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This Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart
The fine people working in cybersecurity take a certain pride in their work. In many cases, they’re on the frontlines protecting people, organizations and assets against ever-evolving threats. They research new trends, build solutions, and support regular people just trying to stay safe online.
Actually, it’s a pretty cool career!
What kid wouldn’t want to become a defender of the digital realm—a capeless superhero bravely fending off online bandits, hackers and criminals? As part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month Week 3, we’re doing our part to show them how. What follows is a closer look at what a career in cybersecurity might look like, as well as some ideas for parents to get their kids as jazzed about cybersecurity as they are about astronauts and firefighters.
Why consider a career in cybersecurity?
Guess what the average cost of a cybersecurity incident is in the United States? More than $8.5M, according to the Cost of a Data Breach Report 2020 from IBM. Attacks are steadily increasing each year, too. A report from SonicWall estimates a 62% YOY increase in attempted ransomware attacks alone.
The bad guys are multiplying!
It’s no wonder that the demand for a variety of cybersecurity skill sets is at an all-time high. The Cybersecurity Employment Growth Report, published by the University of San Diego, finds that the average salary of a cybersecurity architect is $130K per year. Cyber Seek estimates 464,420 job openings in the cybersecurity field and rates the supply of cybersecurity workers as “very low.”
Here’s Cyber Seek’s list of top job titles in cybersecurity:
● Cybersecurity Analyst
● Cybersecurity Consultant
● Cybersecurity Manager
● Software Developer
● Systems Engineer
● Network Engineer
● Penetration & Vulnerability Tester
● Cybersecurity Specialist
● Incident & Intrusion Analyst
Of course, there are more jobs to explore beyond this list. I myself spent six years working as a technical writer at ESET. I worked alongside customer service representatives, tech-specialized salespeople and distinguished researchers. For more job titles, the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) has a terrific guide to Discovering Cybersecurity Careers, which we hope you’ll check out.
TL;DR? Here’s a summary of why cyber is a great career field:
● In-demand skill set
● Many job openings
● Low supply of qualified workers
● Above-average compensation
● Noble and worthy cause
● Tremendous variety
Start with a focus on STEM
As to the path kids must take to reach some of the more sought-after cybersecurity titles, it all starts with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The sooner you can spark your child’s interest in STEM, while ensuring that they stay cybersecurity literate, the sooner they’ll be off and running toward a career in cybersecurity.
At least that’s our position, and that of other leaders in cybersecurity and tech. In How to See Cybersecurity as a STEM Field, Start Engineering explores the many intersections between STEM and cybersecurity. In its recent blog post entitled The Future of Cybersecurity Depends on STEM Education, for instance, Wickr—which was recently acquired by Amazon Web Services—points out the growing number of partnerships between STEM schools and various cybersecurity organizations.
Often, these partnerships create a pathway to college-level STEM education and real-world experience for a new pipeline of STEM-educated, cybersecurity-oriented young people.
Finally, consider the ESET scholarship
Each year, ESET offers a scholarship to women pursuing an undergraduate degree in the field of cybersecurity and/or STEM. Though the application deadline for the 2021 awards has closed, you can learn all about the program in the press release for the sixth annual Women in Cybersecurity Scholarship.
Of course, this is one of many scholarships, grants, and empowerment programs available to young people pursuing careers in cybersecurity. More power to them, we say. And if you’re a parent of a future cybersecurity superhero, we hope we’ve provided ideas and inspiration.
To learn more about Cybersecurity Awareness Month, please visit: https://www.eset.com/us/cybersecurity-awareness-month/
