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11.09Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications

Career paths in this area

Network and Systems Administrator SOC 15-1244
Network and systems administrators build and run the infrastructure everything else sits on — switches, routers and wireless, servers and virtualisation, directory services, cloud platforms, backup and monitoring. ⚠ A median of $99,130, reachable from an associate degree, at 56 Florida institutions — the widest computing footprint in the state. ⚠⚠⚠ But read the outlook honestly: this occupation is projected to DECLINE, and so is the support work below it. The growth is in the two rungs above. This page covers the whole ladder and says where to aim.
Cybersecurity Analyst SOC 15-1212
Cybersecurity analysts defend an organisation's systems and data — hardening configurations, monitoring for intrusion, responding to incidents, testing defences by attacking them, and investigating breaches after the fact. ⚠ A median of $129,180 and 21% projected growth, the fastest of any computing path on this site. ⚠⚠⚠ And the thing nobody says in the advertising: this is NOT an entry-level field. The federal handbook is explicit that analysts typically arrive from systems administration, and a security credential with no operational experience behind it is the commonest disappointment in this job market. This page covers four related roles.
Computer systems networking and telecommunications — included because the federal handbook states that analysts typically arrive from network and systems administration, so this is the commonest actual feeder into the security job rather than a neighbouring subject.

Careers without a path yet

The U.S. Department of Education links these careers to this field of study, but nobody has written a career path for them on this site yet. Press Request to ask for one. Paths are written in order of demand, and you can follow each request in the career request queue. Requests are anonymous: your browser keeps a random ID so that pressing Request again the same day counts once. We store no name or email, and your network address is kept only in scrambled form, to stop abuse. The SOC number is the U.S. Department of Labor’s code for the occupation.

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