Does Cybersecurity require a bachelor degree?

Anyone who’s trying to get into this field, ask this all the time. All they heard is: “You want to be succesful in cybersecurity? Get a bachelor”. But, do we really need a bachelor degree or not to be successful in cybersecurity? I will share my own experience and how I finally formalized or made that jump, about two years ago.

The very first thing we must clarify is what it truly means to be successful. Many people enter the cybersecurity field for the wrong reasons, only to become frustrated when their expectations don’t align with reality.

Cybersecurity is a vast and diverse domain, encompassing specialized areas such as Cloud Security, Network Pentesting, Auditing, Defensive Security, and more. Defining your “niche” should be the first step for anyone aiming to pursue this challenging yet rewarding profession. A newcomer won’t thrive as a pentester without a solid foundation in networking, Windows Active Directory, PowerShell, Bash, Linux, Windows, databases, and common CMS platforms. And things can get complicated very quickly, which is why many professionals, myself included, transition into cybersecurity from other IT fields. In my case, I came from a background in databases, while others often come from Linux or Windows administration.

For those starting without prior experience, breaking the famous $100K salary barrier is often seen as the ultimate goal. Realistically, though, this is unlikely without relevant experience. A bachelor’s degree can help tip the scales in your…