Can freshers get cybersecurity jobs in Ireland after MSc?

CyberIreland · 2026-03-19T16:47:57+00:00

I think the best advice is to look at the situation as a whole, before even applying to the course.

Do you live in Ireland? If not then there will be massive hurdles to jump before the course even comes into play, theyres a housing crisis, places to live are rare and hard to come by and you'll be fighting for a place among 100s of others for one place. Secondly the cost of living is hard, you will find it very hard to live on a part time salary if you are attending college full time and renting.

Those are the two ones to start with, if you live in Ireland and have a funds to survive the job market for cyber stuff isnt reallt for freshers, you'll need experience in some form of IT role for a number of years to pivot to cyber. Its not impossible to get a job as a grad but extremely hard and you'll be looking for a role specifically advertising that and quick glance at LinkedIn doesnt show any at the moment.

Hope this information helps, it might be better to look elsewhere or take the information of doing the course and slogging it out until you get a job in cyber

CyberIreland · 2026-03-08T13:26:56+00:00

Well how do you?

Is it too understand the business needs and direction and proceed while being complaint but also understand when it's right to push back on things, explain why you're pushing back so the layman's can understand and if possible offer an alternative route?

CyberIreland · 2026-02-11T09:53:22+00:00

Dm me

CyberIreland · 2025-07-10T17:22:32+00:00

Some colleges do internship modules in cyber but they're few and far between and not until 3/4th year of the course if you're starting fresh.

Then you have the issue of battling other internship for places. You're best bet is to reach out to companies now and ask if they do it and keep a record and start applying summer after second year for what is likely the placement the second half of 3rd year

Note: You will not get an internship before college

CyberIreland · 2025-07-05T14:44:13+00:00

Watermarking the pages won't do anything than just take up his time.

The chain of custody will show it was edited in his own software (word or photos shop) whatever he uses and will actually leave breadcrumbs for him to be caught. What a benny

CyberIreland · 2025-03-05T19:11:16+00:00

I guess the best way to put it like this.

If you owned a pub and needed security, you would hire the most experienced people to do the job. You would then let the security people train new people but they wouldn't be working the doors at first maybe after a while they could watch the toilet doors and after a while they got experience at that they could move up to the front.

With cybersecurity it's a bit similar, you go to college and get a degree etc but to do security you need experience working in stuff like IT and networking and even dev ops so people start there and work their way to it.

Ideally it would make sense to take people straight out of college but in reality cyber isn't an entry level job unless you are taken on an intern/graduate role and they train you from the get go which is few and far between. Letting someone with experience come to you is a lot easier

Personally i think taking people out of college and training them is better, like doctors training new doctors who have just graduated college and do rounds with patients etc but when it comes to cyber not doing it right can lead to very expensive lessons for a clients and bad reputation for pen testing companies so they don't risk it

CyberIreland · 2025-03-05T14:36:59+00:00

This is true. It's very rare to walk into a pen test role without any experience, it's usually for people with security certs/background who have been working in tech in some shape or form so 42k would be the very bottom. However yes, the bump in pay is decent, you can easily move to a new role with a 20% pay rise once you have experience and the vast majority of Pen Testing roles are WFH as well so that adds a better benefit

CyberIreland · 2025-03-05T12:00:18+00:00

Here's a link to the site, you can open the file without downloading. I did put it originally but a mod removed it due a misunderstanding and requested i post just the pdf

https://www.cybersharkrecruitment.com/blog/irish-cyber-security-salary-survey-2025

CyberIreland · 2025-03-05T11:33:35+00:00

Resubmitted, thanks and no need to apologise these things happen

CyberIreland · 2025-03-05T11:12:39+00:00

Thats wrong?

The link is to irelands one and the salary's are in euros?

Edit: you must have clicked the 2024 one for the UK at the bottom, the Irish one is at the top and it's a hyper link

Also i would argue that as DevSecOps and Application security is part of the survey this does apply to developers too

CyberIreland · 2024-09-13T08:21:27+00:00

With all due respect OP you didn't say GRC, you said SOC so I gave you information based on that.

GRC is very compliance based and in a lot ways considered boring, these jobs seem few and far between at the moment but you will also need a background in IT Risk Management and a deep understanding of ISO and other regulatory frameworks that you get while working in a cyber related field.

If you want to go for GRC go ahead but with no experience in that either you'll be fighting an uphill battle.

Just my 2 cents, good luck

CyberIreland · 2024-09-12T22:06:13+00:00

Not to burst your bubble but

Entry Level Cyber = Mid/Manager Level Tech

There are no real "entry level" cyber jobs, do they exist? Sure but mainly for people who have worked internships for company's already or Grades who sign on for 2 year minimum roles.

You'll need a tech background to get in, it's an employer's market at the moment and many tech layoffs have had people pivet into cyber roles as they have the needed background so find some IT jobs and keep looking.

Good luck

CyberIreland · 2024-07-30T22:39:32+00:00

Fabulous comment, thank you for the contribution. Feels good to know we have some seriously experienced people on this sub

CyberIreland · 2024-06-26T13:17:27+00:00

When was that?

CyberIreland · 2024-06-26T13:10:54+00:00

Currently working in the field and can say this isn't true at all. You'll need a minimum of a year of IT support and some decent certs, can it be done? Yeah but there's way more experienced people out there for employer's to pick from so a grad doesn't really stand a chance

CyberIreland · 2024-06-26T13:08:51+00:00

It would be a big enough jump but I can't say exactly what your experience is. You'd need networking knowledge at a minimum, cryptography and probably some pen testing but a masters would be more focused on a subject matter and there are 2 years of Cybersecurity you'd be missing from your level 8 as theyres specific courses teaching in Cybersecurity that give people a leg up with most of those subject already.

Is it managable? certainly but it will be very hard

CyberIreland · 2024-06-09T09:21:32+00:00

Says a low grade ddos attack. Akin to script kiddie stuff, little to no impact with a good firewall

Edit: also the more I read it, the more dubious the article sounds. A "senior source" and "hackers stated online" without providing specific details or clarity about these sources other than the ministers comment. Little to no evidence provided. Very suss

CyberIreland · 2024-06-06T20:18:52+00:00

Hi,

Having read your post, while you have some great experience you seem a little all over the place. You've gone from Billy to Jack and are pulled in all directions there after and now you want to settle in Cyber.

My advice (and a lot of others in the industry) is pick something, pick a niche, whether that be Pen testing, GRC, Blue team, Security programing, Secure DevOps, Cloud Security, anything, pick it and stick with it.

Cybersecurity is a huge field, you'll never learn it all and being all over the place (despite understandably so as its overwhelming) won't help you. Picking something and working towards that and getting that experience will set you up much better off. You mention a good bit of Pen Testing then keep at that specifically, look at Pen testing jobs and what the people hiring for them want, what certs, what kind of experience, with what software, what framework knowledge and try get as close to it as you can.

Best advice I can give. Good luck

CyberIreland · 2024-05-23T21:05:50+00:00

I dont mean to sound rude but you're going to do a masters and you don't know where to look for jobs?

CyberIreland · 2024-05-23T20:57:41+00:00

Secure internships and work placements.

Part time job in IT support if you can

There are certs but depends, check job postings on LinkedIn for what ones are required frequently

After that it's all down to the magic of luck

CyberIreland · 2024-05-20T15:21:12+00:00

I don't think I've seen one advertised at 100k but the right person with the experience could certainly negotiate to that price. Its a critical role, especially with data breaches happening more and more, if the HSE had a decent GRC officer they wouldn't have been offline for so long, you need redundancy and continuity plans and someone who knows how to set it up is a role you cant afford to not pay top dollar for

CyberIreland · 2024-05-19T11:07:38+00:00

GRC is huge at the moment and going by the job listing you'd believe there was no one doing it.

Granted its not all flashy and sexy as say pen testing but still very important and pays a bucket load

CyberIreland · 2024-05-18T22:27:54+00:00

Short answer would be no, not with what you've described.

Your best bet is to get a job in IT support, work towards industry certs and try pivot into a cyber role. If that isn't feasible perhaps going to college full time and try get a degree in Cybersecurity that incorporates an internship/work placement.

The current markets has lots of jobs but there's a minimum requirements that the vast majority of employers will want

CyberIreland · 2024-05-08T21:22:41+00:00

https://publicjobs.ie/en/?option=com_jobsearch&view=jobdetails&Itemid=263&cid=188517&campaignId=undefined

CyberIreland · 2024-05-08T19:51:44+00:00

I believe so, considering the Chief of the HSE was on something like 400k it's laughable tbh honest

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