A job for you, a job for you, and one for you! Okay, so maybe the cybersecurity job market isn't quite like Oprah's favorite things giveaways, but it is booming and vastly understaffed. In fact, a Cisco report estimates that there are around a million unfilled security positions worldwide. In the digital age, every company is a security company, and if a company doesn't see it that way, then it most likely won't be around for long.
According to Peninsula Press research, a branch of the Stanford University Journalism program, there are currently more than 200,000 open security jobs in the United States. Cybersecurity job postings are up more than 70% over the past five years, and the industry growth isn't expected to slow down anytime soon. With all of the job openings and a shortage of talent, recruiters at top companies like Comcast are going the extra mile to fill jobs.
"There's definitely a war for cyber talent in the industry right now. The need is not specific to one industry, which adds to the increasing demand for cybersecurity professionals," Mylei Saltares, Senior Technical Recruiter at Comcast, said at the recent SecureWorld Philadelphia conference.
If you're looking to get into cybersecurity, or are wondering how this talent gap developed in the first place, then your answer lies in only one word: education. A study from CloudPassage found that top universities are not making the grade when it comes to educating our cybersecurity professionals of tomorrow. In fact, it's much worse. Check out this key finding from the report.
None of the top 10 U.S. computer science programs require a cybersecurity course for graduation. In fact, three of the top 10 university programs don't even offer an elective course in cybersecurity.
CloudPassage CEO Robert Thomas realizes that the lack of educational resources will result in serious consequences down the road. He is using the research to offer a proactive solution.
"Our research reinforces what many have been saying: there is an incredible IT security skills gap. But what we've revealed is that a major root cause is a lack of education and training at accredited schools," said Thomas. "CloudPassage is prepared to donate technology to universities committed to tackling this important issue. Our hope is to forge deeper partnerships with these schools when they are ready to expand their curriculum, with the longer term goal to make security awareness and skills ubiquitous across all technology education programs."
CloudPassage isn't alone in offering resources. The government is having such a hard time filling security roles, that it is now partnering with several universities to offer free education in return for taking a job upon graduation. Free tuition that comes with a free job sounds too good to be true, but when you look at the talent gap, it becomes clear that every industry has no choice but to go above and beyond in hopes of attracting qualified workers. Education got us into this mess, and it's also the only thing that can get us out.
