Every business, hospital, government agency, and school district runs on digital infrastructure, and all of it needs protection. Cybersecurity Ventures estimates there are 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity positions globally, while the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 29 percent job growth for information security analysts through 2034 — one of the fastest growth rates across all occupations. Perhaps most importantly for prospective students, you do not need a four-year degree to enter this field. A growing number of employers are hiring based on certifications, hands-on skills, and demonstrated ability rather than diplomas.
This guide breaks down how cybersecurity and IT support have become accessible, trade-style career paths — and what you can do right now to get started.
Why Cybersecurity Is the New Skilled Trade
Cybersecurity used to be viewed as an elite, degree-required profession. That perception is changing fast. In the 12 months ending April 2025, U.S. employers posted 514,359 cybersecurity job listings, a 12 percent increase over the prior year. Despite that demand, only about 74 percent of available cybersecurity positions can be filled by the existing talent supply, leaving roughly 26 percent of roles vacant nationwide.
The industry has responded by rethinking who qualifies for these jobs. According to ISC2’s 2025 Hiring Trends Study, 89 percent of hiring managers are willing to consider candidates who hold only entry-level cybersecurity certifications, and 90 percent will consider those with prior IT work experience alone. When ranking what matters most in an entry-level hire, managers placed IT and cybersecurity certifications (47 percent) ahead of both IT experience (44 percent) and formal education (43 percent).
This skills-first hiring movement mirrors what has long existed in traditional trades: demonstrate competence, earn credentials, and get to work. The difference is that instead of a journeyman license, you are earning a CompTIA Security+ or a Google Cybersecurity Certificate. And instead of an apprenticeship hall, your training ground may be a community college lab or an online platform.
Career Paths and Salary Ranges
One advantage of entering IT and cybersecurity as a trade is the clearly defined progression from entry-level support roles to specialized security positions. Each step up brings significantly higher pay.
Entry Level: IT Support Specialist
The starting point for many cybersecurity professionals is a general IT support role. The BLS reports a median salary of $60,340 for computer user support specialists, with approximately 50,500 openings projected annually as workers retire or advance. These positions teach you how networks, operating systems, and hardware work together — foundational knowledge for any security career.
Mid Level: Network and Systems Administrator
After gaining one to three years of experience and earning additional certifications, many professionals move into network administration. The BLS places the median salary for network and computer systems administrators at $96,800. At this level, you are configuring firewalls, managing server infrastructure, and handling the systems that security analysts later protect. For a deeper look at this stage of the career ladder, see our guide to computer networking career opportunities.
Advanced Level: Information Security Analyst
Information security analysts earn a median salary of $124,910, with the top 10 percent exceeding $186,420. The BLS projects about 16,000 annual openings for this role alone. Security analysts monitor networks for breaches, investigate incidents, and implement protective measures — work that directly builds on the networking and systems knowledge gained in earlier roles.
The Certification Salary Premium
Earning industry certifications at each stage does more than open doors; it directly boosts pay. Industry data indicates that a CompTIA Security+ certification adds approximately $10,000 to $15,000 in annual salary, while more advanced credentials like CISSP can add $25,000 to $35,000. That makes each certification a concrete return on a modest investment of time and exam fees.
Certificate-Level Entry Paths
You do not need to enroll in a two-year or four-year program to begin. Several well-established certificate paths can get you job-ready in three to twelve months.
The CompTIA Pathway: A+ to Network+ to Security+
CompTIA’s certification stack is the most widely recognized route into IT and cybersecurity. The recommended progression starts with CompTIA A+ for IT fundamentals, advances through Network+ for networking concepts, and culminates with Security+ for core cybersecurity skills. Each certification builds on the previous one, and all three together earn you the CompTIA Secure Infrastructure Specialist designation.
Security+ deserves special attention. It is approved by the U.S. Department of Defense under DoD 8140 across 31 cybersecurity work roles, meaning it qualifies you for government and military-adjacent positions. The exam costs $425, and many community colleges and training programs include vouchers in their tuition. After earning Security+, you can continue to CySA+ (security analytics) or PenTest+ (penetration testing) to specialize further.
Google IT Support and Cybersecurity Certificates
Google offers two career certificates that serve as accessible on-ramps. The Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate is an eight-course online program completable in three to six months with no prerequisites. It covers Python, Linux, SQL, and SIEM tools including Splunk and IBM QRadar. Graduates gain access to a network of over 150 U.S. employers including Google, T-Mobile, Walmart, and American Express.
The outcomes data is encouraging: 75 percent of U.S. certificate graduates report a positive career outcome — such as a new job, promotion, or raise — within six months of completion. For those who want an even more foundational starting point, the Google IT Support Professional Certificate provides general IT skills before you move into the cybersecurity program.
Cisco CCST and CCNA
Cisco offers its own entry path through the Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) Cybersecurity exam, which validates foundational knowledge of security principles, network security, endpoint security, and incident handling. From there, the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) deepens networking expertise and carries a reported salary range of $75,000 to $87,000. Cisco’s full certification path extends from CCST through CCNA, CCNP, and ultimately CCIE for those who want to reach expert-level specialization.
Community College and Trade School Programs
For students who prefer structured, in-person education with hands-on lab access, community colleges offer some of the strongest cybersecurity training available — often at a fraction of the cost of a university degree.
NSA-Designated Centers of Academic Excellence
The National Security Agency designates certain institutions as Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD), a recognition that their curriculum meets rigorous federal standards. Several community colleges hold this designation, including Tarrant County College in Texas, Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana, and Northern Virginia Community College — one of the largest and fastest-growing cybersecurity programs in Virginia. These programs typically lead to an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Cybersecurity and prepare students for multiple industry certifications including A+, Network+, Security+, Linux+, and Cisco CyberOps.
Apprenticeships
Cybersecurity apprenticeships are a growing pathway that combines paid work experience with classroom instruction. The NIST NICE Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program Finder helps you locate registered programs across the country. Apprentices receive mentoring, structured training, and a nationally recognized credential upon completion — a model that closely mirrors the apprenticeship systems used in electrical, plumbing, and other established trades.
If you are exploring cybersecurity and digital forensics programs, many community colleges and technical schools offer focused certificate and associate degree tracks that can be completed in one to two years.
Industry Outlook
The numbers paint a picture of sustained, long-term demand across multiple dimensions.
The Workforce Gap
The ISC2 2024 Cybersecurity Workforce Study measured a global workforce gap of 4,763,963 cybersecurity professionals — a 19.1 percent increase from the prior year. While the active global cyber workforce sits at approximately 5.5 million, that number has stalled even as threats and digital infrastructure continue to expand.
The Skills Gap
The challenge has evolved beyond simply needing more people. The 2025 ISC2 Workforce Study found that 59 percent of organizations now report critical or significant skills shortages, up from 44 percent the year before. Ninety-five percent of respondents identified at least one skills gap in their team. The most pressing needs are in AI security (41 percent) and cloud security (36 percent), followed by security engineering and risk assessment.
For prospective students, this is a meaningful signal: employers are not just looking for warm bodies to fill seats. They are looking for people with demonstrable, current skills — which is exactly what certificate programs and hands-on training provide.
Where the Jobs Are
According to ISC2’s skills deep dive, hiring managers are prioritizing cloud security (29 percent), AI (27 percent), security engineering (24 percent), and security analysis (23 percent). The cloud and IT services sector is the most aggressive recruiter of cybersecurity talent heading into 2026, followed closely by financial services and fintech. Incident response job postings have more than doubled in a single year, reflecting the growing frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks.
Budget Realities
It is worth noting the honest trade-offs. Thirty-three percent of organizations report insufficient budget to staff their security teams adequately, and 29 percent say they cannot afford to hire workers with the skills they need. This means that while demand is strong, some employers — particularly smaller organizations — may offer lower starting salaries or expect broader responsibilities from each hire. The good news is that hiring freezes and budget cuts that spiked in 2024 have stabilized rather than worsened.
How to Get Started
If this career path interests you, here is a practical roadmap based on the tools and programs covered above.
Step 1: Explore the landscape. Use the CyberSeek Career Pathway Tool to see how roles like IT support specialist, SOC analyst, and security engineer connect to one another. The CISA NICCS Cyber Career Pathways Tool maps these roles to the NICE Workforce Framework and shows what skills and certifications each position requires.
Step 2: Choose your fastest on-ramp. For most people without existing IT experience, the Google Cybersecurity Certificate offers the lowest barrier to entry: no prerequisites, three to six months, and hands-on training with tools employers actually use. If you prefer a more traditional path, enroll in a community college cybersecurity or IT support program that includes certification exam preparation.
Step 3: Stack certifications strategically. Start with CompTIA A+ or Google IT Support to establish fundamentals. Progress to Network+ for networking depth, then Security+ to cross into cybersecurity. Each certification makes you eligible for a wider range of positions and a higher salary band.
Step 4: Build practical experience. Set up a home lab using free tools like virtual machines, Wireshark, or Cisco Packet Tracer. Contribute to open-source security projects. Look for IT help desk roles, internships, or apprenticeships through the NIST apprenticeship finder to earn while you learn.
Step 5: Advance on your terms. Once you are working in the field, the path branches. You can specialize in cloud security, incident response, penetration testing, or security architecture. You can pursue advanced certifications like CySA+, CCNP Security, or eventually CISSP. Or you can move into management. The career ceiling is high, and the demand is not going away.
The Bottom Line
Cybersecurity and IT support represent one of the most accessible, well-compensated, and future-proof career paths available today. The entry requirements are shifting away from four-year degrees and toward certifications, skills, and experience — the same model that has always defined the skilled trades. With median salaries ranging from $60,000 at the entry level to over $124,000 for security analysts, and with hundreds of thousands of positions going unfilled each year, the opportunity is real and immediate.
The field demands continuous learning, and the threats it addresses are serious. But for students willing to invest a few months in focused training and a few hundred dollars in certification exams, cybersecurity offers a career with strong pay, clear advancement, and genuine job security.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — “Information Security Analysts: Occupational Outlook Handbook” — 2024 — https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/information-security-analysts.htm
- ISC2 — “2025 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study” — December 2025 — https://www.isc2.org/Insights/2025/12/2025-ISC2-Cybersecurity-Workforce-Study
- ISC2 — “2025 Cybersecurity Hiring Trends: Why Investing in Entry- and Junior-Level Talent is Key” — June 2025 — https://www.isc2.org/Insights/2025/06/cybersecurity-hiring-trends-study
- CyberSeek / NIST / CompTIA — “Cybersecurity Supply and Demand Heat Map” — 2025 — https://www.cyberseek.org/heatmap.html
- Cybersecurity Ventures — “Cybersecurity Jobs Report: 3.5 Million Unfilled Positions in 2025” — 2025 — https://cybersecurityventures.com/jobs/
- Google — “Google Cybersecurity Certificate” — 2025 — https://grow.google/certificates/cybersecurity/
