Cybersecurity Analyst (US Apprenticeship)

Cybersecurity Analysts: what are their responsibilities?

Cybersecurity professionals are instrumental in safeguarding organizations from cyber threats and ensuring their success. Your life as a cybersecurity professional can be very different, depending on the specific job you do:

• On the offensive side of cybersecurity, penetration testers and ethical hackers are here to identify vulnerabilities in systems, simulate cyber attacks to test the effectiveness of security measures, and provide recommendations for improving security.
• On the defensive side, SOC Analysts and incident responders typically monitor and defend networks against security threats, analyze security breaches, and ensure the integrity of information systems.
• Governance-wise, GRC analysts – for Governance, Risk, and Compliance – focus on ensuring that the organization manages risks effectively, maintains governance standards and complies with regulatory requirements.

As a cybersecurity analyst, you might actually find yourself involved in all these activities to varying extents and levels of autonomy, depending on the responsibilities of your team. That's why our program encompasses all three aspects and the associated skills.

What skills will you learn during this training?

Our program propels IT professionals directly into the heart of the cybersecurity arena. We will train you to be versatile, with operational competencies in the pivotal roles of SOC Analyst for defensive security, Ethical Hacker/Pentester for offensive security, and GRC Analyst for governance, risks and compliance. 

Over the course of this training program, we'll thus teach you a variety of skills, including how to:

• Raise employees’ awareness and commitment to cybersecurity
• Conduct a Web penetration test and share its results and recommendations
• Secure critical assets and infrastructure
• Automate recurrent activities by writing and running scripts in Python
• Investigate cybersecurity incidents and contain attacks
• Assess the compliance and risk level of a supplier

In addition to these technical skills, you’ll also learn transversal or "soft" skills, which will help you grow in your career.

This holistic approach ensures you will not just be a specialist in one domain but a fully-fledged junior cybersecurity analyst, prepared to tackle diverse challenges head-on.

The value for your employer and your career is twofold:

• Initially, you will bring an immediate proficiency in key cybersecurity activities, executing tasks efficiently, proactively, and reliably.
• As you grow in your role over time, you will already possess the foundational knowledge to specialize in any of the three core areas, aligning your skills with the evolving needs of your organization.

General security concepts, security architecture, security operations, security program management & oversight, threats, vulnerabilities & mitigations: Our curriculum is meticulously mapped to the CompTIA Security+ certification, recognized by the DoDD 8140, ensuring a commitment to both excellence and ethics.

How Do OpenClassrooms Apprenticeships Work? 

Apprenticeship programs combine paid on-the-job learning with online project-based instruction that equips employees for high-demand careers in data, technology, and business development.

Here’s how it works:

1. Onboarding (2-3 weeks prior to start of apprenticeship): Familiarizes both the apprentice and the employer with the training components and requirements. 
2. Pre-apprenticeship (3 months of training): Provides the apprentice with scenario-based project learning coupled with weekly mentorship and skills building courses in preparation for the formal apprenticeship program. This cybersecurity core mastery bootcamp is ideal for those needing to develop and demonstrate their cyber-awareness and proficiency in key activities before starting their apprenticeship.
3. Apprenticeship (12 months on-the-job, with one day per week of instruction): Continues to build apprentice’s skills via on-the-job training, corresponding online instruction, and weekly one-to-one mentoring sessions. 
4. Get certified! Following completion of the apprenticeship program, apprentices earn an industry-recognized and nationally portable credential from the U.S. Department of Labor. 

Projects

At OpenClassrooms, learning is project-driven because that’s the fastest way to become proficient. Projects offer hands-on experience so you can hit the ground running when you start your new job.  

This path has nine projects that you’ll need to complete, one at a time. You’ll receive a detailed brief with the context, customer requirements, and additional details. Then it’s up to you to go and make it real! To do this, you’ll have to be creative, coming up with innovative solutions to the questions at hand.

Want to see an example of a project? Read our blog post here.

Online But Never Alone! 

Before, during, and after the training program, you’ll be accompanied by humans:

• One-to-one weekly mentorship sessions with a professional in the field, in partnership with OpenClassrooms, who’ll provide you with support and guidance to complete your projects.
• OpenClassrooms staff who’ll help you succeed in your apprenticeship.
• Our global community of student peers with whom you’ll be in regular contact through our online platform. 

"As a mentor, my role is to support students and share my professional experience in the field of cybersecurity. What's exciting is to guide and accompany enthusiastic and motivated students, as this allows us to develop our pedagogical skills and transmit our passion for this constantly evolving field." Thomas

Are You Eligible for This Apprenticeship?

To be eligible for this apprenticeship, you must demonstrate proof of the following prerequisites:

• Be over 18 years of age and have the right to work in the U.S.
• Have a high school/secondary school degree, vocational certificate, or equivalent.

Technical prerequisites:

To get the most out of this program, you should already have some level of ​IT proficiency​ and ​cyber-awareness​.

IT Proficiency​ can be evidenced by having an Associate’s level degree or equivalent in IT (like graduating from our Help Desk Technician training program) or possessing at least 2 years of professional experience in IT.

Cyber-awareness​ can be developed through our 3-month Cybersecurity core mastery bootcamp. Alternatively, already holding introductory certifications like the ISC2 CC or ISACA CFC will equip you with the necessary foundational knowledge to make a success of this apprenticeship program.

Language: a good level of English (for non-native speakers, a CEFR level of B2, an IELTS band score of 6.5, or a TOEFL score of 80 is recommended).

Equipment: access to a computer (PC or Mac), headphones, a webcam, and a stable internet connection.

• At least 8GB of RAM and 50GB of free storage space available on your computer (16GB of RAM and 100GB of free storage space are recommended).
• Administrator rights to your computer in order to install required programs.