## Careers in Cybersecurity

The field is massive. It is not just "Hacking".

### 1. The Blue Team (Defenders)
They build, monitor, and defend. 80% of jobs are here.
*   **SOC Analyst (Tier 1/2/3)**: The first line of defense. Monitors logs, triages alerts. "The Firefighter".
*   **Security Engineer**: Builds the tools. Configures Firewalls (Palo Alto), SIEMs (Splunk), and EDRs (CrowdStrike).
*   **Incident Responder (IR)**: The SWAT team. Called in when a breach is confirmed to kick the attacker out.
*   **Threat Hunter**: Proactively searches for threats that evaded the SOC.

### 2. The Red Team (Offense)
Authorized hackers who test defenses.
*   **Penetration Tester**: Hired to break into a specific app or network to find bugs.
*   **Red Teamer**: Simulation of a full adversary (APT). They might phish employees, clone badges, or break windows.

### 3. Engineering & GRC
*   **DevSecOps**: Writes secure code and builds security into the pipeline.
*   **GRC (Governance, Risk, Compliance)**: Policy writers. Auditors. They ensure the company follows laws (GDPR, HIPAA) and standards (ISO 27001). "The Lawyers of Cyber".

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### Certificates vs Degrees
Cybersecurity is a meritocracy. Practical skills often outweigh degrees.
*   **Entry Level**: CompTIA Security+, Network+.
*   **Technical**: OSCP (PenTesting), BTL1 (Blue Team), CCNA (Networking).
*   **Management**: CISSP (The "Gold Standard" for HR filters, but less technical).

### How to Start?
1.  **Learn Linux**: It is the OS of the internet.
2.  **Learn Networking**: You can't hack a network if you don't know how IP packets work.
3.  **Build a Lab**: Set up VirtualBox with Kali Linux and a vulnerable target (Metasploitable).