9 Achieving success

 

This chapter covers

  • Recognizing and overcoming challenges to career success in cybersecurity
  • Setting long-term goals and building a progressive strategy to achieve them
  • Pivoting from one area of cybersecurity to another
  • Taking everything you’ve learned and putting it into motion

In chapter 8, we transitioned from discussing how to land your first role in cybersecurity to addressing long-term success. We focused on one of the key challenges that cybersecurity professionals face from the earliest stages of their career journey throughout their development and beyond: impostor syndrome. However, that is only one challenge that threatens the success of your career. Because I want this guide to help enable your career for long-term success, it is important to discuss those other challenges in detail and identify ways of overcoming them.

Launching a career, whether as your first path directly out of school or as a change in your journey, is a risky undertaking. Having a strategy for building that career gives you steps to follow and clear intermediary objectives that you can focus on and measure to maintain your focus. The strategy you set forth at the start of your journey will no doubt change over time. Chapter 2 covered the various disciplines that make up cybersecurity. The specialty you choose today will probably not be your focus for the rest of your career. Still, the planning you do now will serve as your guide for years to come.

9.1 Overcoming challenges in cybersecurity careers

9.1.1 Burnout

9.1.2 Gatekeeping

9.1.3 Stagnation

9.2 Building your career strategy

9.2.1 Describe your long-term vision

9.2.2 Identify your personal growth needs

9.2.3 Build a 1, 3, 5 plan

9.3 Pivoting

9.3.1 Recognize when change is needed

9.3.2 You need to pivot, now what?

9.3.3 Shoot your shot

9.4 Putting it all into motion

Summary