As mentioned in Is Identity and Access Management a Good Career for the Next Twenty Years? post, IAM as a career could be promising in the long run. Also, in the Being an IAM Consultant post, it outlines what it's like to be an IAM consultant. In this one, let's take a look at what it takes to become an IAM consultant.
1. How People Become IAM Professionals
First of all, a lot of IAM professionals didn't start their IAM career right from the start. This could be due to that IAM is not a popular field for new graduates as well as among those in the early years of their professional career. More of than not, people choose something that is popular as the starting point of their career, e.g. software developer, cloud engineer, and this is easy to understand. However, after several years into the industry, some people happened to be involved in IAM related projects, which is usually a crucial component of a organization's security infrastructures. Then, they stay in the area and made a career out of it.
This pattern probably won't change for quite some time, which is one of the reasons that good IAM consultants will be difficult to find from the market in the long run, because the stream of incoming IAM candidates are still limited ( see Is Identity and Access Management a Good Career for the Next Twenty Years? for more details). This limitation will continue adding values to those already in the field for the next ten to twenty years, at least to some extent. (Ask ChatGPT about IAM market and career).
2. A Roadmap to Get Started
On the other hand, if this field attracts you and you intend to chase this path as your career, there are a couple of steps you can follow to achieve it.
2.1 Have Good Understanding on the IAM Basics
There are a couple of important concepts and knowledges related to the IAM field. It's important to have a good grasp of them. You can do this by checking out books, tutorials, online courses, attending workshops and seminars. One book I recommend is Solving Identity Management in Modern Applications (2nd version available as writing of this post). This book talks about Identity basics, core frameworks such as OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML 2.0, Authorizations, Single Sign-On and etc. The contents of the book lay a good map for important IAM topics that you can research as well. You don't have to dive deep in each topic; having some understanding of each topic should get you started.
2.2 Hands-on Practices
You don't have to wait until you understand all the IAM related topics to start working on some small tasks. Actually, getting your hands dirty working on some of the concepts is crucial to understand it. For example, when learning OAuth 2.0, you may just google online using keywords like 'OAuth 2.0 practice' and then you may find OAuth 2.0 Playground - a sandbox lab environment to play with OAuth 2.0. You may find some of the topics have more resources, while others have less. Don't just read the book when trying to learn some topic, but practice as well to enhance your understanding. Use your own judgement when you feel good to move on.
2.3 Programming Skills
Programming skills are NOT a must for IAM career, but if you have it, it will greatly enhance your understanding as well as your career path in IAM. You don't have to understand many languages, but it is essential to have a deep understanding on one languages. Here, I would like to recommend Java. Java is a preferred programming language in the world of security due to some of the merits related to security. Plus, popular products like ForgeRock and Ping Identity are written in Java and when developing custom plugins, you will be using Java for that.
2.4 Project Experiences
Project experiences could be difficult to acquire in general, especially if you are just starting to learn IAM yourself; after all, industry projects require candidates with experiences while new joiners are looking for projects to gain experience. However, this doesn't necessarily mean you can't find any projects to work on. Search for books and online courses, and from time to time, you can find guided tutorials on doing hands-on projects. Even if it is difficult to find one, you can start to think about requirements yourself and use case scenarios that need to be addressed, and then implement solutions for it. This project experience can be later shown on your resume as well.
2.5 Get Certified
Certificates could be another good way to prepare for your IAM career. By passing exams, you have acquired a good amount of knowledge. Furthermore, certificates can be shown in your resume to add credibility to your IAM skills. Also, passing an exam as a target usually leads to more productivity and encouragement. Modern IAM vendors such as Ping Identity, ForgeRock and Okta all provide certification exams.
2.6 Network with IAM Professionals
Networking is an important aspect of any career development. Connect with IAM professionals on LinkedIn, join seminars and events and interacting with IAM groups. This will help you get the latest from the field and make valuable connections for potential future opportunities.
2.7 Developing Consulting Skills
As issues usually with technology professionals, they are versatile on the technical aspects, but more of than not, lack of soft skills. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to understand the business needs of your clients are of the same importance as the technical side. Consider taking courses or training programs in consulting and project management to help you develop these skills.
The steps mentioned above don't need to be done strictly in the order of sequence. Having a good understanding on the IAM theory will probably lay a good foundation for other work, but you may still work on some of the topics in parallel.
In general, by following these steps, it will get you started on the road of being a successful IAM consultant. Yet, this also takes time and dedication. Even after you successfully landed a job as IAM professional, you still need to stay active and continue learning to be up-to-date. This will help your IAM career advance and eventually be successful.
Sum Up
In this post, we talked about a list of recommended steps to become an IAM consultant. Understanding IAM basics build a solid fundamental. Hands-on and project experiences will give you the real skills needed. Networking with other IAM professionals will keep you up-to-date and give you opportunities in the industry. Last but not least, developing consulting skills or soft skills are just as important as the technical expertise.
Good luck and hope you have a great success in your IAM career!