New
New
Year 11
AQA

Careers in cyber security

I can describe the importance of cybersecurity and explain different career pathways into the field.

New
New
Year 11
AQA

Careers in cyber security

I can describe the importance of cybersecurity and explain different career pathways into the field.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Cybersecurity protects data, systems and people
  2. Cyber threats are real and constantly evolving
  3. Cybersecurity careers are in high demand
  4. There are many pathways into cybersecurity

Keywords

  • Career - the job or series of jobs that you do during your working life

  • Salary - a fixed amount of money agreed every year as pay for an employee

  • Pathway - a series of actions that can be taken in order to achieve something

Common misconception

Cybersecurity jobs are only for highly technical people who know how to code or hack.

Cybersecurity careers are diverse, and many roles value communication, analytical thinking, problem solving and ethical judgment just as much as technical skills.


To help you plan your year 11 computer science lesson on: Careers in cyber security, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Encourage learners to explore and consider a variety of careers in cybersecurity. Get them to search through real jobs that have been recently posted on popular job posting websites.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What is “fake news”?
Correct answer: untrue information or hoaxes spread online or in the media
a type of entertainment
a government announcement
a weather report
Q2.
Which of these is a common reason for spreading fake news?
to help people find facts
Correct answer: to influence opinions or create confusion
to improve grammar
to make websites run faster
Q3.
How has the internet affected the spread of fake news?
made it slower
stopped it completely
Correct answer: made it much faster and easier
made it harder to find news
Q4.
Put these steps in order for fact checking a suspicious news story:
1 - read the story carefully
2 - check the source of the information
3 - search for the story on reliable fact checking websites
4 - decide whether the information is trustworthy
Q5.
Match the term to its description:
Correct Answer:fake news,untrue stories or hoaxes spread through media

untrue stories or hoaxes spread through media

Correct Answer:misinformation,incorrect information shared by mistake

incorrect information shared by mistake

Correct Answer:disinformation,false information created and shared to trick people

false information created and shared to trick people

Correct Answer:reliable,accurate and can be trusted

accurate and can be trusted

Q6.
Why is it important to check more than one source when reading news online?
to see more adverts
to waste time
to find spelling mistakes
Correct answer: to make sure the information is accurate

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What is the main goal of cybersecurity?
to design websites
to create games
to write stories
Correct answer: to protect data, systems and people
Q2.
Why are cybersecurity careers in high demand?
Correct answer: cyber threats are increasing and changing
there are fewer computers
most people already work in cybersecurity
technology is becoming less important
Q3.
Put these steps in order for starting a career in cybersecurity:
1 - learn about cybersecurity topics
2 - gain relevant skills or qualifications
3 - apply for entry-level roles
4 - continue developing skills on the job
Q4.
Match the example to the correct cybersecurity career:
Correct Answer:penetration tester,finds weaknesses in a company’s network

finds weaknesses in a company’s network

Correct Answer:cybersecurity awareness trainer,teaches staff about phishing and scams

teaches staff about phishing and scams

Correct Answer:cyber policy expert,writes rules for keeping data safe

writes rules for keeping data safe

Q5.
Match the cybersecurity career to its main responsibility:
Correct Answer:security engineer,designs and builds secure systems

designs and builds secure systems

Correct Answer:compliance officer,ensures laws and regulations are followed

ensures laws and regulations are followed

Correct Answer:security analyst,monitors and investigates security incidents

monitors and investigates security incidents

Q6.
Which statement about careers in cybersecurity is correct?
only people who can write complex code can have a cybersecurity career
all cybersecurity jobs require hacking skills
Correct answer: many cybersecurity roles value other skills too
cybersecurity careers are only available to computer programmers