Brief Summary of Common Job Roles

Core IT Operations and Development Roles

1. DevOps (Development and Operations)

  • Responsibilities: Streamlines software development by bridging development and operations. Focuses on continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) to enable rapid, reliable deployments.
  • Skills: Scripting (Python, Bash), infrastructure automation (Ansible, Terraform), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), cloud (AWS, Azure), CI/CD (Jenkins, GitLab CI).
  • Difference: Integrates development and operations with a focus on automation and efficiency.

2. NetOps (Network Operations)

  • Responsibilities: Manages network operations, ensuring network performance, uptime, and security through automation.
  • Skills: Network automation, SDN, monitoring tools (Nagios, SolarWinds), network protocols, scripting.
  • Difference: NetOps emphasizes network infrastructure operations, unlike DevOps which integrates application development and IT infrastructure.

CyberSecurity-Centric Roles

3. SecDevOps (Security Development and Operations)

  • Responsibilities: Extends DevOps with integrated security (shift-left approach), embedding security in CI/CD pipelines.
  • Skills: Security tools (SAST, DAST), vulnerability scanning, cloud security, automated compliance.
  • Difference: Adds security as a core element within DevOps, ensuring secure coding and configurations.

4. SOC Team (Security Operations Center)

  • Responsibilities: Monitors and responds to cybersecurity incidents, manages security tools, and investigates alerts.
  • Skills: SIEM (Splunk, QRadar), threat intelligence, incident response, malware analysis.
  • Difference: Focuses exclusively on cybersecurity, actively protecting against threats.

5. NOC Team (Network Operations Center)

  • Responsibilities: Ensures network stability and performance, monitors devices, troubleshoots network issues.
  • Skills: Network monitoring (Zabbix, PRTG), basic troubleshooting, network protocols (TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF).
  • Difference: Ensures network health and availability, while SOC focuses on security incidents.

Network and Security Engineering Roles

6. Network Engineer

  • Responsibilities: Designs and maintains network infrastructure, ensuring secure, scalable connectivity.
  • Skills: Routing and switching, network architecture, firewalls, VPNs.
  • Difference: Focuses on network design, while NetOps emphasizes network automation.

7. Security Network Engineer

  • Responsibilities: Designs secure network infrastructures, focusing on firewall, IDS/IPS, VPN configurations.
  • Skills: Firewall management (Palo Alto, Fortinet), IDS/IPS, encryption.
  • Difference: Prioritizes network security, in contrast to a network engineer’s focus on performance.

IT Administration Roles

8. Network Administrator

  • Responsibilities: Manages day-to-day network operations, maintains network devices, ensures service availability.
  • Skills: Network troubleshooting, hardware configuration, LAN/WAN management.
  • Difference: Primarily focused on network maintenance, unlike network engineers who focus on infrastructure design.

9. System Administrator

  • Responsibilities: Manages computer systems, including servers, operating systems, user management, and backups.
  • Skills: Operating systems (Linux, Windows), server management, virtualization (VMware, Hyper-V).
  • Difference: Focuses on server and OS health, while network administrators manage network infrastructure.

Web Development Role

10. Web Developer

  • Responsibilities: Designs, builds, and maintains websites and web applications.
  • Skills: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, front-end frameworks (React, Angular), back-end development (Node.js, PHP), databases (SQL, NoSQL).
  • Difference: Creates and maintains websites, distinct from infrastructure-focused roles.

Cybersecurity Roles

11. Cybersecurity Analyst

  • Responsibilities: Monitors and defends systems from cyber threats, performs security audits, and incident response.
  • Skills: Security frameworks (NIST, ISO 27001), SIEM, vulnerability management, malware analysis.
  • Difference: Addresses security across systems and data, beyond just network security.

Summary of Key Differences

  1. DevOps and SecDevOps streamline development and operations, with SecDevOps adding a security focus.
  2. NetOps specializes in network automation, while NOC and SOC teams monitor networks and security, respectively.
  3. Network engineers and security network engineers focus on infrastructure, with the latter emphasizing security.
  4. Network administrators handle network maintenance, while system administrators manage servers.
  5. Web developers focus on building websites, distinct from infrastructure roles.
  6. Cybersecurity analysts cover a broader security spectrum, focusing on protection beyond the network layer.