SANS.edu Cybersecurity Career Center

Transform your hard work into cybersecurity career success with our support.
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Unlock Your Cybersecurity Career Potential with the SANS.edu Career Center

The SANS.edu Career Center empowers upper division undergraduate students in our Applied Cybersecurity Certificate and cybersecurity bachelor’s degree programs to leverage their SANS experience, GIAC certifications, and total skillsets to launch or advance their cybersecurity career.

Every student is paired with a dedicated Career Specialist, providing personalized support at every stage of your career journey. Cybersecurity is our only focus — and your career success is a key measure of our success.

Numbers at a Glance

We know the employment status of 100% of our upper division undergraduates — and the data you see here is sourced directly from student survey responses and pertains specifically to employment in cybersecurity roles.

$104K
Average starting salary of SANS.edu Applied Cybersecurity Certificate graduates
$110K
Average starting salary of SANS.edu cybersecurity bachelor's degree graduates
94%
Percentage of our job seeking bachelor’s degree graduates who gained employment in cybersecurity within 6 months.
56%
Percentage of our Applied Cybersecurity Certificate students who got their first new job before completing the program

“I've been crazy impressed with the SANS.edu career services folks. After I reworked my resume per their recommendations, I got a hit from a recruiter for a job I hadn't even applied for." - Preston Fitzgerald, Security Researcher, Synack Red Team

Cybersecurity Career Services for Life

Our students are highly marketable, but we know it can feel daunting to prep for your first cybersecurity role or to move forward in your current career. While it’s possible for you land your dream job without our help, a dedicated Career Specialist is here for you when you need support. Our personalized services include:

“I credit the SANS.edu Career Center for jumpstarting my cyber career. I seriously believe I am on the best cybersecurity team I could have ever imagined. I certainly worked hard, but I never would have arrived here without the Career Center helping with my resume, prepping me for interviews and just encouraging me in general.” - Ricardo Vazquez, Senior Associate, KPMG Cyber Response Services

cybersecurity student

Take Your Next Step

Need more information? We’re happy to answer your questions. Join us for an info session, email info@sans.edu or call 301.241.7665.

Ready to apply? We look forward to learning about you and your cybersecurity career goals.

Connecting You to Employers

Employers seek cybersecurity talent from us because they know the quality of our programs and the proven skillsets of our GIAC-certified graduates. These are just a few of the companies we’ve partnered with to source candidates directly to their open positions.

"Hiring a SANS graduate with multiple GIAC certifications takes the risk out of the hiring decision." - Russell Eubanks, CISO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Success Stories

Our students come from diverse backgrounds, reflecting the varied paths to a cybersecurity career.

Our Grads Get Hired

Our graduates get hired by companies like Amazon, Deloitte, Dragos, Google, Northrup Grumman, Red Canary, Wells Fargo and Walmart. More than half our students received their first cybersecurity job offer before they finished the program.

Job Titles Earned

SOC Analyst

Cyber Threat Intel Associate

Information Security Analyst

Security Engineer

Security Consultant

Cyber Software Engineer

Penetration Tester

Detection & Response Analyst

Incident Handler

Cyber Risk Consultant

Intrusion Analyst

Cybersecurity Specialist

InfoSec Specialist

Security Administrator

Forensics Examiner

Vulnerability Management Engineer

Incident Response Team

“When we hire SANS graduates, they are incredibly prepared, ready to assist with difficult incidents and handle complex malware samples. Whenever I have new open headcount, I always look for recent SANS graduates as I know our SOC and our customers will reap the benefit of their training.” - John Fenninger, Manager, Detection & Response Practice, Rapid7

Frequently Asked Questions

Which academic programs provide access to the Career Center?

The SANS.edu Career Center works with upper division undergraduate students in our Applied Cybersecurity Certificate and cybersecurity bachelor’s degree programs. Although the Career Center does not work with students in our 3-course Cybersecurity Fundamentals Certificate program, graduates of that program are primed to transition into our upper division undergraduate programs and gain access to the Career Center.

When do students gain access to the SANS.edu Career Center?

For most students, taking SANS courses and preparing for GIAC certification exams is a new experience that requires a high level of commitment. To ensure you can smoothly transition into a rigorous new academic environment, we offer you access to the Career Center after you have acclimated to your initial courses and begun the SANS course SEC401: Security Essentials - Network, Endpoint, and Cloud, which with the GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC) certification exam compose the courses ACS 3401 and BACS 3401 in our Applied Cybersecurity Certificate and bachelor degree programs.

What services does the Career Center provide?

Each student is assigned their own Career Specialist, an expert in the cybersecurity job search process, who can provide personalized resume review, job search consultations, interview preparation, and support in negotiating offers.

Does the Career Center provide postings of available jobs?

Yes, the Career Center collaborates with a network of companies actively seeking to hire our graduates for their open cybersecurity positions. We offer a student-exclusive jobs board integrated into the Internet Storm Center to showcase opportunities from our employer partners.

Are the career stats of your upper division undergraduates real?  How are they calculated?

We understand that our job placement and starting salary numbers may seem too good to be true, but they are real. Our data not only complies with NACE standards for colleges reporting, but goes further. While many institutions are only aware of the employment status of approximately 60% of their graduates, we maintain information on the employment status of 100% of our undergraduates. The data we present is sourced directly from student survey responses and pertains specifically to employment in cybersecurity roles. The average starting salaries you see on our website are updated every spring and fall based on the most recent 2 years of data.

Questions?

We're happy to help. Email info@sans.edu or call 301.241.7665.