How To Build a Career as a Freelance Cybersecurity Analyst — From Scratch

With each passing year, the cybersecurity threat landscape
continues to worsen. That reality makes cybersecurity analysts some
of the most sought-after technology professionals in the world. And
there are nowhere near enough of them to meet the demand. At last
count, there were over 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity
jobs^[1] worldwide — and that
number is still growing.

The situation means that it’s a great time to become a
cybersecurity analyst. What’s more, the skyrocketing demand means
it’s possible to start a lucrative freelance career in the field
and take complete control over your professional future. Here’s a
start-to-finish guide on how to do exactly that.

Start With the Right Training

The first step on the path to becoming a freelance cybersecurity
analyst is to acquire the necessary skills. For those without an
existing technology background, the best place to start is with a
cybersecurity bootcamp. They’re designed to get newcomers up to
speed with basic cybersecurity concepts and skills in the shortest
possible time.

A great place to start your search for the right course is
Bootcamps.org^[2]. They maintain an active
directory of both free and paid bootcamp programs in a variety of
technology fields, including cybersecurity. Depending on your
preexisting familiarity with computing concepts, you may also wish
to enroll in a more generalized computing bootcamp to get
started.

Your goal is to emerge from these programs with a working
knowledge of the following concepts:

• Networking architecture and design
• Networking, routing and switching hardware and systems
• Firewalls and packet sniffing systems
• Threat detection and analysis methods
• Common network and software vulnerability types

Earn One or More Cybersecurity Certifications

The next thing you’ll need to do is to earn one or more
cybersecurity certifications to demonstrate your abilities to
would-be employers. The best approach is to begin with a general
cybersecurity certification. You can always earn a more specialized
certification later in your career after you gain experience and
figure out which aspects of the job you excel at. The most popular
general cybersecurity certifications include:

Earning any one of the above certifications will give you the
credentials you need to qualify for thousands of already-existing
open positions. At the time of this writing, there are over 200,000
active job listings for holders of the above certifications on
LinkedIn, Indeed, and Simply Hired alone. In other words — you’ll
be ready to join the ranks of professional cybersecurity analysts
the moment you’ve earned one of them.

Gameplan to Gain Experience

Even though it’s possible to get some cybersecurity analyst jobs
with nothing but the right certifications and an artfully-worded
resume — that will only get you so far. Although it’s reasonable to
take on an entry-level cybersecurity position to gain some
experience at this stage, there are also some other strategies you
can use to speed up the process.

One of them is to explore resources like TryHackMe.com. It’s a
site with real-world hacking simulations that you can use to get
some hands-on experience with the kinds of situations you’ll face
as a cybersecurity analyst. It’s an excellent way to build some
experience without any risk.

Another strategy you should consider is to attend as many
hackathons^[3]
as you can. Those will give you a front-row seat to see how the
best of the best in cybersecurity approach their work. And, they
make for excellent networking opportunities that you’ll need to
prepare yourself to go freelance later.

At this stage, you should also set yourself up with accounts on
all of the major cloud providers like Google, Amazon AWS, and
Microsoft Azure. This will allow you to build technology stacks on
each platform and familiarize yourself with their settings and
features. The majority of businesses in the world today have at
least some exposure to one or more of those platforms.
Understanding them from a cybersecurity perspective will improve
your marketability as a freelance cybersecurity analyst.

Take On Small Paid Jobs

When you feel comfortable enough in your skill set and
experience level to consider transitioning into freelance roles,
you should start small. This means taking on some paid
cybersecurity jobs through sites like Fiverr and Upwork. You should
begin by offering your services in specific areas that your
existing experience supports. So, if you feel comfortable
conducting penetration testing of a particular app or platform,
start there.

The idea is for you to establish yourself as a reliable service
provider on those sites. Although it may not seem like you’re
getting far — after all, freelance sites aren’t where the real
money is — you’ll be building up a reputation for quality work.
When you’ve done that, you can parlay that reputation into more
lucrative work.

Prepare Your Freelance Business

Once you’ve got enough experience and have a solid resume of
small freelance cybersecurity jobs under your belt, you’ll be ready
to turn your hard work into a standalone freelance business. The
first step toward doing that is to think up a business name. You’ll
want a name that’s not already in use, with an available domain
name to match. When you have one, reserve the domain name and
register for a tax ID with the relevant authorities where you’re
planning to work.

Next, you’ll want to design a website to serve as a calling card
for your business. Since you’ll be marketing your skills and
reputation as a cybersecurity analyst, the site doesn’t need to be
anything more than a professional-looking portal with your business
name, basic information, and contact details. You can choose a
ready-made template if you don’t have the design skills to do the
job yourself.

Then, you’ll want to set up your home office with everything
you’ll need to work full-time. This means having a dedicated
comfortable space with a desk and computer, and all of the relevant
office supplies. It’s also a good idea to sign up for a business phone app^[4]
so you’ll have a professional communications system for your
customers to contact you.

Turn To Your Professional Network

At this point, you’re ready to begin soliciting work as a
freelance cybersecurity analyst. This is the time when all of the
networking you’ve done through hackathons and other events, as well
as through your freelance portal jobs, will pay off. You should
begin by crafting an announcement of your new business to send out
to all of the contacts you’ve collected.

As you do this, be sure to let everyone know exactly what types
of cybersecurity jobs you’re equipped to handle. You should also
make it clear how potential clients can contact you and request
quotes for your services. If you’ve done everything right, you
should start to get inquiries in short order. From there, all you
have to do is your best work — and it won’t be long until you have
enough steady customers that you can quit your day job and go
freelance for good.

The Takeaway

The simple fact is, the sheer volume of open cybersecurity jobs
— and the countless more that will appear in the next few years —
make your odds of success as a freelance cybersecurity analyst
quite high. As long as you’re competent, confident, and willing to
continue to learn your trade as you work, you’ll never run out of
opportunities. Your reward for all of that is a well-paid career
with a schedule that you control — and doesn’t that sound like a
dream come true?