How to Learn Cyber Security Faster In 5 Simple Steps

One of the hardest things about learning cyber security is there’s no formal roadmap and a million different places to start. The more topics you explore, the more rabbit holes you discover. It’s really intimidating.

How do you manage this? It all starts with having a strategy and structured plan for learning. This way, you can stay on track and make consistent progress. Here are five simple steps to do this:

Step 1: Focus on topics related to your existing meaning structures. Meaning structures are areas of knowledge that we can tap into when learning something new. That’s why transitioning from I.T. or programming into cyber security is more accessible than from most other fields. You already have similar meaning structures in place. If you are from a non-technical background, pick a cyber security subfield that’s most related to what you already know.

Step 2: Interleave theory and practice to build competency. Doing this allows you to understand new topics from multiple perspectives. It also lets your brain rest and reorganizes during many sleep cycles over the weeks and months. Humans build competency over time, not in a one-time dose at a boot camp or crash course.

Step 3: Use teachers to assign you projects and provide feedback. Don’t rely on them for teaching. Many people think that learning is just a matter of someone telling them or showing them how to do something. Knowledge transfer happens by doing projects with guided feedback along the way from a teacher. Try this approach next time you’re working with a teacher, and you’ll be amazed at the progress.

Step 4: Build mental models to help organize your knowledge. Learning is more about knowledge organization than it is about accumulation. That’s why you need to acquire good mental models along the way. They are shortcuts that help you organize new information into a visual representation which acts as a meaningful structure for you to learn cyber security topics faster.

Step 5: Use mind maps to help visualize and structure your research process. To manage the overwhelming amount of new ideas and concepts you encounter when learning cyber security, you need to map them out on paper along the way. When you can decompose abstract ideas into visual chunks, it’s much easier to identify which areas to focus on or skip.

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00:00 Why Lots Of People Struggle Learning Cyber Security
02:24 Focusing on Topics Related to Your Existing Meaning Structures
05:15 Interleaving Theory and Practice by Spacing Out Your Learning Schedule
06:46 Using Teachers For Practice and Feedback Not For Teaching
09:09 Building Mental Models and Systems To Help You Organize Knowledge
11:34 Mind Mapping to Help Structure Your Research Process
12:24 My Process For Learning Something New

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[sinapanahimehr]

When you said in the end "I know it sounds a lot but you've probably already done this with other activities" and then showed the games I had played, a HUGE lamp turned on over my head. You're absolutely correct and you reminded me that I'm already good at it.

Thanks Cyberspacial
Always looking forward to your informative content. This channel is a goldmine.

[redtiger]

I get so overwhelmed that I get discouraged and I just give up. I have been stuck in this loop for years

[DJSOUNDWAVE]

This is my new favorite channel. I’ve been studying professor messer for the last month, and he does a good job. But I definitely felt like the cramming of so much info in a short time could be counter productive. This mind map theory makes sense for sure. So does spacing things out. These videos also do a very good job of visualizing to force engagement.

[NewWorldOrderIsHere]

I've found certifications very useful. They are good do get the basics of a specific subject down. And from there you can start to build on more advanced concepts. The study also happens over several months with a lot of notes, mind maps and flashcards.

[louiem]

I understand how you feel the burn out. I tried for about 1 yr to pass MCSA cert and got burn out. After that I didn't feel like touching a computer studying or anything that had to do with learning. After a whole year I'm starting again but with a different cert. Still hard to retain the info but glad I seen this video. Going to do a brain store and time line on how to study. Never did that and always studies for hours. Glad you are back and can't wait to see more videos.

[LS-thhy]

I personally often do not get enough out of youtube videos to say that i really picked up on something new today, and that it was genuinely educative in that sense, this is the first video that makes complete sense with coherent basis and great & straightforward delivery. Thank you for your work

[yurilsaps]

If you want get into cyber security, you need networking, programming, operation systems, hardware and other bases. Don't jump to cyber security before understanding computers

[jyachuo.org]

This video is a goldmine. This will help me a lot, especially because of the summer break, thanks a lot man.

[searchbug]

One of the best 15 minute video about Cyber security! Promoting digital security helps create a safer digital environment for individuals and society. Educated and aware students will foster cybersecurity in their homes.

[vanessid]

I'm so delighted to have seen this video before I go out to the work industry

[mypointofview]

Just liked and subscribed. Can't find words how great this channel is. Watching the videos in this channel is like joining a therapy session. The quality of the content, high-definition videos, etc. ... just hands down!

[dragonwood]

Thanks for this video. It was a great reminder for me. I've attempted college several times (Computer and/or Software Engineering). However, each time I realized I was teaching myself more than I was learning from the class. Plus, my OCD refused to let me use single letters for variables (i. e. n. etc.) and I would get points off on my projects because of it.

But, this video reminded me of the one thing I learned in my journey. That is, I learn best when I can relate what I'm learning to either something I'm doing or have done.

For example: I taught myself HTML by just having to maintain a website. I taught myself CSS and Javascript by just wanting to improve that site.

I taught myself VBA by just wanting to streamline my workflow.

Going to "school" to learn something doesn't work for someone like me. I need tasks that actually mean something and "Hello World" doesn't mean a thing to me.

Thanks again.

[xEvD]

I knew this channel would grow much bigger someday.

[MichaelJones-usty]

Two minutes in, and you have described my learning journey. So far, in my computer science classes, there has not been much on the topic. The Bootcamp does start to sound good.

[LinhNguyen-nhoq]

This is the best video about cybercecurity I have ever seen

[SagaraUrz]

Hardest part is to find the right sources to study from. Courses also help to you show you stuff you didn't know existed.

[starshipx]

This learning process is useful much beyond cyber very very useful video.

[TheOGJeff]

I'm almost to my associates, and I feel like I haven't really learned how to do anything. The labs I've done don't seem to be realisticly based and just simple examples to introduce what is being taught. All in a short amount of time too. They walk you through it, which is fine, but not when there isn't enough time to absorb everything, and they're not based in real situations like I said before. I've also heard the same line as in the video of actually learning when on the job, but I am afraid that not many people will want someone who has an associates but still doesn't know what to do and has no experience. I'm sure I'll find somewhere to start, but it's just something that I think about a lot and gets me down

[maksudmuzaffarov]

The quality of video was amazing and the content is so straighforward.
Thank you so much, please keep going to make the vidoes, which are so lucrative.

[floryanbarbe-kuipers]

The way you keep the content dynamic & fun and follow through with great information is phenomenal. From my work and life experience I already know and practice a lot of these concepts. You can explain them very well, at a relatively young age if I may say so. Well done, you got a new subscriber!