How to Become a Cryptographer - Complete Career Path Information

Updated On: 30-Jan-2024

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How to Become a Cryptographer - Complete Career Path Information

Every day we do online transactions like online shopping, money transfers, send private emails or messages. What if you come to know that when you enter your credit card details for online shopping and hit the submit button someone else is there who can see your all details? Or someone else is reading your private messages?

Do you ever do such online activities? I don't think so. Cryptography comes to save us here.

In this career guide, we'll read about:

What is cryptography?
Who is a cryptographer or cryptologist?
Education needed to become a cryptographer
Must have skills for a cryptography career
Career path information to pursue this career
Career opportunities

What is cryptography?

In this digital age data security is the biggest and primary concern for everyone. It becomes more critical when we talk about banking data, online transactions, or the passwords of our different accounts, etc.

Cryptography is a technique used for data protection. Cryptography is a combination of "Crypto" and "Graphy", crypto means hidden and Graphy means writing.

It is used to save data from theft, alteration, or unauthorized access. This technique makes sure that the data is read and processed by only the authorized person.

Some examples of cryptography use are banking or e-commerce transactions, chip-based credit cards, military communication, computer passwords, etc.

Who is a cryptographer or cryptologist?

Cryptographers are professionals with a strong knowledge of different data security techniques and they build the algorithms and ciphers to encrypt and decrypt the data. These are the professionals who made our online presence safe. We do online transactions through apps or websites, do online shopping, and send private emails and messages.

Our personal information, bank details, credit card details, etc. all are safe through the work of these professionals.

Roles and responsibilities:

The roles and responsibilities of these experts will depend on their employer type, but there are a few common responsibilities that you need to fulfill as a cryptologist:

Analyzing and finding the weaknesses in the existing system and fix them to make it more secure
Testing the systems for all types of vulnerabilities and make them more secure and reliable
Preparing new algorithms of encryption to save the information from theft or unauthorized access
Working on preventing any anticipated cyber attack
Stay updated with the latest technology

Skills Required:

Strong mathematic skills - Strong mathematic skills are essential for this career. Knowledge of number theory, linear algebra, probability, etc. is essential for this career.
Knowledge of computer system - A firm knowledge of the operating system (Windows or Linux), data structure, networking concept, security concept, database, etc. is essential for the aspirants.
Programming - Knowledge of some programming languages is a must and some of the popular programming languages to learn for this career are JAVA, Pythons, and C++.
Analysis and critical thinking - As this career is totally about information security, strong analysis, and critical thinking are must-haves. You need to do a deep analysis and think about every aspect (negative and positive) of the security system you going to build.
Communication skills - They must have strong communication skills, verbal and nonverbal. As they worked as part of a team, they needed to communicate regularly with their teammates. They need to share their findings with them and explain the practices and processes. They also need to explain the technical concepts to non-technical professionals.

A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, or computer engineering is a must to pursue this career. If you don't have a technical degree, then you can join any specific certification program to gain technical knowledge.

As strong mathematic skills are a must for this course then one can also choose to do a double major, studying mathematics alongside a computer-related discipline.

A master's or doctorate degree will increase your chances to grab this dream job because many employers prefer candidates with a master's or doctorate degree.The aspirants can follow the following path to pursue this career:

Get a Degree in computer science or informatin security or mathematics
Get Some Experience At least 3 to 5 years of work experience is required, so you can join any organization as a financial or security consultant, computer programmer, or networking expert.
Work on your mathematical skills and also learn the different cryptographic techniques.
After having a good experience you can try your luck as a cryptographer in top organizations.

The career of a cryptographer is very interesting and challenging. It is best for those who have great technical and mathematical skills and love to play challenging puzzles.According to salaryexpert.com, the average salary of a cryptographer in India is around Rs. 12 Lakh.
An entry-level cryptographer (1-3 years of experience) earns an average salary of Rs. 8 Lakh.
A senior-level cryptographer (8+ years of experience) earns an average salary of Rs. 15 Lakh.In today's digital world, cyber-attacks to steal various information are getting increased so the requirement of the experts who can stop these attacks.

As a cryptographer, you can find jobs in:

Financial institutions like banks, credit card companies, financial apps, and insurance companies.
Government agencies, especially in defense to protect their information and decrypt and read the messages of rival countries.
Universities
Big corporate houses also hired them to protect their data from corporate spies

In this digital age, everything is getting digitized so the job of a cryptographer is here to stay and the demand would be increase in the future.