Career Launchpad · Technical + Pre-Sales syllabus
Cybersecurity Career Launchpad
Market orientation, networking & security foundations, SOC-ready skills, hands-on labs — plus a Pre-Sales Excellence track (RFPs, compliance mapping, and board-ready pitching).
Expand each block to see topics. Start here sets job-market context; modules 1–6 build technical foundations; modules 7–10 cover the Pre-Sales journey.
Start here — How to get a job in cybersecurity (market view)
- Types of roles in the market — common cybersecurity job families and what employers expect.
- Growing roles in the market — high-demand areas and skill trends.
- Average packages & demand — realistic ranges and how demand varies by role, location, and experience.
- Getting job-ready before college completion — pathways: internships, projects, certifications, and how to align early with hiring signals.
Technical foundation
1 Network Fundamentals
- What is a Network?
- Types of Networks (LAN, WAN, MAN)
- OSI Model (7 Layers)
- TCP/IP Model
- IP Addressing (IPv4, IPv6)
- Subnetting (basic + practical)
- MAC Address vs IP Address
- DNS, DHCP, NAT
- Ports & Protocols (HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, SSH, etc.)
Network Devices
- Router
- Switch
- Firewall
- IDS/IPS
2 Security Fundamentals
- Authentication vs Authorization
- Encryption Basics (Symmetric vs Asymmetric)
- Hashing (MD5, SHA)
- VPN Concepts
- Firewalls (Types & Working)
3 Security Tools
- Wireshark (Packet Analysis)
- Nmap (Network Scanning)
- Burp Suite (Web Testing Basics)
- Metasploit (Intro)
- Nessus / OpenVAS (Vulnerability Scanning)
- EDR
- Firewall
3-a SOC Analyst Skills
- What is SOC?
- Security Monitoring
- Log Analysis
- Alert Handling
- Incident Detection
- Use Cases & Correlation
3-b Incident Response & Handling
- Incident Lifecycle
- Detection → Analysis → Containment → Eradication → Recovery
- Real-world scenarios
- Reporting & Documentation
3-c Hands-on Labs / Projects (Must Have)
- Network scanning lab
- Packet capture analysis
- Log investigation (SIEM)
- Simulated SOC environment
- Incident response scenario
Pre-Sales Excellence
4 Phase 1 — The Technical Architecture
- Identity & Access
- Cloud Security
- Data Protection
- SecOps
- AppSec & APIs
4-a Phase 2 — RFP & Proposal Engineering
- RFP anatomy — analysing technical eligibility, SLA requirements, and functional compliance.
- Compliance mapping — translating product features into RBI guidelines, GDPR, ISO 27001, and NIST controls.
- The technical annexure — drafting detailed high-level designs (HLD).
- Commercial strategy — navigating QCBS (Quality-Cost Based Selection) and spotting hidden TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).
4-b Phase 3 — The Strategic Pitch
- Discovery mastery — using the NEADS framework (Needs, Expectations, Authority, Delivery, Satisfaction) to surface client pain.
- The 5-minute whiteboard — live-drawing architecture from a “broken state” to a “secure state.”
- Value-based selling — moving from feature lists to risk quantification (e.g. potential loss vs. solution cost).
- Executive storytelling — pitching cyber resilience (not only “cyber security”) to the board.
4-c Final phase — Are you ready for the market?
- Mock RFP
- Solution design & compliances
- Presentation
