Entry Level Roles on the Business Side of Cybersecurity
The Gist
If you’re interested in joining the cybersecurity industry but don’t want to get into coding or highly technical roles, don’t worry! There are tons of opportunities on the business side. Let’s walk through four key entry-level roles—Technical Marketing Specialist, Content Specialist, Sales Development Representative (SDR), and Customer Success Manager (CSM). I’ll give you a sneak peak into what a typical day might look like and what you can expect when stepping into one of these careers.
Table of Contents
Technical Marketing Specialist
Content Specialist
Sales Development Representative (SDR)
Customer Success Manager (CSM)
The Bottom Line
FAQs
Technical Marketing Specialist
What Is It?
A Technical Marketing Specialist serves as the link between a company’s technical team and its marketing and sales efforts. They translate complex cybersecurity products and services into easily digestible information for potential customers, partners, and internal teams. This role involves working closely with product developers to understand the features and benefits of a cybersecurity solution and then crafting marketing materials like white papers, product demos, blog posts, and presentations to help promote those solutions.
In short, if you're good at simplifying technical jargon and want to support product launches and sales enablement, this role is a great fit for you.
A Day in the Life:
As a Technical Marketing Specialist, your day might start with a call from the product team to review a new feature that’s about to be launched. You’ll take detailed notes to ensure you understand how this feature works and, more importantly, how it benefits the end users. Once you’ve got the tech details down, you might work on creating a presentation or demo script that simplifies this information for your sales team.
Midday, you could find yourself editing a whitepaper or technical blog post, making sure it’s written in a way that even non-technical stakeholders can understand. After lunch, you might join a meeting with the sales team to discuss what materials they need to help prospects understand the product. By the end of the day, you're working with a graphic designer on visual content for an upcoming webinar where you’ll present how your company’s solution addresses a key cybersecurity problem.
What to Expect:
Expect to be the bridge between the technical team and the sales/marketing teams. You’ll be constantly learning about your company’s product, researching the competition, and making sure you’re always in the know about the latest cybersecurity trends. You’ll need to simplify complex ideas and explain them clearly, so if you're good at "translating tech speak," this is the role for you.
How to Get Started:
Skills Needed: Communication, writing, research, collaboration, and a willingness to learn technical concepts.
Training Recommendation: Pluralsight offers courses on both technical marketing and cybersecurity fundamentals. Pair this with HubSpot Academy for marketing skills.
Content Specialist
What Is It?
A Content Specialist in cybersecurity focuses on creating compelling, educational, and engaging content designed to inform and attract customers. This could include blog posts, case studies, social media posts, whitepapers, and more. The goal is to take complex security topics and make them accessible and interesting to a broader audience, especially for those who might not have a deep technical background.
Content Specialists are often responsible for shaping a company’s voice in the market, ensuring that their brand stands out as an authority on key issues in cybersecurity.
A Day in the Life:
As a Content Specialist, your day typically starts with reviewing any hot cybersecurity topics or news that’s trending. From there, you might dive into writing a blog post about a recent ransomware attack, offering tips on how businesses can protect themselves. You’ll work closely with the marketing team to ensure that your content aligns with the company's overall messaging and goals.
In the afternoon, you might be editing a customer case study that highlights how your cybersecurity solution helped a company solve a specific problem. You'll also brainstorm ideas for social media content—maybe writing a few LinkedIn posts that promote an upcoming webinar or a new blog post. By the end of the day, you're reviewing SEO keywords to make sure your content is optimized to rank well on Google.
What to Expect:
Expect to juggle multiple types of content: blog posts, case studies, social media posts, and perhaps even video scripts. You’ll also be working closely with SEO tools to ensure that the content you create helps bring organic traffic to the company website. You’ll need to be creative but also strategic, understanding both your audience and the cybersecurity industry.
How to Get Started:
Skills Needed: Writing, SEO, content strategy, creativity.
Training Recommendation: Start with Coursera’s Content Marketing Specialization, and supplement it with Pluralsight’s cybersecurity courses to help you grasp industry concepts.
Sales Development Representative (SDR)
What Is It?
A Sales Development Representative (SDR) is responsible for the early stages of the sales process. Their job is to find potential customers (often through cold outreach), qualify them as leads, and pass them on to the sales team. SDRs spend a lot of time prospecting, researching companies, and engaging with potential clients through phone calls, emails, and sometimes social media.
In the cybersecurity space, SDRs need a basic understanding of cybersecurity products to explain them effectively to prospects and identify pain points that their company’s solution can solve. This role is perfect for someone who enjoys communication and building relationships.
A Day in the Life:
An average day as an SDR starts by checking your email and CRM for any new leads that came in overnight. You’ll spend a portion of your morning researching prospects—checking LinkedIn, company websites, and any other resources to understand their business and potential cybersecurity needs.
Late morning, you might have a few cold calls or discovery calls scheduled where you introduce the prospect to your company’s offerings. Your goal is to identify whether they’re a good fit and if they have immediate cybersecurity needs. After these calls, you log your notes in the CRM and send follow-up emails to prospects.
In the afternoon, you’ll likely attend a sales team meeting to update the Account Executives (AEs) on the qualified leads you’ve passed their way. You might spend the rest of the day preparing for tomorrow’s outreach, organizing your lead list, and tweaking your cold outreach emails.
What to Expect:
Expect to spend a lot of time on the phone, sending emails, and doing research. You’ll be the first point of contact between the company and its prospects, so you’ll need to be confident in your communication and know how to handle objections. It's a fast-paced role, but the skills you gain here will set you up for higher-level sales roles.
How to Get Started:
Skills Needed: Strong communication, persistence, research, and CRM experience.
Training Recommendation: LinkedIn Learning offers excellent courses on sales prospecting and communication. Combine that with CompTIA Security+ on Coursera to build a strong foundation of cybersecurity knowledge.
Customer Success Manager (CSM)
What Is It?
A Customer Success Manager (CSM) is responsible for ensuring that customers are getting the most out of their cybersecurity products after they’ve made a purchase. The CSM works closely with clients to help them navigate onboarding, solve problems, and maximize the value of the product. They’re often the main point of contact for a customer and play a key role in fostering long-term relationships that result in renewals and upsells.
In cybersecurity, a CSM also needs to understand how different security solutions are implemented, so they can advise clients on best practices and ensure they're using the product effectively.
A Day in the Life:
As a Customer Success Manager, your morning might begin with checking in on customer accounts to ensure there are no open issues. You’ll likely have a few scheduled check-ins with clients, where you’ll review how they’re using your product, troubleshoot any problems, and help them optimize their cybersecurity solutions.
After these meetings, you’ll update your CRM with notes from the calls and work on any follow-up tasks—maybe scheduling an in-depth product training session for a new user or escalating a technical issue to the support team. By the afternoon, you might be working on a quarterly business review for a major client, highlighting the value your product has delivered and how it can continue to help them meet their security goals.
What to Expect:
You’ll be the go-to person for customers, ensuring they are satisfied and getting the most out of their cybersecurity solution. It’s a role that requires great communication skills and problem-solving abilities. You’ll also need to be proactive—anticipating customer needs before they even arise.
How to Get Started:
Skills Needed: Customer service, problem-solving, communication, and relationship management.
Training Recommendation: SuccessHACKER offers excellent customer success training. Pair that with Pluralsight’s cybersecurity basics courses to build the technical foundation you’ll need to help customers with their products.
The Bottom Line
Cybersecurity is more than just technical roles. As a Technical Marketing Specialist, Content Specialist, SDR, or CSM, you’ll be an integral part of driving the success of any cybersecurity company. What’s exciting about these roles is that they leverage skills you may already have in marketing, sales, or customer service. By gaining a basic understanding of cybersecurity through certifications like CompTIA Security+ and programs from Pluralsight, Coursera, or LinkedIn Learning, you can start your journey in this fast-growing industry.
If you’re ready to break into the business side of cybersecurity, check out the training programs I’ve recommended and take your first steps toward hacking your success!
FAQs
1. Do I need a degree to get into these roles?
No, a degree isn’t always necessary. Many companies care more about your skills and ability to learn. Certifications and practical experience can be just as valuable.
2. Which role is best for career growth?
All of these roles offer growth potential, but Customer Success Managers and SDRs often move into higher-level positions like Account Executive or Director of Customer Success.
3. Can I work remotely in these positions?
Yes! Many cybersecurity companies offer remote work opportunities, especially for marketing, sales, and customer success roles.
4. How long does it take to get certified?
It depends on the course, but most certifications like CompTIA Security+ can be completed in a few months with dedicated study.
5. How can I stand out as a candidate?
Combine strong communication and customer service skills with basic cybersecurity knowledge from certifications like CompTIA Security+ or courses from Pluralsight or Coursera (affiliate links). This will show employers you’re serious about the industry.
