Hacking Your Career in Cybersecurity

Duration: 1.5 Hours

Format: Talks + Practical Guidance + Career Insights

Audience: Students, early-career professionals, and security practitioners looking to grow beyond entry-level roles

Cybersecurity is often viewed as a narrow field, but it is actually a vast ecosystem of roles, skills, and career possibilities. This 1.5-hour career track is designed to help attendees understand how to start a career in cybersecurity, how to grow within it, and how to evolve into senior and leadership roles.

The session brings together perspectives from hands-on security, international careers, content creation and personal branding, and security leadership.

Agenda

1. Getting Started in Cybersecurity and Building the Right Foundation

Duration: 30 minutes

This session focuses on helping beginners and early professionals understand how to enter cybersecurity the right way.

Topics covered:

- How to start a journey in cybersecurity from scratch

- Common entry points and career paths in security

- Certifications that actually matter at different stages

- How to learn effectively using labs, projects, communities, and real-world exposure

- Why only learning penetration testing is not enough

- Overview of the broader security landscape including application security, cloud security, threat modeling, and AI security

- What it takes to become a strong application security engineer

- How to search and apply for cybersecurity jobs abroad, including mindset, preparation, and practical tips

2. Personal Branding, Content Creation, and Remote Opportunities

Duration: 25 minutes

This segment highlights how building a public presence can open unexpected doors in cybersecurity.

Topics covered:

- How content creation helped unlock new opportunities

- Using platforms like Instagram and social media to share security knowledge

- Building a personal brand as a security professional

- Networking beyond conferences and resumes

- How online visibility can lead to remote roles, collaborations, and global connections

- Practical tips for getting started with content creation even as a beginner

3. Growing Into Leadership and Management Roles in Security

Duration: 25 minutes

Many security professionals start in technical roles and struggle to move beyond them. This session focuses on what growth looks like at senior and leadership levels.

Topics covered:

- How careers evolve beyond individual contributor roles

- What it takes to move from hands-on security to management

- Understanding how security works at an organizational and business level

- Skills needed to run and scale a security team

- Importance of communication, stakeholder management, and decision-making

- Why soft skills matter as much as technical skills at senior levels

- Common mistakes that cause people to get stuck in the same role for years

4. Open Q&A and Career Discussion

Duration: 10 minutes

An interactive Q&A session where attendees can ask questions related to:

- Certifications

- Content creation