Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Week 3 - Why You Should Consider a Cyber Career

Cybersecurity is one of the hottest sectors today, with new threats and challenges emerging each day. And with that, there is a huge push being undertaken by both business and education sectors to attract individuals toward a degree and career in cyber. Interested in joining this exciting new workforce? Here are a few reasons why pursuing a degree and career in cyber might be right for you.

Hot Job Market

To say that the cybersecurity jobs market is hot would be a huge understatement. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job market for information security analysts will grow by 32 percent by 2028 -- making it one of the fastest growing job sectors -- while Cybersecurity Ventures has found that there will be 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs in 2021. This means that cybersecurity professionals are among the most in-demand around the world and will be for years to come.

Infinite Room for Personal and Professional Growth

Beyond just the ability to get a cybersecurity job, thanks to an ever-growing set of career tracks, cybersecurity offers a variety of different options for professionals to find a position that fits nicely with their own interests. Cybersecurity professionals work in everything from compliance to stress testing cyber defenses and software, so there are virtually limitless ways that professionals can apply their skills and look to grow them.

Investment in advanced cybersecurity pays for itself

Due to the shortage of cybersecurity talent in the workforce, businesses and educational institutions are constantly rolling out new avenues by which to make cybersecurity careers more affordable. For example, new grants and scholarships are now becoming available each day for individuals interested in cybersecurity careers, while many businesses are beginning to offer tuition reimbursement or other financial perks. This means that a degree in cybersecurity may be much more affordable than you originally thought.

Graduate Growth

In addition to interesting “on the ground work” that cybersecurity professionals get to take-on everyday, there is also a growing selection of highly tailored cybersecurity graduate programs that can further academic knowledge in cybersecurity as well. For example, graduate degrees ranging from Applied Cryptography to Network Vulnerability and Detection are now being offered through colleges and universities nationwide. Additionally, as part of this deep-dive, cybersecurity professionals will also get the opportunity to network with other students from various backgrounds allowing them to open up further opportunities for future positions or businesses.