SOC Analyst

Monitor, triage and investigate security alerts; the most common way into a security career.

The largest entry point into security hiring, with a clear path to incident response and detection engineering.

Day to day

•Triage alerts and separate noise from real threats
•Investigate suspicious logins and endpoints
•Escalate and document incidents
•Tune detections that fire too often

Start from: No security experience needed

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1
IT and security basics
4–6 weeks
Understand the systems you will be defending.
Operating systems and networking
Every alert is about a host, a user or a connection.
Common attack types
Phishing, malware and credential abuse make up most of an analyst's queue.
Security fundamentals
Confidentiality, integrity and availability frame how you judge severity.
Certifications
- CompTIA Security+ · CompTIA
Portfolio project
Analyse five real phishing emails: headers, links, verdict, and the user guidance you would send.
Cybersecurity Foundations course
2
Logs, SIEM and triage
4–6 weeks
Work an alert queue confidently.
Log analysis
Evidence lives in authentication, endpoint and network logs.
SIEM queries
Searching logs quickly is the analyst's core tool.
Triage and severity
Correct prioritisation is what a SOC is measured on.
Certifications
No certification needed here. Your project is the proof.
Portfolio project
Investigate a simulated brute-force-then-success login and write the incident ticket.
Detection coverage lab Suspicious-login investigation SOC readiness exam
3
Incident response
4 weeks
Handle an incident from detection to lessons learned.
Containment and eradication
Acting in the right order preserves evidence and stops spread.
Threat intelligence
Knowing attacker techniques shortens investigations.
Clear written communication
Managers and customers act on your summary, not your screenshots.
Certifications
- Certified Ethical Hacker · EC-CouncilPractise
Portfolio project
Run a ransomware tabletop exercise and publish the timeline and recommendations.
Incident-response readiness lab Ransomware first-hour lab SOC guided labs
Finish line
Prove you're ready to apply
20 workplace scenarios. Reach 80% with no area below 60% for a job-ready signal.
Take the readiness exam

Certification requirements, prices and exam formats change. Always confirm on the issuer's site, linked from the certifications page.

SOC Analyst

IT and security basics

Logs, SIEM and triage

Incident response

Prove you're ready to apply

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