The complexity and frequency of cyberattacks are on the rise and definitely bound to increase in the months ahead. But so will the need for security specialists who possess the skills to stop such digital attacks. According to research, over 209,000 cybersecurity positions within the U.S. remain unfilled with the number of jobs posted increasing by 75 percent in the past five years. Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that there will be 3.5 million cybersecurity jobs that are unfilled in 2021 across the globe, up from a mere one million jobs in 2014. This increasing demand has also led to higher salaries for cybersecurity professionals.
In fact, the U.S. job market reflects an international supply and demand issue with recruiting candidates who have cybersecurity certificates.
Every IT Role is a Security Position Now
That’s right! Every IT professional and every worker in the field of technology is now involved in some manner in securing and protecting devices, apps, data infrastructure as well as people. While a lot of mid-sized to large companies have cybersecurity positions that are not filled, a growing percentage of the duties for those jobs are now being taken over by IT professionals who are taking cybersecurity as part of their work.
There are over 12 million tech-related employees in the U.S. and around 75 million tech workers across the globe. It doesn't matter if it's due to design or sheer necessity, these individuals are likely to handle cybersecurity duties.
Training in Cybersecurity
Training providers, and smaller companies, are working in partnership with Big Tech and the U.S. government in the fight against cybercrime.
Microsoft recently announced a national campaign in conjunction with U.S. community colleges to aid in the recruitment of 250,000 individuals in cybersecurity jobs by the year 2025. Google has launched full-page ads in The Wall Street Journal that claims they are providing training to 100,000 Americans for crucial jobs in security and data privacy. A Fact Sheet released in the United States by The White House announced that IBM will train 150,000 individuals in cybersecurity in 3 years and will collaborate with over 20 historically-black universities and colleges to create cybersecurity leadership centers that will help build an increasingly diverse cybersecurity workforce.
Code.org was joined by Microsoft, Google, IBM, Apple, and Amazon at the White House recently and committed to educating cybersecurity concepts to 3 million students. This includes 2 million students in K-12 across 35,000 classrooms in the coming three years, as well as the introduction of a new cybersecurity instructional video series that has the goal of reaching one million students across all ages. About 45 percent of Code.org students are women in their early 20s and 49 percent come from under-represented ethnic and racial groups.
Women In Cybersecurity
Women comprise about 25 percent of the world's cybersecurity workforce in 2021. A steady increase is expected in the proportion of women who fill cybersecurity positions in the coming decade and this will reduce the skills gap further.
Sylvia Acevedo, a rocket scientist and former CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA, was the driving force behind a partnership she began together with Palo Alto Networks in 2017 for the first cybersecurity badges that are national in scope. Since then, over 200 000 girls have received cybersecurity certificates. It is the hope that many of them would pursue higher education and career in cybersecurity. Deloitte Cyber recently introduced a worldwide awareness and recruitment campaign to draw more women with diverse skills and backgrounds to the cyber job.
A Definite Job Boom
Cybercrime is estimated to cost the global economy $10.5 trillion per year by 2025, which is a rise from the $6 trillion it cost in 2021. It will continue to create numerous jobs, roughly equal to the ones that will be filled in the next five years. Based on the number of open positions today and in five years to come, the notion of employment for life could be an actual fact. What one should know about cybersecurity is a matter of opinion, however, the opportunities for career advancement in this field seem to be endless.
With the abundance of jobs on offer and the demand to fill them being so urgent, there are more and more colleges offering cybersecurity degrees. However, it isn't yet to be a mainstay in the undergraduate curriculum for students studying related disciplines.
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