go cyber, it took me 10 months. In these articles, I’m sharing my personal experience and what I believe helped me succeed in getting into this amazing field. The response to my first 2 articles has been amazing. I am enjoying writing these and sharing the iota of cyber knowledge and experience I have. Let’s continue to help each other in the awesome field of cyber!