Part of the Cybersecurity Career Guide — This article is one deep-dive in our complete career guide series.

Cybersecurity Career Switch: From IT to Security

By HADESS Team | February 28, 2026 | Updated: February 28, 2026 | 10 min read

Why IT Professionals Have an Advantage
Skills That Transfer Directly
Skills You Need to Build
The Fastest Transition Paths
Building Your Security Resume From IT Experience
Certifications That Accelerate the Switch
Common Mistakes Career Switchers Make
A 6-Month Transition Plan

Why IT Professionals Have an Advantage

A career switch to cybersecurity from IT is one of the most natural transitions in tech. You already understand networks, systems, and how organizations actually operate. That operational knowledge is something bootcamp graduates and career changers from non-tech fields spend months trying to acquire.

Hiring managers know this. When they see a candidate with three years of help desk, sysadmin, or network admin experience applying for a SOC analyst role, they see someone who already knows what normal looks like in an enterprise environment. That context makes you better at spotting what is abnormal, which is the entire foundation of security operations.

The cybersecurity talent gap, documented by ISC2’s Workforce Study, includes hundreds of thousands of unfilled positions globally. Many of those openings specifically prefer candidates with IT backgrounds over those with only academic credentials.

Skills That Transfer Directly

You already have more security-relevant skills than you think. Here is what maps over:

Networking fundamentals. If you have configured switches, troubleshot DNS issues, managed VLANs, or set up VPNs, you understand the infrastructure that security teams protect. Network security roles build directly on this.

Operating system administration. Windows Server, Active Directory, Group Policy, Linux administration — these are daily tools for SOC analysts and security engineers. AD management alone is relevant to identity and access management work.

Troubleshooting methodology. The systematic approach you use to diagnose IT issues (isolate, test, verify) is the same methodology used in incident response. You already think in cause-and-effect chains.

Scripting and automation. PowerShell scripts for user provisioning, Bash scripts for backups, Python scripts for monitoring — these all translate to security automation. Every SOC wants analysts who can script.

Vendor and tool management. You have worked with ticketing systems, monitoring dashboards, and managed vendor relationships. SOCs use similar workflows, just with security-focused tools.

Documentation habits. Writing change management tickets, runbooks, and knowledge base articles maps directly to security documentation — incident reports, playbooks, and policy documents.

Skills You Need to Build

The gap between IT and security is real, but it is narrower than most people think. Here is what you need to add:

Security fundamentals. You need a structured understanding of threats, vulnerabilities, risk management, and security controls. CompTIA Security+ covers this at the right level. Use the certification roadmap planner to sequence your study.

Threat detection and analysis. You need to learn how to read security alerts, analyze log data for indicators of compromise, and triage events. This is the core skill for SOC work.

SIEM tools. Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, or QRadar. Pick one and learn to write queries, build dashboards, and correlate events. Most SOCs will train you on their specific tool, but understanding the concepts transfers across platforms.

Vulnerability management. Understanding CVEs, scanning tools (Nessus, Qualys), and remediation prioritization. Your IT patching experience is the foundation; now you need the security assessment layer.

Security frameworks. NIST Cybersecurity Framework, ISO 27001, CIS Controls. You do not need to memorize them, but you need to understand how they structure security programs. NIST’s CSF documentation is the best starting point.

Attack and defense concepts. You need to understand how attacks work — phishing, privilege escalation, lateral movement, data exfiltration. Without this, you cannot effectively defend against them.

The Fastest Transition Paths

Not all security roles are equally accessible from IT. Here are the transitions with the highest success rate:

IT Support to SOC Analyst

This is the most common and fastest path. Your troubleshooting skills, familiarity with enterprise tools, and understanding of normal operations directly apply. Most SOC Tier 1 roles list “IT experience preferred” in their requirements. Read our full SOC analyst career guide for the detailed path.

Sysadmin to Security Engineer

If you manage Windows or Linux servers, you already do half of what a security engineer does. Add hardening standards (CIS benchmarks), security monitoring, and vulnerability management, and you are qualified for junior security engineering roles.

Network Admin to Network Security Engineer

This transition is almost a lateral move. You already manage firewalls, switches, and routing. Add IDS/IPS configuration, network segmentation strategies, and ZTNA concepts, and you are there. Explore the full network security engineer career path on the platform.

Help Desk to GRC Analyst

If you enjoy process, documentation, and compliance more than hands-on technical work, GRC is a strong path. Your experience with IT policies, change management, and audit support transfers directly to governance, risk, and compliance roles.

Building Your Security Resume From IT Experience

Your IT resume already contains security experience — you just need to reframe it.

Before: “Managed Active Directory for 500 users, including account creation, group policy management, and password resets.”

After: “Administered identity and access management for 500-user Active Directory environment, implementing least-privilege group policies and managing the full identity lifecycle including provisioning, deprovisioning, and access reviews.”

Same work, security language. Here is how to reframe common IT tasks:

Firewall rule management → network security policy implementation
Patch management → vulnerability remediation
Backup administration → disaster recovery and business continuity
Phishing email handling → initial incident triage and response
Access provisioning → IAM lifecycle management
Monitoring and alerting → security event detection and correlation

Use the resume builder to structure your security resume with the right keywords and framing.

Take the skills assessment to map your existing IT skills to specific security competencies. It identifies exactly where your gaps are, so you can focus your study time on what actually matters for the roles you want.

Certifications That Accelerate the Switch

Certifications validate your security knowledge to hiring managers who may not understand how your IT experience applies.

CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701). The standard entry-level security certification. If you already have Network+ or A+, Security+ builds on that foundation. Most SOC analyst job postings list it as required or preferred.

CompTIA CySA+. If you are targeting SOC analyst or security analyst roles specifically. CySA+ covers threat detection, analysis, and response — exactly what SOC teams do.

AWS Security Specialty or AZ-500. If you are a cloud admin switching to cloud security. These certifications map your existing cloud skills to security-specific workflows.

SSCP (Systems Security Certified Practitioner). From ISC2, designed specifically for IT practitioners transitioning to security. It validates operational security knowledge.

Plan your certification sequence based on your current skills and target role.

Common Mistakes Career Switchers Make

Pursuing OSCP or CISSP too early. These are advanced certifications. OSCP requires hands-on penetration testing skills. CISSP requires five years of experience. Start with Security+ and CySA+.

Ignoring their IT experience on applications. Some switchers strip their IT experience from their resume and only list security projects. This is a mistake. Hiring managers value operational experience. Frame it as security-relevant, do not hide it.

Only studying theory without hands-on practice. Reading about SIEM tools is not the same as using them. Set up a home lab, use the HADESS workspace for guided practice, or contribute to open-source security tools.

Applying only to senior roles. If you were a senior sysadmin, you might resist applying for a junior SOC analyst position. But your first security role is a bridge role. The seniority comes quickly once you have security-specific experience on your resume.

Skipping networking. Join local security meetups (BSides, OWASP chapters, ISACA). Many security jobs come through referrals, especially for career switchers who do not have security job titles yet.

A 6-Month Transition Plan

Month 1-2: Foundation

Start Security+ study (Professor Messer videos + practice exams)
Set up a home lab (Windows Server, Kali Linux, Security Onion)
Begin skills assessment to identify specific gaps
Join one security community (local BSides, OWASP chapter, or online Discord)

Month 3-4: Hands-On Skills

Pass Security+ exam
Complete hands-on labs in SIEM, log analysis, and incident response
Practice with the HADESS skills catalog for structured learning
Start applying your security learning at your current IT job (volunteer for security tasks)

Month 5-6: Job Search

Update resume with security framing using the resume builder
Start applying to SOC analyst and junior security roles
Prepare for interviews with the interview management tool
Consider coaching sessions for targeted job search strategy

This timeline assumes 10-15 hours per week of study alongside your current role. Some people do it faster; some need more time. The key variable is how much of your IT experience already overlaps with security work.

Related Guides in This Series

Take the Next Step

Map your existing skills to security roles. The HADESS skills assessment analyzes your background and identifies the fastest path from your current IT experience to your target security role.

Explore all cybersecurity career paths on the career path explorer to find the role that best matches your skills and interests.

Get started free — Create your HADESS account and access the skills catalog, career tools, and assessment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a degree to switch from IT to cybersecurity?

No. Most security hiring managers prioritize certifications and hands-on experience over degrees. Your IT work experience already demonstrates technical ability. A Security+ certification and a home lab portfolio are typically more valuable than a cybersecurity degree for career switchers.

Will I take a pay cut switching from IT to security?

It depends on your current IT role and your target security role. Senior sysadmins switching to junior SOC analyst positions may see a temporary decrease. However, security salaries tend to grow faster than general IT salaries, so you usually recover within 12-18 months.

How long does the transition typically take?

Most IT professionals with 2+ years of experience can make the switch in 3-9 months. The timeline depends on how much overlap your current role has with security and how many hours per week you can dedicate to study.

Should I stay at my current company or switch employers?

If your current company has a security team, explore internal transfers first. Internal moves are easier because your IT knowledge of the company’s environment is valuable. If there is no security team, look externally.

What is the single best first step?

Take a structured skills assessment to understand exactly where your IT experience maps to security and where your gaps are. This prevents wasting time studying things you already know.

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HADESS Team consists of cybersecurity practitioners, hiring managers, and career strategists who have collectively spent 50+ years in the field.