I know that I want to major in Cybersecurity, as it’s been a passion of mine since middle school, and I really like my classes so far (Sophomore). But I’m starting to think about what to minor in because my degree leaves a lot of credits open for electives or other classes. My mom has stressed to me the importance of backup plans in case the cyber field crashes for some reason, and I understand, but it’s stressing me a bit.
I’m trying to think about both my strengths, likes, what is relatively AI resistant, and is projected to have decent growth according to the US BLS. I’ve considered data science or a similar field, but I don’t think I’m a huge business person.
What I’m good at:
- Sciences, specifically bio, chem, marine, and earth. I never did physics nor want to (it sounds boring…)
- Math, although my degree only required pre-calc at max. But it’s always clicked for me as long as I do some short practice
- Writing, even if I hate it sometimes
- Tutoring/teaching others
- Being detail oriented (read: perfectionist)
- Leading a project (if no one else wants to)
- Public speaking
What I like:
- Biology is the best, I love learning about DNA/genetics, cells, viruses, animals
- Learning Japanese is a fun hobby, but I try to take it seriously too (with what extra time I have)
- Writing when I get to pick a topic I want to research
- Music and art. I did Orchestra (viola) most of my academic career, and I can’t draw but I’d like to learn. I do like making infographics and presentations. I do like a little photography, but I don’t have fancy equipment or know special techniques
- Tech, duh. I got very into computer networking, and I like learning about privacy and self-hosting.
- Helping people, although I’m not sure if I’d be good at being a counselor or community worker
What I hate:
- English. Specifically writing about shit I didn’t pick (book reports, forced topic paper). Also how open-ended it can be (“Oh, A isn’t wrong per se, but B is the best answer”)
- Not a huge hands-on person, outside of exercising and gardening. I don’t build stuff or want to be an engineer.
- Not a social butterfly, so hospitality wouldn’t work. Despite being introverted, I also don’t like talking to people via text, social media, and phone. I like being in person with people if I have to talk to them.
Need more practice/time:
- Coding. I really want to make wonderful software to help others, but I’m still a noob. I need to practice more to at least get comfy with Python…
- Apparently I was one of the few weirdos to like the trial week of learning SQL in high school, but I’m not sure if it’s something I’d do for life or am good at
Any Cyber professionals think I should just go all in and minor in IT or CS? Or does spreading out a bit more sound good? I feel I could learn the additional useful skills (programming) in my own time rather than majoring in CS.
What exactly is “cyber”? Cybersecurity? Cybernetics?
cyberescort?
Cybersexual?
Technical writing and/or communications. I got my minor in TechComm, and it has been my sharp end into every job. “You can communicate effectively across a wide range of media for a wide range of use cases?! Hired!”
Public presentation, meetings, project management, interpersonal dynamics, documentation, elucidating articles, proposals, DevRel, requirements gathering, specifications, business analyses, enrichment of peers’ skills… All dependent on tech writing and tech comm skills.
TW also makes a decent fallback if (when) you burn out. Hypothetically, let’s say you burn out at the 15 year mark. You’ll have solid, senior- or principal-level skills and experience in your field which allows you to effectively liaise with professionals in your field. You could switch temporarily to a TW role, move into project or product management, or take over the docs backlog. And there is always a docs backlog.
Since you brought up IT: networks and hardware are always going to require hands-on personnel. It’s a solid career choice; just be ready for the continuous learning curve (like most things computing).
Any Cyber professionals think I should just go all in and minor in IT or CS? Or does spreading out a bit more sound good?
Learn programming in your own time, as there’s ample resources to learn languages common to cybersecurity (C, C++, Python, <insert instruction set here> Assembler (if reverse engineering is your thing)) outside of college/university.
Pick something that makes you different and marketable against other cybersecurity majors. Given the way the world is going, look at political science, organised crime, or even counter-terrorism, as all of these have streams, if not rivers, into and out of cybersecurity these days.
It provides a much broader context around your cybersecurity studies, other than just being a technical resource, by understanding why threat actors use technical means to attack, rather than just ‘how’ or ‘with what’. Minoring in something other than a technical discipline would broaden your career options to policy roles, among others.
All that said, the minor subject(s) you choose must interest you. Japanese would be really useful to have in a cybersecurity role as it opens doors to communicate with other cybersecurity experts in their own language, including government authorities. Such skills may be desirable by the intelligence community, though I’d be wildly speculating here.
Use your minor to help you expose niches in the discipline that can help you pivot your career, and set you apart from an ocean of dime-a-dozen cybersecurity experts who just did broad, common, technical studies.
A word of advice: Play the long game. My advice may not immediately come to fruition when you land your first paid gig, but it will definitely become a useful playing card as your career develops, providing you maintain those skills. Hell, they don’t even need to be part of your minor subjects. Learning Japanese outside of college/university will still make you marketable.
Go all in, focus on OT cybersecurity, field is screaming for people and you get to work in massive industrial systems rather than boring office nonsense
I was going to suggest your most unique interest, and after looking at your likes, I suggest Japanese.
Major in what will get you a job (hopefully). Minor in something you’re passionate about. Pick one of the things you like.
Poli-sci, business or geopolitics. Go spook - gov/corpo.
