Does Cyber Security Require a Maths Qualification?

In recent years, we’ve all seen a surge in the need to be more digitally aware. As such, cyber security has become an increasingly important field for us as individuals, but also for companies, institutions and governments around the world.

Cyber threats are growing much more complex and severe with each passing day, which illustrates how much the world needs dedicated and diligent cyber security professionals.

Companies everywhere seek cyber security talent to fill a vast amount of potential vacancies, most of which promise lucrative salaries and long-term career fulfilment, which is an attractive prospect. However, a common misconception remains, that a strong mathematics qualification or background is essential for a career in cyber security.

If this has crossed your mind, you may be interested in finding out that it’s not all as it seems, and you may be able to enter the field of cybersecurity even if you’re not particularly strong at maths.

The Maths Myth in Cyber Security

For many young people, the field of cyber security is quite interesting, but they may feel discouraged if maths isn’t their strong suit. Luckily, the industry has evolved significantly over the past few years, with routes into cyber security now more accessible.

While it’s true that many areas of cyber security involve analytical and mathematical concepts, especially in highly technical positions, many of them rely heavily on practical, problem-solving, and strategic skills. A keen understanding of technology, human behaviour, and patterns will also make up large amounts of a typical day in the life of a cyber security professional.

Types of Cyber Security Roles

To give you a sense of how maths and cyber security complement each other, it’s important to understand the types of roles that the industry offers. While they vary from organisation to organisation, some of the most common and popular include the following:

1. Penetration Tester (Ethical Hacker): Attempting to ethically breach systems and networks to identify the weak spots that cyber attackers could potentially exploit. While some mathematical and analytical skills are required, problem-solving and logical thinking are arguably more vital. Penetration testing services are a team effort and can be offered to a whole host of companies, so these can offer plenty of security (no pun intended).
2. Security Analyst: Monitoring networks for potential security breaches and investigating isolated incidents. Some statistical and pattern analysis may be involved, but the role heavily relies on critical thinking and a familiarity with special software.
3. Security Consultant: Consultants advise organisations on their security posture and provide them with advice, strategies, and best practices for improving their stability. Strong communication skills and a broad understanding of cyber security law and relevant industry regulations are more vital than mathematics in this case.
4. Cyber Security Manager: This role focuses on overseeing a team of security experts and devising strategies and ideas to help improve their effectiveness. While it will likely involve some work as a frontline cyber security expert first, progressing into a managerial role requires leadership and project management skills, to name a few.

This just scratches the surface of the potential roles available to you post-education, with most requiring more practical, critical thinking, logical, and communication skills than advanced mathematics.

What Does the Industry Need Beyond Maths?

The cyber security space recognises the need for diverse skill sets and backgrounds, as it’s one of several that has long suffered from a lack of gender diversity and representation. A recent ISC2 study reported that women make up just 24% of the cybersecurity workforce as of last year.

As a result, there has been an increased effort to encourage more women and girls into the space from an earlier age. While that doesn’t necessarily mean making STEM subjects more appealing to a broader range of students, it also means educating everyone about what skills and abilities (beyond the technical ones) can prove vital in a cyber security context.

The industry recognises that it needs more people with a diverse range of perspectives, ideas, and skills to combat these threats effectively. Companies are also making conscious efforts to encourage diversity and inclusion for more women in broad cyber security roles, technical or not.

Put simply, a place in cyber security extends beyond maths, but it can help to have it in your arsenal.

Alternative Routes into Cyber Security

Consider the paths below which stray from the tried-and-tested maths university degree:

• Vocational courses in IT and cyber security
• BTEC Level 3-5 in relevant IT and computing fields
• Apprenticeships and internships with companies
• Work experience which can lead to entry-level jobs
• Industry certifications like CompTIA Security+, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), etc.
• Self-study and online courses to help build relevant skills without a heavy focus on maths
• Independent coding and training programmes

Remember the importance of transferable skills from other fields that you are experienced in. If you are skilled in areas such as psychology, law, creative arts, IT, programming, and so on, these can still be valuable in certain roles which focus on areas such as human behaviour, policies, problem-solving and web development.

Open Avenues and Onward Opportunities

It’s clear to see that cyber security roles don’t exclusively require you to be a mathematics expert. The field has evolved to encompass a broad range of valuable skills and qualities which reassuringly are not solely reliant on maths.

The key is to focus on building the practical skills most relevant to the job role(s) that interest you, gain valuable experience, continue to learn and expand your skill set and keep an open mind.