Career in Cyber Security: courses, eligibility, admission process, course fee, jobs, and salary

You must have heard about ethical hackers. But have you ever wondered why there is a need for cyber security in our life?

We are living in a virtual world where everything is online. We make presentations online and organize meetings through video conferencing. All the companies’ data are stored online. Even people have started shopping for clothes, beauty and appliances online through e-commerce websites. You can book an appointment with the doctors on the hospital website. Moreover, people are now accepting online payment methods in their daily life.

All these transformations of our life from a real-world to the virtual one puts us in considerable risk of data and personal information being stolen. It may be used for spying and other illegal business. 

To secure data and save us from a security breach, some professional hackers keep our data safe. They are also called ethical hackers or cyber security experts. 

The expansion of the internet and our dependence on it has given emergence to demand cyber security experts at every organization. 

To have a career in cyber security, there are various courses that one can enrol in to be trained in the field.

Career in cyber security – highlights

Eligibility	Class 10th for Diploma courses Class 12th for Bachelors courses
Course fee	Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 6,00,000
Salary	Rs. 5,00,000 to Rs. 10,00,000
Jobs	Ethical hacker, cyber forensic expert, Security software developer, Cyber law expert, Cryptographic expert and Security code auditor
Companies recruiting	Indian Army, DRDO, HCL, Infosys, ISRO, ICERT, Apple, HP, Amazon India etc.

What is the course for a career in cyber security?

Cyber Security is a particular field in Information Technology (IT) which is viewed as a substream in Computer Science. Digital Security courses intend to outfit understudies with the information and abilities required to safeguard the PC working frameworks, systems, and information from digital assaults. 

Cyber Security has developed throughout the years, the reason being the expanding pace of digital violations. Any industry that executes on the web or conveys touchy information needs a Cyber Security expert to defend its date from such delinquents. The internet is a typical stage that can be accessed by anyone in the world is more prone to violations and attacks.

Students prospecting a profession in Cyber Security can seek a job after pursuing a degree program at undergrad (UG) and postgraduate (PG) level.

Diploma course in cybersecurity 

The duration of the Diploma course is 1 year to 10 months. One can take admission after class 10th. There is no entrance examination for admission to diploma courses.

• Diploma course in Cyber security
• Diploma course in Information technology with cyber security

Bachelor’s degree courses in Cyber security

The duration of the course is for 3 years. It is an undergraduate course. There is a national level entrance exam for admission to the cyber security course. Also, some colleges conduct their own entrance exams for admission.

The courses under UG category are:

• BTech in Computer Science Engineering with Cyber Security
• BTech in Computer Science Engineering with Cyber Security & Quick Heal
• BTech in Computer Science Engineering with Cyber Security & Forensics
• BTech in Computer Science Engineering with Certified Cyber Security Investigator
• BSc in Information Technology Management and Cyber Security
• BCA with Microsoft Cloud Computing and Cyber Security
• BCA Hons. In Cyber Security

Masters courses

The duration of the Masters course is 2 years. Only those students who have a bachelor’s degree in cyber security and related courses can take admission to Masters in a cyber security program.

The courses in this category are:

• M.Tech in Computer Science Engineering with Cyber Security
• M.Tech in Computer Science Engineering with Certified Cyber Security Investigator
• MSc in Information Technology Management and Cyber Security
• MSc in Cyber Security

Career in cyber security – eligibility criteria

The eligibility criteria for a course in cyber security are similar to other courses. Though all colleges and university usually follow the same criteria but it may differ in some cases.

The common eligibility criteria are:

• Diploma course demands students to be class 10th qualified from a recognized board or university.
• Bachelors course allows admission to those students who are class 12th pass with a minimum of 55% marks.
• Also, they need to cross the cut off marks in the entrance exam with high percentage.
• Masters courses allow those students who have a bachelor degree in cyber security course.

What are the skills required for a career in cyber security?

Although taking a course will train you in cyber security through computer codes and programming, but that is not all that’s required. There are a specific skills that are expected to be present in the candidates. 

The skills are:

• A student should be good with computer codes.
• He should have good knowledge of computer software and applications.
• He must have a very high speed while typing codes into the system.
• One should be very intelligent.
• He should be able to handle any situation effectively.
• Cyber security aspirants should be able to work in high pressure.
• They should be able to make quick decisions regarding the matter of concern.
• One should have patience and knowledge.

What is the admission process for a course in cyber security?

The admission processes for various courses in Cyber security are different. 

For a diploma course, the merit list is prepared based on the marks of class 10th of the candidates applied. There is no entrance exam for Diploma courses. However, this may vary with colleges or university.

For a B.Tech or B.Sc course in Cyber security, all the universities and colleges either conduct their own entrance exam or consider the marks scored in the national level examination. One needs score higher than the cut offset by each university or college.

For a Masters course, there is a provision of both entrance exam and marks obtained in the Bachelors’ degree by the candidates.

• The forms are available online at the respective official website of the college or university.
• One needs to fill all the details correctly and submit the form online.
• You have to pay the application fee online. The online payments can be made through Net Banking or UPI methods.
• After successful online payment, you will receive a receipt on the computer screen confirming successful application form submission.
• Print out the receipt with admission number for future use.
• In the case of colleges taking entrance exams. You will be given a date of exam and admit card.
• One needs to print out the admit card to sit in the entrance exam.
• The cut off is released after one month from the exam date. Only those candidates who cross the cut off percentage are called for counselling. 
• One needs always to cut off marks and counselling dates.

Career in cyber security – course fee

The course fee for a program in Cyber security is Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 6,00,000 for an entire course. This fee excludes the examination fee and other charges of the colleges.

One can get full detailed information on the course fee in the college prospectus or on the official website of the respective college or university.

Career in cyber security – syllabus

The syllabus is in accordance with the topics related to cyber crime and security. 

The subjects taught in the various courses of Cyber security are:

• Information Systems and Software     
• Mobile, Wireless, and VoIP Security
• C Programming and Data Structure    
• Fundamentals of Information Security and Legal Framework    
• Security Policy & Audit
• Engineering Information Security & Cryptography
• Introduction to Hardware, Network, the Internet  
• Cyber Forensics     
• Security Architecture and Models
• Operating System, Database and Infrastructure Security 
• Hardware Security Biometric Security Risk Management
• Cyber Threat and Modelling      
• Malware Analysis
• Cyber Crimes & Investigation    
• Cyber Law
• Operating System, Database, and Infrastructure Security
• Network Security  
• Application and System Security          

 Colleges and institutes for courses in Cyber security

The top colleges and universities for cyber security courses in India are:

• Indian School of Ethical Hacking, Kolkata
• Institute of Information Security, Mumbai and Chandigarh
• Aegis School of Business, Data Science, Cyber Security and Telecommunication
• M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
• SRM Engineering College Chennai
• Hindustan Institute of technology and science Chennai
• NIMS University Jaipur

Career in Cyber security – Job profile

The job of cyber security experts is a hectic one. He has to be always alert and careful about any kind of security breach. 

The tasks of a cyber security professional are as follows:

• He has to detect intrusion with ground-breaking Trojans and indirect access codes peering toward to interrupt your space. It is imperative to have a more grounded interruption identification programming 
• It is the fundamental duty of the cyber expert to analyze malware and reverse the attack on the data of the company. He has to make a recuperation very quickly after a digital assault. In this manner, aptitude in malware investigation holds a great deal of guarantee for development. 
• Essential comprehension of programming dialects is necessary for any cyber security master. This causes them to check the chance of assaults on the framework and grow counter measures likewise. 
• To have the option to make sure about a structure altogether, it is critical to take on a similar mindset as a programmer. It is valuable to foresee an assault and get ready already as opposed to doing harm control. 
• Cyber security experts are required to recognize and track obvious dangers and find new threats all through the system. 
• With the expanding pace of cloud assaults, having ability in cloud security profoundly pines for expertise. Cloud is known to be vulnerable to plenty of hazardous assaults. 
• Security examination is a significant ability required by cybersecurity proficient. Subsequently, a Security examiner is known to be a significant assignment in each organization.

The students after completing a course in cyber security can be hired as:

Ethical Hackers	Their responsibility includes securing the data and connections to prevent the system from damages.	INR 5 to 12 lacs
Forensic Expert	Responsibilities include examining and evaluating evidence in case of a cyber attack on the system.	INR 3 to 9 lacs
Cyber Legal Service	Their duty is to oversee the law, securityand data privacy. They also provide administrative support according to the rules and regulations laid.	INR 7 to 9 lacs
Cryptographic Expert	They protect confidential data by encrypting information as well as decrypting data in various field.	INR 7 to 8 lacs
Security Software Developer	Their responsibilities include Testing, implementing and operating software security techniques to secure the network and connection.	INR 4 to 6 lacs
Security Code Auditor	The professionals safeguard information in IT by following the rules and security protocols of the comapany.	INR 5 to 7 lacs

Top companies that recruit cyber security experts

There are major corporate and multinational companies that hire cyber security professionals. They are:

• Government departments
• Defence 
• Indian army
• Indian Intelligence service
• ISRO
• DRDO
• ICERT
• Apple
• HCL
• Data forensic companies
• Biometric companies
• IBM
• Infosys
• HP India
• Amazon India

What is the salary of a cyber security expert in India?

Cyber security experts initial salary starts at Rs. 5,00,000 per annum. It increases with time and experience in the field.

Moreover, if you get into a government department, then you can expect your salary to be as good as Rs. 10,00,000 per annum. Also, a government job in this field includes promotion, dearness allowance and pay increment every year.

This is the perfect career option for a computer enthusiast who is an expert at software and programming codes.

Give your career a kick-start by taking a course in Cyber security.