10 Non-technical Cybersecurity Roles

If you are like most people who believe that cybersecurity is a highly technical field, you may be counting yourself out too soon.

While there are many technical career paths within cybersecurity, there’s a plethora of options for individuals with non-technical background to transition into cybersecurity. Within cybersecurity, there are several career paths focused on identifying and mitigating security loopholes in people and processes.

As a matter of fact, a good number of top information security experts come from non-technical backgrounds such as legal practice, digital marketing, product management, sales, and even brand management. 

The simple hack to a successful transition is leveraging your soft skills. In this post, you will learn about ten (10) non-technical cybersecurity roles that are in demand along with the soft skills required for such roles.

1. Security Awareness and Culture Engineer 

Over 90% of security breaches are caused by human error. To mitigate human errors within an organization, it is imperative that every employee must develop a strong security culture through continuous security awareness, training and assessments.

Security Awareness and Culture Engineers are responsible for improving the security culture within organizations. In this role, you will learn to develop security awareness programs which reflect the organization’s ideals and culture. These programs are then delivered to various business departments and technology teams to help them understand how to identify and respond to social engineering risks within the organization.

Are you passionate about imparting knowledge? Do you have exceptional interpersonal communication and presentation skills? If yes, then this might be the role for you. 

2. Policy Writer

If you’ve got excellent research skills and possess the ability to compose clear, accurate, and coherent documentations, then you have all it takes to transition into a Cybersecurity Policy Writer. 

Security policies play an important role in an organization’s overall security posture. These policies define employees’ responsibilities as it concerns information security. Additionally, policies serve as a mechanism to hold employees accountable for compliance to the organization’s information security standards.

As a policy writer, you will be responsible for writing information security policies to guide employees, customers, partners, or your clients in protecting the organization’s assets. 

3. Governance and Risks, and Compliance.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) is a system that helps organizations structure governance, risk management, and regulatory compliance. The idea is to ensure that an organization’s approach to risk management is unified and consistent. Interestingly, this role is the easiest role to transition into within any industry as there are several job roles within GRC.

As a GRC analyst, you are responsible for developing and overseeing the delivery of processes that enforce security compliance across an organization. Every organization needs a GRC Analyst to foster a well-coordinated and integrated information security unit.

Are you a great communicator or researcher? Do you have a knack for presentation and people management? Then, this role is the perfect fit for you.

 

4. Project Manager

If the project manager is not there, the project is like a ship without a captain, traveling without direction and control. A project manager is a strategic leader who ensures that a common goal is acheived. 

Cybersecurity project managers are responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the completion of cybersecurity projects within an organization while ensuring these projects are on time, on budget and within scope.

Are you an experienced project manager looking to transition into cybersecurity? This role is a perfect fit for you.

 

5. Product Manager

Product Management is critical to attaining corporate objectives throughout the product life cycle, and it is regarded as the company’s market voice. Within cybersecurity, there are thousands of companies with a ton of products to manage. 

The responsibility of a product manager is to figure out what a product can do, what customers need, what the product needs to do its job in order to increase revenue. As a cybersecurity product manager, you will work closely with the engineering, sales, marketing, and support to ensure customer satisfaction goals are met.

Got excellent needs analysis, teamwork and people management skills? You should consider a career in cybersecurity product management.

 

6. Data Protection Officer

Data protection officers are in high demand as firms create massive volumes of user-generated data. Data has become the new gold mine, and businesses must protect their data and comply with all data regulations. That’s where a DPO comes in.

A data protection officer is responsible for making, negotiating, and reviewing any commercial agreement that has protected information in it, advising and writing data protection-related documents, such as contract due diligence, providing advice and support on new compliance reporting and data tracking requirements, as well as updating internal codes of conduct.

In this role, knowledge of all privacy laws is a big advantage. Hence, it is well suited for legal practitioners.

 

7. Technical Content Creators

Are you a creative person seeking a career in cybersecurity? You’ve got the right soft skills to flourish in this role. All you need is foundational knowledge of cybersecurity and you’ll be on a roll, literally. 

Content creator is an umbrella word that comprises bloggers, writers, actors, graphic designers, and even copywriters fall within the purview of this definition. One of the main reasons to create content regularly is to educate people. Educating visitors is one of the best ways to convert potential leads in marketing. This aspect of cybersecurity is just as important as the others.

As a Technical Content Creator, you will work with subject matter experts to create interesting and educative content that drive sales and marketing. You will also be in charge of managing content management systems while at it.

 

8. Customer Success Manager

Brands that have satisfied consumers have the finest advocates and promoters of their products and services. An organization with an effective customer service team saves cost on paid adverts as word-of-mouth customer testimonials travel faster.

Customer Success Managers are tasked with building effective relationships with customers and maximizing customer lifetime value. These include responding to customer queries in a timely and accurate manner, identifying customer needs and helping the customer use specific features, monitoring customer complaints, and informing customers of new features.

If you’re the type of person who can listen to a problem, figure out the issue, and walk someone through the steps to resolve it, this job might just be right for you. 

 

9. Sales Engineer

Do you have experience in sales? Are you bold, confident and can sell anything to anyone? A Sales engineer role could be your forte!

The sales engineer’s involvement in developing, expanding, and supporting an organization’s sales initiatives cannot be emphasized. One of the keys to organizational success is the sales engineer, who acts as a buffer between the organization and potential customers.

A sales engineer is in charge of the technology evaluation stage, which includes making and presenting proposals to customers and other people who have an impact on the sale. As a sales engineer, you will be involved in communicating with current and prospective clients to identify cybersecurity needs required to attain their business goals, and answering any inquiries about the cybersecurity subject.

 

10. Technical Writer

Technical writing is a very useful skill that has changed over the years. Today, technical writing is about breaking down technical information into more written and more understandable bits for readers.

As a technical writer, you work closely with other members of their team, including graphic designers, content writers, document specialists, and industry experts, to write technical documents that explain concepts to a target audience.

If you are a writer looking to transition into cybersecurity? Say no more, this role is just right for you. 

Cybersecurity offers several opportunities. Opportunities abound in leadership, penetration testing, writing, digital marketing, and legislation. 

Are you interested in leveraging Hacktales internship program to transition into any of the roles mentioned in this article? Click here to register for our upcoming cohort in January 2024. 

 

Share this article

Share on linkedin
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on whatsapp

OUR NEWSLETTER

Get access to the latest cybersecurity news, tricks, tips and career updates.