Cybersecurity Job Titles Are Broken—Here’s What We Can Do About It

Let’s face it—job titles in cybersecurity are weird. They sound specific, but in reality, they rarely align with the actual scope of the work. From my experience, especially in non-management roles, you’ll often find yourself doing tasks that spill over into what seems like a completely different job description.

For example, as an analyst, you might end up wearing the hats of a threat hunter, project manager, or even an engineer. Meanwhile, as an engineer, you could be doing a little bit of everything. Sound familiar?

Specialties Over Titles

Here’s my suggestion: Don’t get caught up in job titles. Instead, focus on finding and nurturing your specialty. What part of cybersecurity truly lights you up?

If you love analyzing phishing emails (and honestly, it’s super fun!), then lean into that passion. Hone your skills, become an expert, and market yourself as the go-to person for that specialty. Use platforms like LinkedIn to showcase what you love to do. Write about it. Share insights. And don’t forget to use relevant hashtags to amplify your reach.

The reality is, many organizations don’t have job titles like "Phishing Analyst," even though they should. Every team should have someone dedicated to analyzing threats from that angle. Phishing provides critical insights into who is targeting you, why, and how. That’s huge.

Breaking the Burnout Cycle

Here’s another issue: when organizations assign overly broad responsibilities to people in seemingly specific roles, it’s a recipe for burnout and fatigue. Asking an engineer to be a project manager or an analyst to double as a system architect isn’t sustainable. It undermines your cybersecurity posture and erodes the team dynamic.

When people are forced into tasks they don’t enjoy—or aren’t skilled at—it creates disengagement. Over time, this leads to attrition, inefficiency, and gaps in your security strategy.

What’s the solution? Build your teams around passion and expertise, not rigid titles. Put people in roles that align with their strengths and let them shine. That’s how you create a resilient, high-performing cybersecurity team.

Cybersecurity as a Lifestyle

We also need to shift how we think about cybersecurity. It’s not just a job—it’s a lifestyle. This industry demands adaptability, collaboration, and passion. Success isn’t just about filling roles; it’s about assembling a cohesive team where each individual’s strengths reinforce the group’s mission.

Titles are less important than the fit—both technically and culturally. You need people who can protect your assets, align with your vision, and work seamlessly together. A disorganized or burnt-out team weakens your defenses, putting your most critical assets at risk.

Rethinking the Talent Pipeline

Here’s the exciting part: the talent is already out there, often in unexpected places. Degrees aren’t the only qualification for success in cybersecurity. Passion and raw intelligence can be found in high school students, self-taught enthusiasts, and career changers.

The challenge is figuring out how to identify and onboard these individuals. Choose tools and processes that build a solid technical foundation, and overlay that with a human framework—one that values passion, diversity, and continuous learning.

The Vision

Imagine this:

• A network team built with people who love tinkering and optimizing infrastructure.
• An intel team driven by curiosity and investigative rigor.
• An IR team with individuals who thrive under pressure and love solving puzzles.
• Analysts who excel at turning data into actionable insights.
• Leaders who inspire and guide their teams with clarity and vision.

This isn’t just a pipe dream—it’s possible. By prioritizing specialties over titles and building teams around passion and skill, we can create stronger, more resilient cybersecurity defenses.

Final Thoughts

Cybersecurity is evolving, and so must our approach to hiring, training, and team building. Let’s move beyond rigid job titles and focus on what really matters: empowering individuals to thrive in roles that align with their strengths, and creating teams that are greater than the sum of their parts.

What do you think? Are job titles in cybersecurity holding us back? How can we reshape our approach to hiring and team building?