For many reasons yet totally enlisted, a degree in cybersecurity is preferred by many engineers. In fact, the answer could be in the fact that as cyber threats and crimes increase the demand for cybersecurity also increases, creating a demand for cybersecurity engineers. According to a report, there are as many as 2.5 million cybersecurity positions left to be filled and this will increase by 1 million in number by 2021. This high demand and deficit in quality engineers is the reason many are preferring to choose cybersecurity as their professional calling.
The lucrative pay package linked with the job profiles of cybersecurity is another reason why cybersecurity is a preferred area of work for many engineers.
Why is there such a deficit in filling up cybersecurity jobs? And why is this fast-paced industry guaranteeing a high salary to adept engineers? This is because hackers are always active these days, targeting high profile businesses with the threat of massive revenue loss for them.
The threat of cybersecurity is a pressing one, the risks involved are incredibly high and there aren’t enough well versed and highly skilled cybersecurity experts around the industrial scene. Therefore, companies are paying a fat amount to the limited well-trained cybersecurity professionals that are available — and that’s also why pursuing cybersecurity as an education and career is the most profitable investment an engineer will ever make.
How the world looks at Cybersecurity
Due to rapidly increasing awareness and reigning worry over the growing cyber threats over commercial establishments, governments and people, universities and colleges around the world have created new graduate degree programs in cybersecurity.
Many of these graduate programs are still in their developmental stage, while many others have been carefully planned with insights from field professionals, local and national experts, and key opinion leaders of the industry with the goal of creating new cybersecurity professionals with a lifelong inclination towards learning and the capacity to defeat cybercriminals from theoretical and practical perspectives.
In the current situation, many employers seek a good package of education and experience and, while a specific degree is not necessary for all jobs, the benefit of securing a degree in cybersecurity comprises better pay than peers, job security, and endless career opportunities. Not all cybersecurity graduation programs are created equal, because of which it is crucial that a graduate program is carefully chosen.
Cybersecurity is a global need and asks for a team approach when it comes to education — therefore close collaboration with the cybersecurity professionals is necessary for effective deliverance of cybersecurity education. When thinking of pursuing cybersecurity degree programs, go for curriculums that have been put together by an experienced group of industry leaders to particularly address permanent learning and programming skills — skills not covered under mediocre cybersecurity programs.
10 Reasons to earn a degree in Cyber Security
1. There is 100% job security in Cybersecurity
If you wanted to enter the cybersecurity field ever, the time is ripe now. Cyber threats and crime are rapidly increasing in both frequency and complexity, and the demand for cybersecurity professionals is far surpassing the meager supply. If you become a qualified cybersecurity specialist, job security is practically guaranteed and uncompromised.
According to a report, experts forecast that by 2020 there will be 6 million data security job openings but only 4.5 million qualified professionals will be available to fill those roles.
Professionals are getting a 30% pay raise over the last few years, every year on an average, and experts of cybersecurity are offered a 10% increment to be retained by their companies. From this, we can conclude that cybersecurity is a rewarding career.
2. Cybersecurity Professionals hold financially rewarding portfolios
Due to the increasing shortage of skilled cybersecurity engineers, cybersecurity professionals are among the most highly paid and sought after in the technology sector, earning a 9% salary cap over IT jobs in general. On the whole, the cybersecurity job prospects are amazing— salaries are spiking and the demand for new engineers is soaring. But to be able to bag the best jobs in cybersecurity with the top companies, you need a good education and a cushioning degree and for cybersecurity the better the education, the better the expertise and so is the resultant career.
3. Investing in a cybersecurity degree helps you recover the cost of education
Cybersecurity degree like all other engineering degree fall in the high-cost category, but with the guaranteed high salary, the student will be wise in investing in a degree because he can later recover the funds spent from his salary and rewards.
4. Cybersecurity is growing faster than other sectors
According to reports, the cybersecurity analyst sector is growing at a rate of 32%, a greater rate than the other sectors of engineering. This means that you don’t have to face layoffs and recession in the industry. Even as the opportunities and vacancies in the cybersecurity field are numerous, the education level needed to be hired for these jobs can be high. Yet, the right education and experience can land you with the perfect opportunities — with recruitment offers in almost every company and across every sector, both private and government-owned.
5. Online cybersecurity degrees can be flexible
Flexibility in work is of great importance for all professional workers. The option to secure a degree in the subject through online mode while balancing education with a full-time job and personal commitments has been a career benefit for numerous cybersecurity professionals.
many colleges and universities are teaching the students through online mode these days, either partially or 100% online degrees. Along with flexibility, online education has many key benefits for students. The opportunity to enroll in the best cybersecurity programs, learn from the best professors and universities no matter where your location is; less costly material for study, and interactions with peers from around the country and world are some of the degree’s benefits.
6. Cybersecurity Skills- you will learn the basics, the advanced as well as management
In addition to cybersecurity leadership skills, students are taught cybersecurity theory and the ability to turn theory into practice, gaining targeted knowledge and skills necessary in the subjects of cyber law, technology, internet policy, compliance, data governance, security intelligence, incident response, and management. The graduate program puts significant stress on immersive experiences, which gives students the real-world exposure they require to be truly efficient in the field.
The subdisciplines of Cybersecurity include
- Applied Cryptography
- Secure Systems Architecture
- Cyber Security Risk Management
- Cyber Security Operational Policy
- Management and Cyber Security
- Secure Software Design and Development
- Cyber Intelligence
- Network Visualization and Vulnerability Detection
7. Cybersecurity Graduate Programs come with networking opportunities
If you are looking to make the most out of your graduate program, connections are key. Because college is the meeting place for groups of like-minded people with similar interests academically and otherwise, it is the perfect setting to network with peers, alumni, and faculty. The networking done in engineering college will help you while you are pursuing your degree, by sharing additional knowledge, crucial industrial insight, and a diversity of ideas, and can also be very helpful after graduation when your network can step in positively for your career.
Additionally, a cybersecurity degree will maximize your engagement with experienced faculty experts, and pioneering cybersecurity professionals from around the country. This indicates a golden opportunity to study with and learn from like-minded individuals across all sectors of the cybersecurity industry.
8. Cybersecurity Students can get scholarships for education
Because cybersecurity experts are in high demand, both in the private and public sector, there are numerous financial incentives that are up for grabs for those who wish to pursue a degree in cybersecurity. Many universities are offering scholarships to deserving students and give special weightage to students hailing from needy families.
9.Cybersecurity taps into your creativity in a unique way
For instance, some cybersecurity experts are working on using creative intellect to infiltrate the very systems they are being trained to protect, in order to find out vulnerabilities that could be first discovered by hackers and cause trouble.
Today, ethical hackers are working behind the scenes of every secured computer to put a stop to the illicit and destructive activity of their unethical counterparts by investigating and fixing weak spots in the cybersecurity framework. cybersecurity executives are also working on setting up a computer in a phony, consciously vulnerable network that is like a virtual mousetrap used to lure cybercriminals who fall into the trap and reveal their crimes, future plans, and tactics to the experts.
10. Cyber Security Work is crucial in many pivotal sectors like national security
The app bans in recent history because of compromised data is also part of cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is an important aspect of national security as countries can now be infiltrated through intellectual property. Businesses in all industry sectors need tightened cybersecurity guards to protect against illegal intrusions from hackers that can cause heavy revenue loss, counting up to billions of dollars. But the risk is even greater when it comes to India’s future integrity and sovereignty, which to a great extent depends on our ability to combat advanced warfare waged by making advanced computer technology a weapon.
Securing a comprehensive degree in cybersecurity is not the final step to a great career, it is the beginning of a career — you’ll need to keep pushing yourself to a constant learning motive in this evolving field of the profession — but a degree will aid you in transforming your professional career and enhance your professional potential while helping you make a positive impact on the society.