With so many options and unknowns, choosing or changing your career is always a daunting life decision. To help those who might be interested in a career in Cyber Security take that step, we asked our experts here at Nexor about their experiences in the industry. This is what they said.

Why did you choose a career in Cyber Security?

Samuel Copping, Graduate Software Engineer - Cyber Security is an incredibly interesting field, both of study and of technology. I've always found it fascinating and learning how it all works from my time at University only made the subject even more interesting to me. For that reason, working with a company in Cyber Security is both a great opportunity and an exciting experience for me.

Sarah Knowles, Senior Security Consultant - My decision to go into Cyber Security was for me, a natural progression. My journey started off in a service desk role, gradually moving into more senior positions. The transition to Cyber Security occurred when I was working as an IT Manager, and the company found itself having to comply with new regulations and standards.  It fell to me to implement the new security working practices. I found I enjoyed the challenge of balancing security and business and I've not looked back!

Adrian Holmes, Hardware Architect - I started out in the aerospace/defence industry. I was always interested in Networking as I saw the aerospace industry starting to try to use general purpose networking on aircraft in a bid to move away from bespoke antiquated serial interfaces that they had been working with to date. I also had the opportunity to work on some proof-of-concept projects where we were looking at flaws in Critical National Infrastructure. This opened my eyes to how little security aspects had been considered in some pretty serious areas. I then moved to a position in Information Assurance, again at another defence company, but this time focusing on Cryptography.

Elizabeth Baugh, Office Administrator - Although I did not specifically choose a career in Cyber Security, it has proven to be a fascinating and dynamic industry to work in which has developed skills I never knew I had, as well as help me find a whole new skill set.

What most interests you about your role?

Colin Robbins, Managing Security Consultant - Variety. No two security challenges are the same, plus the rate of change is very high, so you have to keep learning and adapting.

Natalie Wilding, Product Manager - I like the interesting changes that are happening in Cyber Security and learning more about what threats and risks exist in the market and how we can address those threats and risks!

Rob Wright, Head of Sales - I'm both helping people to communicate and helping to make our customers more secure - what we do really matters. Plus, no two days are the same and the market is continually changing.

Katie Robinson, Sales Executive - I have the opportunity to work with a large variety of clients within an ever-changing industry. My work is dynamic and interesting, and there is always something new to learn.

What advice would you give your younger self if they were applying for your role?

Nicholas Poucher, Engineering Manager - Do it! The sector has grown year after year and will continue to do so into the future.

Neville Smikle, Head of Operations - Undertake the NCSC recommended Information Assurance certifications. Read more Cyber Security papers and reports. Conduct more Windows and Linux engineering training.

Andrew Phillips, Compliance Manager - I definitely would advise to consider a role in Cyber Security, as society has become more reliant on IT and computers over recent decades, the cyber security side has been neglected, and we are playing catch up. Now is a great time to be involved in this area.

Simon Hopper, Electronic Design Engineer - Go for it!

What do you think the future of Cyber Security holds and why?

Steve Kingan, Chairman and CEO - Technology and connectivity have increasing roles in our lives as they become embedded in all the products and services on which we rely day to day. This creates vulnerabilities that the threat actors are quick to seek to exploit. Cyber Security has been one of the fastest growing segments in the tech industry (historic sector rate of about 12% pa) and I am sure it will continue to grow as the industry seeks to build the defences and protection from the growing threat profile.

William Farrow, Technical Consultant - Due to the evolution and growth of technology, an even larger attack surface will be created, which in turn will mean that more vulnerabilities are found. Security teams need to grow alongside this to encompass more than just in-house systems but the Cloud as well.

Colin Robbins, Managing Security Consultant - A fast moving landscape, with a very wide set of specialisms and market sectors. Opportunities for generalists and specialists.  Adaptability is key - the bad guys are always looking at how to exploit weaknesses.

Sarah Knowles, Senior Security Consultant - It's difficult to say what the future holds as the landscape is moving at such a rate, but there is one key point to make.  Security has always been on the back foot trying to keep pace with technology advancements. To even stand a chance of catching up, security needs to be built in from the early stages of any product or service, and as Cyber Security Specialists, we need to do everything we can to change the culture within businesses. We need to make changes where we have influence and embed security by design.

We would like to thank all our experts for providing such valuable career advice. For more information on careers at Nexor, visit our careers page.