Cyber security is hard to learn because of its depth and breadth. There’s a multitude of fields, each with unique tools and concepts to learn. Each of these sub-fields contains, yet again, even more topics! As a beginner, the vast complexity can be quite overwhelming. Fortunately, there’s two secrets to tackle this:
First, you need to discover what topics cyber security comprises. Then narrow your scope to the ones that you’re super interested in. Master one area first before expanding to others. For some, you may decide to focus on this area, doing deeper over an entire career. For others, it might be more fulfilling to branch out and build expertise in several other topics.
Second, change your expectations for learning. Mastery of any skill requires persistence and a long-term time horizon. For many, it’s tempting to seek out a crash course or quick guide and expect to get results. The truth is that it takes thousands of hours to achieve proficiency. Cyber security takes dedicated training, just like any other profession. Doctors, for instance, need 4 years of medical school and 3-7 years of apprenticing in a residency.
Having the right mindset, you can overcome any challenge. The second piece you need is an effective learning strategy for cyber security. Here’s the three:
Method #1: Top-down.
The top-down method involves selecting a specific skill and learning it directly. This approach is best used via an apprenticeship. Proper tutelage under a senior or master practitioner can reduce the time-to-proficiency drastically.
Method #2: Bottom-up approach.
For many apprenticeships, you’re expected to have a solid baseline first. A bottom-up approach breaks topics down into fundamental components. The process may often involve reading lots of cyber security books and articles. Mastering the basics first can make it much easier to pick up on more high-level concepts.
Method #3: Project-based.
This approach is a hybrid of the previous two. First you define a technical goal and then collect the resources needed to achieve it. Pursuing projects will expose you to many skills top-down learning may not cover. It also makes bottom-up learning less monotonous and boring.
As of today, there isn’t an institutionalized path towards learning cyber security. Other professions (doctors, lawyers, accountants) have it much easier, in this regard. Hence, you really have to take the education path into your own hands. With the right mindset and strategy, you’ll get there in no time.
Level Up.
00:00 Cyber security is a journey not a course
00:46 Why cyber security is hard to learn
01:48 Use skill stacks and skill networks for cyber training
02:40 Picking the right areas of concentration
03:32 #1: Top-down learning for cyber security
05:14 Drawbacks of a top-down learning approach
06:15 #2: Bottom-up learning for cyber security
07:00 Methods for bottom-up learning
08:30 #3 Project-based learning for cyber security
10:02 Why you need a long-term mindset for cyber mastery
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