Top Five Cyber Security Certifications for Beginners in 2022

In this episode, we discuss the positive enhancements AI has brought to the cybersecurity world, the challenges that leveraging generative AI can bring, a look ahead to where AI will take the industry in the next 3-5 years and how prospective newcomers to the cyber security industry can take advantage of AI for their career advancement.

Over the last few years, I have had the privilege of being sent various questions about the cybersecurity industry from the Laurel Mountain Cybersecurity Podcast and being a guest panelist on a cybersecurity summer camp earlier this year. In today's podcast, we take a trip to the Laurel Mountain Cybersecurity mailroom to answer your questions about getting started in the cybersecurity industry.

After years of nearly zero unemployment, the Information Technology and Cybersecurity industries are faced with the most challenging job market in the last 15 years. In today's episode, we provide a deep dive into the truth of the present cybersecurity job market, how we got into this predicament, some insight into how the remainder of 2024 and 2025's job markets may unfold and an actionable means to set yourself apart in the current job market.

In this podcast, we take a trip to the past to help explain why cyber security breaches continue to happen here in 2022, a review of a recent hack on a major corporation that could easily have been prevented with some good cyber security awareness training and some tips on how you as a junior cyber security professional can help use your voice and position to help prevent bad cyber practices from occurring in your workplace.  

In this episode, we review what a cyber security certification actually is, why cyber security certifications can help you on your cyber security journey and the five cyber security certifications we recommend to not only overcome HR hurdles for job interviews but to help gain the knowledge necessary to become a fantastic cyber security professional.  

In this episode, we chat about strategies to help you stand out in your first cyber security job role.  Topics include how to construct your resume, how to prepare for your interview, what to expect in terms of interview style, the four parameters I personally evaluate when hiring candidates for job roles on my team and the answers to a few very commonly asked questions in cyber security interviews.  

In this podcast, I want to review the differences between what you can expect in a small or medium sized business as a cyber security or IT professional versus the experience you will receive in an enterprise business.  I review the positives and negatives with each, some of the best starting job roles for each option and why SMB Cyber Security is such a challenge in 2022.  

In this podcast, I want to review some of the challenges you will face as a cyber security professional.  This podcast will be more technical in nature and will articulate some of the most daunting challenges we face in 2022 as well as the future.  The goal here is to not only provide you a scouting report as to what you may face in the real world but to potentially inspire you towards a direction for your cyber security career.  

In this episode, I take some time to break down five myths about working in the cyber security industry and try to clarify what you can expect to do if you choose to work in this field.  Some of the myths I break down in this episode will surprise you, others may disappoint you and some may inspire you but regardless of the reaction, you should come away from this episode with a realistic expectation of why each of these items is a misconception in the industry.  

In this episode, we provide some reasons why anyone might want to pursue a career in cyber security, some of the reasons why it might not be ideal for you, some advice with regards to choosing a college major, be it tech or other fields and finally some insight into the cyber security skills gap and how it might be a good thing if you are just starting your cyber security career.