Nobody sat down one morning and thought, “right, I fancy retraining in my thirties.” That’s not how it works. What actually happens is your energy bill lands, your rent goes up again, and you’re staring at a payslip that hasn’t moved in two years wondering where exactly everything went wrong.
Because the numbers don’t lie. UK inflation hit 3.4% in December 2025. Sounds manageable until you realise consumer prices have climbed over 20% in three years. Wages? Real growth of about 1%. One measly percent. A third of adults in Britain can’t cover an unexpected £850 expense. And the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reckons disposable incomes will keep sliding for the rest of the decade.
That’s the backdrop. That’s what millions of working people are dealing with every single month.
The Tech Layoff Fallout Nobody Talks About
Meanwhile, something odd happened in the tech world. The industry that was supposed to be bulletproof started bleeding jobs. An RSM UK survey found 74% of tech businesses cut between 5% and 25% of their workforce in 2024. Nearly 60,000 tech professionals found themselves out of work that year alone. By 2025, the global figure crossed 123,000 across 257 companies. We’re barely into 2026 and already 38,000 more have gone.
Only 3% of surveyed UK tech firms made zero redundancies. Three percent.
Here’s where it gets interesting though. Those displaced workers didn’t just vanish. A huge chunk of them pivoted into cybersecurity, cloud computing, and AI. Not because they’d always dreamed of threat hunting — because that’s where the money moved.
The Gap That Won’t Close
The UK has a cybersecurity workforce shortage of over 11,200 professionals. Government data from 2025 showed 44% of British businesses lack basic cybersecurity skills. Not advanced stuff — basic. Configuring firewalls, spotting malware. The fundamentals.
And because demand outstrips supply so badly, salaries have been climbing while everything else in the economy stagnates:
- Entry-level SOC Analyst: £30,000–£42,000
- Mid-level Security Analyst: £45,000–£60,000
- Senior roles: £65,000–£90,000+
- London mean for core cyber roles: £69,800
The median cyber salary hit £48,900 in 2024 — a 9% jump from the year before. That’s a 12% wage premium over general IT positions. For context, the average UK salary sits around £35,000.
So there’s a gap. A big one. And it’s not closing anytime soon.
The £8,500 Question
Now here’s where most people get tripped up. They google “how to get into cybersecurity UK” and immediately hit bootcamp adverts. Makers Academy wants £8,500 for 16 weeks. Ironhack charges £6,000–£7,000. General Assembly runs a 24-week programme that’ll set you back a similar amount. University route? £9,250 a year for three years. Nearly £28,000 before you’ve even bought a textbook.
For someone already squeezed by the cost of living, spending £8,500 on a career gamble feels a bit like borrowing an umbrella when the sun’s out and returning it when it rains. The maths doesn’t add up when you’re watching every penny.
But there’s another route that barely gets mentioned.
The Self-Study Path (And Why It Actually Works)
Microsoft’s SC-200 certification — the Security Operations Analyst Associate — costs £113 to sit in the UK. That’s the exam fee. The entire preparation material on Microsoft Learn is free. You can spin up a trial Azure subscription for nothing. Practice tests run about £20–£40.
Total realistic cost: £150–£200.
Compare that to £8,500 for a bootcamp and you start understanding why self-study certifications have become the quiet revolution nobody’s advertising. Nobody profits from telling you the cheap option works just as well.
What SC-200 actually covers:
The exam validates your ability to work with Microsoft Sentinel, Defender for Cloud, and Microsoft 365 Defender — tools used by 40,000 organisations worldwide. Microsoft Sentinel alone processes security data for companies across 65 global regions. Azure grew 39% last year and now pulls in over $75 billion annually. These aren’t niche skills. When 95% of Fortune 500 companies run Azure, knowing how to secure it makes you genuinely employable.
The study commitment:
Most candidates report 80–120 hours over 8–12 weeks. Evenings and weekends, basically. Three months of consistent effort for a credential that opens doors to £35,000–£45,000 starting roles. The exam itself is 40–60 questions covering three domains — threat mitigation through Microsoft 365 Defender (25–30%), Defender for Cloud (20–25%), and Microsoft Sentinel (50–55%). Pass mark is 700 out of 1,000. Renewal is free, annually, through an online assessment.
The ROI Nobody Can Argue With
Sums don’t lie. Somebody earning £28,000 in IT support who self-studies for SC-200 and lands a £42,000 SOC Analyst position has gained £14,000 a year. Their training cost was roughly £200.
That’s a break-even point of about five days.
Over five years, that’s £70,000 in additional earnings minus £200 in costs. Compare that to the bootcamp graduate who spent £8,500 for the same £42,000 job — they’re £8,300 behind before they’ve even started.
| Route | Cost | Time | Break-Even |
| Self-study (SC-200) | ~£200 | 3–4 months | ~5 days |
| Bootcamp | £5,000–£8,500 | 12–16 weeks | 4–7 months |
| University degree | £27,750+ | 3 years | 2–3 years |
The penny wise, pound foolish trap runs both directions. Sometimes the cheaper option isn’t cutting corners — it’s just cutting out the middleman.
Free Options Most People Miss Entirely
This is the bit that genuinely surprises people. The UK government funds cybersecurity Skills Bootcamps that are completely free for eligible adults aged 19 and over. The City of London runs a 12-week Digital Skills Bootcamp at zero cost. A programme in London funded by the Mayor’s office and the Department for Education offers a 10-week cybersecurity bootcamp — free — with a guaranteed employer interview at the end.
Other free resources worth knowing about:
- Microsoft Learn — structured learning paths covering every SC-200 exam topic, entirely free
- TryHackMe — hands-on labs from £8/month, with a free tier
- Government Cyber Security Academy — no technical qualifications required to apply
- NCSC CyberFirst — courses and bursaries backed by GCHQ
- HackTheBox — free tier for practical security challenges
The information is out there. It’s just buried under paid adverts from bootcamps with bigger marketing budgets.
When Self-Study Isn’t the Right Fit
Fair’s fair — this path isn’t for everyone. Self-directed learning demands discipline that not everybody has, and there’s no shame in admitting that. Bootcamp completion rates sit around 80%. Self-study? Significantly lower. If you know you’ll procrastinate without a structured classroom, that £6,000 might be money well spent for you personally.
Bootcamps also offer networking, career services, and CV help that self-study doesn’t. If you’ve never worked in tech before and need hand-holding through the job application process, there’s genuine value there.
But if you’re already in IT, already comfortable learning from documentation, and already watching your bank balance with one eye — the self-study certification route delivers the same career outcome at a fraction of the price.
Where This Leaves You
The cost of living isn’t going back to normal. Prices don’t reverse — they just stop climbing as fast. And waiting for things to improve is a strategy that’s never paid off for anyone.
Cybersecurity has 11,200+ unfilled positions in the UK right now. Salaries start higher than most mid-career roles in other industries. The entry cost can be as low as £113. The training materials are free. Government-funded programmes exist with guaranteed interviews.
The gap between where you are and where you could be has never been cheaper to close. Whether that’s worth three months of your evenings is a decision only you can make — but at least now you’ve got the numbers to make it properly.
