Cyber Security Engineer Job kit

CAREERS

withSTEM JOB KIT ™

Cyber Security Engineer Defend our community from online attacks

UNSW Engineering

School of Computer Science and Engineering

CRICOS Provider Code 00098G

FOREWORD

Outsmart e m i r c s u o i c i l a m

Find out more here or scan:

e, cyber security engineers With cyber-attacks on the ris are needed more than ever

A

s, we’re in constant s cyber security engineer set out to fake o battle with criminals wh m people out of sca s, elections, steal identitie rse. These bad guys their life savings, and wo means the rules we play break all the rules – which er ing – and the field of cyb by are constantly chang ng. security is rapidly evolvi a long-term shortage of ing fac But Australia is skills nals. To bridge the cyber cyber security professio er cyb m fro munities gap and protect our com ts who are smart. Curious. den stu d nee we criminals, lor of Cyber Security, Energised. In our Bache h no background students often begin wit duate knowing gra in coding or IT. They crochips mi w everything from ho y. They log cho psy l work to crimina ry ust ind n s-o nd benefit from ha h wit ng rki wo d an experience re practising experts. They’ agile h wit ory the x mi to taught lled ski thinking. They become d an s sic at using digital foren e sur AI – and high-pres mwork problem solving and tea of ead ah y sta to – in the race s. the bad guy

Richard Buckland Professor of Cyber Security, UNSW

See Richard’s lectures in action here or scan

Purposeful, essential, high-pay careers

To thrive in this dynami c environment, teamwork is vital, which is why at UNSW we place such a strong focus on creating belonging an d connection. Our cyber security community is sec ond to none. Every unit is developed with industry.

Every student will have an industry mentor across the ir entire cyber degree. We all know each other and work together. And we do work that really matters.

If this sounds like a cha llenge you’re up for, then you’re in the right place.

IMAGES: SUPPLIED / SHUTTERSTOCK

security, you’ll When you work in cyber and in very aid not only be super well-p e a strong sense of hav o als high demand, you’ll d in the world. mission: you’re doing goo s elop cyber security leader At UNSW, we aim to dev ed. nd mi rpsha d an skilled who are both technically at ates go on to get top jobs du gra ty uri Sec Our Cyber ret telcos, the military, sec Google, Atlassian, banks, squirrel organisations...

Cyber security is as much about mindset as it is about tech skills.”

Bachelor of Economics Director of Teaching Practice, UNSW

Richard Buckland Professor of Cyber Securi ty, School of Computer Sci ence and Engineering, UNSW Australasian Engineering Educator of the Year, Engineers Australia

Bachelor of Science (Honours)

Director of Cyber Security Education Australia

Director of SECedu CSE

Professor of Cyber Security, UNSW

Check out CareerswithSTEM.com for more insights, information, inspiration and advice about cyber security careers!

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CYBER SECURITY ENGINEER

DEEP DIVE

S E N I L T N O R F E JOIN TH Y T I R U C E S R OF CYBE reer that protects Turn your tech skills into a ca

Do you love solving puzzles, outsmarting hackers, and dodging digital danger?

If you want a career that’s challenging, future-proof and meaningful, cyber security engineering is crying out for more skilled-up superheroes. Whether you’re saving companies from disaster, protecting national secrets, or helping your community stay safe online – your work makes a real impact.

Money talk

W hat will you earn as a cyber security professional? $88K – $140K/year e $120K/year averag Sou rce: Gla ssdoor.com

Stop the rot Cyber security protects our community from real pain:

ospitals locked out •H of patient records • Schools shut down from ransomware • Families losing life savings to scams • Personal identities or accounts stolen

Cyber security engineering is a great fit if you:



Like solving mysteries

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Enjoy computers and tech

• In the past year, 2.8 million Australians were victims of cybercrime**

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Are curious and always ask “What if...?”

• Australians lost $3.5 billion to cybercriminals in 2019**

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Are calm under pressure

• Jobs for cyber security an professionals have grown by ce sin r yea h eac 6% average of 24.

2016***

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Want to protect people

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Love outside-of-the-box problem-solving

Cyber-stats • Hackers attack a comput every 39 seconds*

IMAGES: SHUTTERSTOCK

lives and businesses

er

MARYLAND, SOURCES: *UNIVERSITY OF OF CRIMINOLOGY, **AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE COMPETITIVENESS PLAN ***CYBERSECURITY SECTOR

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Work from any where

As a cyber security engineer, you can protect pe ople with your digital sk ills, from anywhere in the wo rld, even wh ile wearing your py jamas

Black hat , white ha Use you t

r tech pow e a wh ite h at hacker, rs for good as tester. Yo aka penetr u’l a to the tes l put your hack ing tion t to work s k il ls out system re ally is. Yo how secure a ur k il ler s can help c k il ls ompa and ord in n ies, govern ments a protected r y people stay in a world that’s always co n nected.

What you’ll do As a digital defender, you’ll design systems that: ✔ Prevent cyber attacks ✔ Protect data ✔ Keep networks safe ✔ Work on firewalls ✔ Detect hackers and malware

you Find the right job for

r Cryptography Enginee tect

Cyber Security Analyst

es to pro The job: You’ll work on cod sensitive info ardry Your superpower: Maths wiz

respond to The job: You’ll monitor and digital threats to detail Your superpower: Attention

Security Software Developer

White Hat Hacker

into digital The job: You’ll try to break s sse kne wea systems to find king skills hac d Ma r: owe erp Your sup

ls that keep The job: You’ll build the too everything safe te elegant Your superpower: You wri bilities era vuln ses imi min code that

Network Security Engineer

Forensic Analyst

systems like The job: You’ll protect big school or hospital net works er pressure Your superpower: Cool und

cybercrimes The job: You’ll investigate out digital g Your superpower: Sniffin clues

Simply the best

UNSW’s engineerin g facu lty consistently ranks as the best in Austral ia. You’l l get hands-on experienc e, access to global research, industr y placements and fle xible double degree options.

Degree snapshot Study a Bachelor of Cyber Security at UNSW. Core subjects include Foundations of Cyber security and Cyber security Workshop 1 – Penetration Testing, plus choose subjects in psychology, digital forensics or Web Application Security and Testing You have loads of flexibility to tailor your degree, with electives from all over UNSW, plus cyber-subjects like System and Software Security Assessment or Security Engineering and Cyber security

Scholarships to watch • UNSW Women in Engineering Scholarship • UNSW Engineering Rural Scholarship Find out more At scholarships.unsw.edu.au or scan 5

CYBER SECURITY ENGINEER

REAL PEOPLE

Find your people

are)/ ring (honours) (so),ftw SW UN Bachelor of Engine ng eti rk (Ma e Bachelor of Commerc

IMAGES: SUPPLIED / SHUTTERSTOCK

Cyber security Tutor, Foundationalineering, UNSW Eng ity ur Sec d an

Jay Patel chose cyber security for the hands-on challenge

I

well in English, economics n high school, Jay Patel did t bet ter choice than an and business studies. So wha engineering degree? son to do any STEM-related “I was probably the worst per hnical, ted to do something more tec degree,” he says, “but I wan .” sics t didn’t involve phy something more hands-on tha ing y courses, and loved it. “Be urit sec er cyb Jay loaded up on how of ding tan ers und uires a deep a great securit y engineer req n gramming courses, you’ll lear pro mal nor h Wit k. systems wor er cyb But 2’. als equ 1 ‘1 plus how to code ‘hello world’ or how to mindset. It’s about learning ut abo h muc y ver is y securit n solve it.” approach a problem and the atmosphere, taking up the llen Jay thrived in this cha ging well r in cyber courses he’d done opportunity to work as a tuto ue uniq e quit ing eth rse tutor is som in. “The chance to be a cou and ring inee Eng and puter Science to the UNSW School of Com ts to for high-performing studen nity ortu opp e hug a represents s. say he ionally,” give back and grow profess

Jay Patel UNSW software engineering student

volunteering as Socials Portfolio Director at SecSoc – UNSW’s student security society.

“In high school, I was at the bottom of my maths cohort,” Jay says. “But high school isn’t a reflection of how you’ll do at uni.

At uni, if you have the mindset of taking on a challenge, then you can definitely do it.”

When Jay graduates, he’s keen to get a job overseas. “I don’t have an actual straight-line plan. Because I do security, I can branch out into all these different fields. I can just kind of do what I want.”

yone Everyone knows ever ity is super-close.

commun Jay also loves that the cyber lly, That kind of community is rea er. oth h “Everyone knows eac the lly rea it’s study at UNSW, really valuable. That’s why I an extremely suppor tive and and rs che tea t people. Brillian welcoming community.” udes an exchange to the Jay’s UNSW experience incl cyber omation tools for assessing Netherlands, building AI aut and urit y Suppor t Officer, threats as a casual Cyber Sec

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To best break or defe nd systems, you need to ou tth ink the people who built them.”

6

SECURING THE SYSTEM

Day in the life “I work a fourday week as my team provides 24/7 coverage across three countries.”

7:30am

With a gig at Google, security engineer Kristin Smith is living the dream

Arrive at the office and grab breakfast.

8am

Read my chat messages and emails. “My team is spread across Sydney, Zurich and Sunnyvale, so a lot of communication happens while I’m offline.”

9:30

Action code reviews and bugs.

10:30

Write some code for a project.

12:30

Lunch.

1:30

Meetings with partner teams.

3:30

Test code and run experiments.

5pm

Send questions, bugs and feature requests to teammates in the US and Switzerland for when they come online.

K

e ristin Smith took her tim , ool sch at uni. After high she enrolled in a Bachelor UNSW, of Computer Science at degree r yea eestretching a thr paid work ce an bal to to five years and study. d ‘fa llen “At the time I felt like I ha case at the t behind ’ but that was no at decision gre a s wa all,” she explains. “It in hindsight.” xibilit y, Kristin Grateful for UNSW’s fle ular for setting her up credits one unit in partic ty Engineering and for fut ure success: Securi Cyber Security. elop a security “It rea lly helped me dev munication com mindset and improve my skills I learned the use ll skills,” she says. “I sti there in my job today.” impressive gig at Kristin soon landed an as a security engineer, Google. She now works er threats and investigating potentia l cyb p attempted attacks. building the tools to sto d her team developed a For example, Kristin an backed by machine ma lware detection system ogle cor porate fleet. learning to protect the Go p into writing Some days Kristin is dee

Kristin Smith Security Engineer, Google

code. Other days, she’s on high aler t, tracking real-time incidents. She says it’s fastpaced, unpredictable and proof that followin g your curiosity – and taking care of yourself – can lead to an epic career.

Kristin’s advice for future engineer s? “If you find something cool, explore it,” she says. “But always take care of your health. Don ’t rush your degree just to finish on time.”

Bachelor of Computer Science (Security Engineering), UNSW

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Security Engineer, Google

WORDS: CASSIE STEEL | IMAGES: SUPPLIED / SHUTTERSTOCK

I’ve been in my role for four years and I still learn something new each day.”

CYBER SECURITY ENGINEER

Code CodeCombat

Best for: Python and JavaScript beginners Real coding (not drag-and-d rop), adventure game format, bat tle monsters by writing code.

Scratch

Best for: Visual programming, storytelling and games Build games, animations, and interactive stories with drag-and-drop blocks.

Great for creative minds.

Get the job!

l engineering Try coding, sleuthing and socia

CodinGame

Best for: Levelling up your coding skills Real-world coding problems turned into puzzles and challenges.

Watch

Grok Academy

Best for: Dipping your toe into coding Try your hand at cryptography and cyber card games.

Sneakers

heist This cult classic 90s Hollywood a with nes takes us behind the sce . kers team of ethical hac

Live Free or Die Hard

d ever?

Could this be the best Die Har enrols lane McC n Joh le The unstoppab a stop to s ker hac the help of cyber-terrorist plot.

Tron: Legacy

To read this job kit online, scan here

to fight Hero Sam uses his tech skills this in my back against a virtual ene . omp er-r cyb fast-paced big-biked

Follow Security Society of UNSW (TikTok)

Hear directly from UNSW stud ents interested in cyber security.

UNSW Institute for Cyber Security (IFCYBER) (YouTube)

Try

Dive in

HackClub

Cyber security engineering is high-tech, high-stakes and never boring. To learn more, check out cyber security courses at UNSW and get ready to dive into:

A nonprofit global network of teen hackers who code together. By students, for students.

Which Cyber Security Job is For You?

Dive into everything from the Dumbo Protocol to the psycho logy of trolling.

Love a personality quiz?

Discover your perfect cyber security job match with our Careers with STEM quiz.

Tech with Jono: Getting int o Cybersecurity (YouTube)

Australian Schools Cyber Challenge

What’s it really like working as a cyber security professional in Australia?

• Ethical hacking • Digital forensics • Cryptography • AI and machine learning for threat detection • Legal and ethical hacking laws • Cyber psychology • Social engineering

Register a team of friends, compete in hyper-realistic online cyber challenges, and win prizes. Yes please.

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This edition was published on 13 October 2025.