When I talk to college students, 90% of them say, “Sir, I want to learn Ethical Hacking.” They think Cybersecurity is all about finding bugs and “breaking” things.
But honestly? Ethical Hacking (or VAPT) is just one small slice of a very big cake. If you only focus on hacking, you are missing out on 80% of the job opportunities!
Let’s break this down in simple words.
1. The “Doctor” Analogy 🏥
Think of a hospital. A surgeon is important, but you also need a General Physician, a Nurse, a Lab Technician, and a Pharmacist.
- Ethical Hacking is like the surgeon who finds the problem.
- Cybersecurity is the entire hospital system that keeps the patient healthy 24/7.
2. Defensive Security (The SOC/SIEM World) 🕵️♂️
This is where I spend most of my time. In a SOC (Security Operations Center), we don’t “hack.” Instead, we act like digital bodyguards. * We use SIEM tools like Splunk or ELK to watch every movement in the company.
- If a hacker tries to enter, we catch them in real-time.
- Career Tip: There are way more jobs in “Defense” than in “Hacking.”
3. Governance and Risk (The Rule Makers) 📝
Not every cyber expert writes code. Some experts create the “Rules of the House.”
- They decide who gets access to what data.
- They make sure the company follows laws (like DPDP in India).
- This is perfect for people who love management and planning.
4. Incident Response (The Firefighters) 🔥
What happens when a company actually gets hacked? You need a team to jump in, stop the damage, and recover the data. These are the “Firefighters” of the digital world. They are experts in “Digital Forensics” (finding out how the crime happened).
5. Cloud & Application Security (The Builders) 🏗️
Instead of breaking apps, these experts help developers build apps that are impossible to break. With everything moving to the Cloud (AWS/Azure), companies need people who can lock these virtual “warehouses.”
My Advice to Students 💡
- Don’t get stuck on Kali Linux: It’s a great tool, but learn the basics of Networking and Linux first.
- Look at the Blue Team: Defensive security (Blue Teaming) is a massive field with great salaries and stable careers.
- Basics are King: If you know how a system works, you will automatically know how to protect it.
The Bottom Line: Ethical hacking is “cool,” but Cybersecurity is “vast.” Don’t limit yourself to just one corner of the room. Explore the whole building!
