With the rise of cyber-attacks, the best cybersecurity course matter for aspirants to land a job

As the number of cybersecurity attacks increases, so does the demand for the best cybersecurity course to defend against them. There are over 700,000 available cybersecurity roles in the United States alone and the occupation is increasing more than twice as fast as the general rate of the country's economy.

These roles are difficult to fill for a variety of reasons, including the lack of cybersecurity knowledge among firm executives about the sort of cybersecurity course required to defend their assets, as well as a lack of education and awareness about current job risks. Inadequate training, credentials, or skill sets, on the other hand, are limiting cybersecurity professionals from obtaining these positions. While there are other paths to becoming a cybersecurity expert, such as taking up the best cybersecurity course matter because of the time to acquire new skills on the job, gaining a master's degree is a well-established path.

Graduates of top cybersecurity courses may expect to earn six-figure beginning salaries ranging from US$100,000 to US$200,000.

"Security has always been well-paying, and it comes down to scarcity—both in terms of the number of professionals and the requisite capabilities," Mike Hendrickson, Skillsoft's vice president of tech and development, told Fortune earlier. "With today's limited pool of security personnel, firms must make their offerings highly appealing, both in terms of remuneration and professional growth prospects."

Salary For Cybersecurity Master's Graduates

Students who graduate from the best cybersecurity master's program in the country, as ranked by Fortune, frequently see their incomes quadruple. Students entering the program during the 2020-21 academic year self-report wages of US$104,100, while their contemporaries graduating during the same year self-report salaries of US$200,000—nearly twice as much.

"Our UC Berkeley online master's in cybersecurity allows students to develop not only technical expertise in cybersecurity, but also essential skills in communications, product development, customer success, and business," Rebecca Andersen, senior director of student and alumni career development at UC Berkeley, previously told Fortune. "This allows our students to take on leadership roles in the cybersecurity profession and earn big wage increases when they transition."

UC Berkeley graduates also hold positions of leadership in cybersecurity. According to a UC Berkeley pay study of alumni, graduates with a master's degree in cybersecurity earn an average income of US$214,000, not counting incentives; the median wage is US$200,000 Some graduates who are now executives earn more than US$300,000, such as chief information security officers (CISOs), chief information officers (CIOs), and chief technology officers (CTOs).

"Depending on the firm and the scale of the organization, the CISO jobs will be more than US$250,000, US$300,000, closer to US$400,000," McHale adds.

Graduates of Yeshiva University (Katz), which Fortune ranks as having the No. 2 online cybersecurity master's degree, earn a US$112,000 median base salary immediately after graduation and US$126,000 one year later. According to Skillsoft's 2022 list of the top-paying IT certifications, Yeshiva's cybersecurity curriculum aligns with high-paying industry certifications such as Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), which can help professionals land US$150,000-plus salary packages.

"There are several fantastic programs throughout the country," says Paul Russo, dean of the Katz School of Science and Health. "I just happen to believe we have the proper mix of technological and instructional expertise to enable students to ascend to the top of the employment market." In addition, the training emphasizes real-world threat modeling and hands-on experience with ransomware, endpoint detection and response, Amazon Web Services, and Splunk.

Western Governors University, which Fortune ranks as the third-best cybersecurity master's program in the US, also boasts six-figure wages for its alumni. According to Mike Morris, WGU's College of IT assistant dean and director of academic programs in cybersecurity, the master's degree allows graduates to embark on cybersecurity leadership posts with prospective earnings of US$135,000. Furthermore, more than 16% of WGU tech graduates report starting salaries of US$150,000 or higher.

"Graduates are prepared to take on cybersecurity leadership roles with major corporations, government agencies, consultancies, and start-ups," he adds. "In terms of salary impact, a master's degree has been shown to help cybersecurity professionals' earning potential."

Some of the best graduate programs do not disclose six-figure wages, but they do show an increase in base salaries after obtaining a master's degree. For example, Indiana University-Bloomington claims that the average base salary for its cybersecurity graduates is $77,400, a 44% increase over what they earned before to enrollment. According to Fortune, Indiana has the fourth-best cybersecurity master's program in the US.

Indiana University's cybersecurity risk management program takes a broader approach to the field, with students taking core courses in computing, law, and business. They also receive assistance in studying for the CISSP certification, which has the potential for higher earnings.