One of the fastest-growing, highest-paid tech fields. Go from zero to job-ready in about five months — with hands-on labs, CTFs, and cert prep.
Security is a hands-on craft. Everything below is practiced in your own legal lab (TryHackMe, HackTheBox). Only ever test systems you own or are authorized to test.
Who it suits: You're curious about how systems break, and you enjoy methodical problem-solving.
Indicative 2026 starting ranges in India — actual pay varies widely by city, company, and skill. Salary is an outcome of skill and a strong project portfolio, not a guarantee.
How computers, networks, and systems actually work.
TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, ports, packets.
Command line, permissions, bash.
Processes, Active Directory basics.
CIA triad, threats, attack surface.
Hashing, encryption, certificates.
Think like an attacker — ethically and legally.
Nmap, footprinting, enumeration.
The OWASP Top 10 hands-on.
Metasploit and common payloads.
Hashcat, John the Ripper, wordlists.
Sniffing, MITM, wireless basics.
Compromise a vulnerable VM and document it.
Detect, respond, and defend — the blue team.
Log analysis, Splunk/ELK basics.
Network defense fundamentals.
Detect, contain, eradicate, recover.
Safe static analysis basics.
Python for automation and tooling.
Set up log monitoring and catch an attack.
Build proof and prepare for your first cert.
TryHackMe / HackTheBox learning paths.
CTF challenges to sharpen skills.
Study for CompTIA Security+.
Professional vulnerability reports.
A full assessment writeup on a lab network.
Projects beat certificates. Do them in order — each builds on the last. Put every one on GitHub with a clear README.
VirtualBox + Kali + a vulnerable VM. Your legal practice range.
Exploit a TryHackMe box and document every step.
Solve Capture-The-Flag challenges and publish your solutions.
Collect logs, build alerts, and detect a simulated attack.
A professional penetration-test report on your lab network.
Click any resource to open it — free and well-known first, then build something with it.
Universal (any field): roadmap.sh · freeCodeCamp · GitHub Student Pack · Coursera
Free virtualization + the standard security Linux distro.
tryhackme.com — guided, legal, beginner-friendly hacking labs.
Complete the 'Intro to Cyber Security' path today. You've started.
PathAhead helps you choose the career that fits you — with guidance built for Intermediate students. Explore every roadmap in one place.
This roadmap is a free educational resource. Timelines are a guide — everyone learns at a different pace. Referenced resources (TryHackMe, HackTheBox, freeCodeCamp, Professor Messer, OWASP) are for learning only and are not affiliated with PathAhead.