From IT Pro to Cybersecurity Pro: Your Certification Pathway

I’m posting today because I have had a lot of questions lately about cybersecurity career pathways. The market has changed in the last few years, the need for the job market is growing, but you need the right skills. If you work in IT, you already handle security problems every day. Maybe it’s a phishing email that made it past the filter, a workstation behaving strangely, or a network log that doesn’t look right. You’re dealing with the consequences of malware, misconfigurations, and threats, often without a security title to show for it. That gap between what you already do and what your resume says is exactly what the right certification can close.

Security+: The Foundation
CompTIA Security+ is the starting point for most IT professionals moving into cybersecurity, and for good reason. It’s vendor-neutral and recognized across industries from healthcare to federal government. It covers the core domains you already encounter: threats, vulnerabilities, architecture, incident response, and governance.
More importantly, Security+ validates what you already know. For someone with a background in network administration or systems support, a lot of the material won’t be new. It will be the formal framework for things you’ve been doing by instinct.

What Security+ Opens Up
With Security+ on your resume, roles like Security Analyst, SOC Analyst, and Security Administrator become more accessible. The certification signals to employers that you understand security fundamentals and can apply them professionally. It’s often the first step that gets you out of a general IT role and into one with a security focus and a pay increase to match.

The Next Level: CySA+
CompTIA CySA+ is a natural next step. Be aware that CompTIA just updated the CySA+ certification.  You can still take the CS0-003, but the new CS0-004 exam is also available. Where Security+ covers the foundations, CySA+ goes deeper into threat intelligence, vulnerability management, and incident response. It’s the analyst-level certification, built for professionals who are actively monitoring and responding to threats rather than just understanding how they work.
Together, Security+ and CySA+ form a strong foundation for a cybersecurity career. Many professionals work in the field for a few years between these two certifications, applying what they learned and building the hands-on experience that CySA+ rewards.

The Newest Path: CompTIA SecAI+
In February 2026, CompTIA launched SecAI+, the first certification specifically focused on AI security. It’s designed for cybersecurity professionals who need to understand how AI systems introduce new risks and how to defend against them. CompTIA recommends having Security+ or CySA+ before pursuing SecAI+, along with three to four years of IT experience.
The demand for AI security expertise is growing quickly. Professionals with AI security credentials are seeing salary premiums of 15 to 30 percent compared to peers without them. If you’re planning your certification path now, SecAI+ is worth building toward.

How These Certifications Connect
Think of it as a progression. Security+ gives you the language and the framework. CySA+ builds the analytical skills. SecAI+ prepares you for where the field is heading. Each one builds on the last, and each represents a meaningful step forward in your career.

The Study Question
One of the most common things IT professionals wonder about is how to study for Security+. The honest answer is that it depends on how you learn. Some people do best watching video instruction. Others need to work through practice questions until the material becomes second nature. Some want hands-on lab environments where they can break things and see what happens. Others learn by reading and reviewing.

You need to determine how you best learn, and pursue materials that maximize your learning style. You need to build your study blueprint for your goals, and build a study routine to succeed. Follow the links, if you need assistance in building the blueprint and routine.

Where to Start
If you’re in IT and you’ve been thinking about making the move into cybersecurity, Security+ is where most people begin. It’s achievable, widely recognized, and directly connected to the work you’re probably already doing. The path from Security+ to CySA+ and eventually SecAI+ is clear. The first step is just deciding to take it.

Talk to you Sunday!