Breaking into cybersecurity? Here are the top skills to land a cyber-job

Cybersecurity and Intelligence is one of the fastest growing sectors in the United States.

According to research from CompTIA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Lightcast, there were over 514,000 cybersecurity-related job postings between May 2024 and April 2025. This is a 44,000 increase compared to the prior year. Even though demand for cybersecurity jobs is ticking upward, the need for skill based solutions in this sector remains the most critical need for many businesses looking to hire cybersecurity and Intelligence experts. But what are those skills? Let’s take a look.

Any future job seeker in this field will need a variety of skills to not only standout but to succeed in their position. According to a survey conducted by the World Economic Forum, only 14% of organizations say they have the necessary skilled talent to meet their cybersecurity and intelligence needs. Leading firms such as Warcollar Industries LLC look for both civilian and former military for their employment needs. Here are a few skills that could help land your next job.

• Cyber Network Operations experience;

• Technical Targeting experience and recent military experience with exploitation or SIGINT analysis.

• Experience with any offensive cyber/pen testing tools like John the Ripper, Burp Suite, Cobalt Strike, Kali Linux etc.

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Hot Jobs We’re Hiring For

All jobs require: TS/SCI Clearance with Polygraph
Apply Online: https://warcollar-jobs.services.agileonboarding.com/jobs
Benefits: https://www.warcollar.com/benefits
Questions? Contact our recruiter, Jeff Morris: jmorris@warcollar.com.

• Technical Targeter – Chantilly, VA

  • Demonstrated experience with Cyber targeting work.

  • Experience reading network packet capture data; experience working with network logs and records; experience working with network threat reporting.

  • Experience with customer tools and data repositories.

  • Experience leading team discussions.

  • Experience interpreting complex cyber issues to customers with a wide range of technical expertise.

  • Experience delivering timely support and error-free products on short deadlines to support customer engagements.

• Cyber Network Operator – Chantilly, VA

  • You will work onsite with the client doing high-end and cutting edge cyber related work with small dynamic technical teams.

  • You will use open-source tools such Metasploit, BurpSuite, nmap and Wireshark as well as proprietary tools to perform red teaming and penetration testing of the client's global network.

  • You will reverse engineer network layouts using data collected from the network itself to identify misconfigurations and to map out where various devices interconnect, communicate and what devices look like they may contribute toward the client's technical objective.

  • You will develop technical requirements for new tools or enhancements to existing tools and become the tools "champion" throughout the tool's life cycle.

  • You will document all work performed on the client's behalf daily where you will comment on what tools were used and devices that were identified and accessed.

  • You will pro-actively identify, define, and advocate technical processes, approaches, and concepts to enhance/improve exploitation efforts.

  • You will write and produce high-quality technical reports related to the scope, nature, and characteristics of the client's technical objective that is suitable for dissemination to both technical and nontechnical audiences.

  • You will analyze software, firmware and hardware using a variety of reverse engineering techniques to understand possible security vulnerabilities and potential misconfigurations, working closely with teammates who value innovation and execution.

  • You will perform in-depth analysis (dynamic/static) on malicious software-based platforms to provide actionable intelligence; as appropriate, provide remediation recommendations.

  • You will analyze, disassemble, and reverse-engineer malicious code, documenting and transitioning results in reports, presentations, and technical exchanges.

• DNEA – Ft Meade, MD

  • Well versed in tradecraft associated with cyber discovery or sustainment analysis of identified Advanced Persistent Threats (APT). 

  • Must have relevant experience with SIGINT and AMOD.  

  • Must be fluent with stored comms and passive resources.

  • Will have the ability to understand raw traffic affiliated with metadata and the ability to leverage appropriate resources for development, sustainment, or attribution of data. 

  • Will have experience with malware triage and characterization of zero-day CNE malicious campaigns.

  • Experience with enhancement of findings with use of Machine Learning and AI for focused discovery efforts.      

• Data Scientist - Ft Meade, MD

  • Experience with designing and implementing sophisticated AI/ML and data science solutions across various domains within customer environments.

  • Familiar with design and implementation of Agentic AI systems and customized Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) capabilities.

  • Must possess deep knowledge and experience in assessing, evaluating and implementing ML models for specific purposes and optimized performace.

  • Experience generating, evaluating, training and optimizing ML models for use in low-memory, low-resourced edge device environments.