Thinking of Taking up a Cybersecurity Course? Just Go for It

The growing demand in cybersecurity is encouraging people to take up cybersecurity courses

Isn't it fascinating to see how people have adopted the new way of working from home without much complaint? Of course, there are exceptions. Everybody's life now centers on technology. We work on cloud, connect through virtual conferences and share info via mail. But is there a downside that we need to look before it is late? Yes, it is cybersecurity. As more and more companies are taking technologies at their hand, the number of cyber attacks is drastically spiking. This has led to more youngsters deciding to take up cybersecurity courses to support their careers.

Due to ever-evolving disruptive trends, the cybersecurity industry is rapidly growing every day. Even though many precautious measures are being taken to counter increasing cyber attacks, the nature of the industry still has a long way to go before the threat can be uprooted fully. According to a Clark School study at the University of Maryland, every 39 seconds, a cybersecurity breach takes place harming one in three Americans every year. In countries like India, cyber attacks are even more intense because of the exploding population. A study has unraveled that India has witnessed a staggering 457% increase in cybersecurity breaches under the IT Act, 2000, between 2011 and 2016. The Covid-19 pandemic and remote working has further worsened the scenario.

Companies across the globe are ready to take any counter-measure to tackle cyber attacks. They are even willing to pay millions to cybersecurity professionals in order to keep their IT infrastructure safe. Cybersecurity jobs are in high demand and it doesn't seem like the need for cybersecurity professionals is going anywhere in the foreseeable future. This has led to more people pursuing a career in cybersecurity. The purpose of cybersecurity courses is to train people to utilize technologies and processes that help prevent cyber criminals from conducting unauthorized attacks on computer systems, networks, and programs. Apart from cybersecurity courses offered on campus, online education platforms are offering collaborative certificate programs with big institutions. This has dramatically increased the number of people engaging in cybersecurity jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of growth for jobs in information security is projected at 37% from 2012 to 2022, which is faster than the average for all other companies.

The current state of cybersecurity courses

As the need for cybersecurity professionals is increasing literally every day, more colleges are offering degrees in cybersecurity courses, though it has yet to become a staple in undergraduate coursework for students majoring in related fields. However, cybersecurity practices in real life go beyond what the college has taught. Cybersecurity jobs rely more on practical work than their theoretical mug-up stuff. Henceforth, recently, education institutions offering cybersecurity courses are making sure that students get to experience the ground level of heat while acquiring the degree.

Even though cybersecurity is a common function, it is much divided on job titles. Some of the most common cybersecurity job profiles are cybersecurity engineer, specialist, analyst and architect. Some of the common attributes that make up a good cybersecurity professional are incident handling and response, audit and compliance, firewall/IDS/IPS skills, intrusion detection, analytics and intelligence, SIEM management, access/identity management, application security development, advanced malware prevention, and cloud computing/visualization. Fortunately, cybersecurity course followed by jobs comes with a handful of benefits as follows,

• Well qualified cybersecurity professionalsare always in high demand. They have no fear of losing the job or even if they did, they can apply for any other company and start there.

• People in this field will be able to have a positive impact on the lives and careers of their clients.

• Cybersecurity jobs are generally well-paid professions once the aspirant's career is established. Cybersecurity professionals can easily earn US$150,000 of they have the expertise and acquired a proper cybersecurity course.

• Despite the focus on cybersecurityin technology companies, the need for cybersecurity professionals is everywhere including banks, investment firms, federal government agencies, telecommunication companies, healthcare providers, local governments, public school systems, and government contractors.

What is holding back cybersecurity professionals from standing out?

While the demand for cybersecurity professions is high, the cybersecurity courses offered by colleges and institutions are not fully serving the call. Cybersecurity has its root in early education levels. Think about STEM offerings, they are a base for cybersecurity roles. Unfortunately, the education sector is not thinking so deep from its base. If we want to make more cybersecurity professionals, then we should make sure that we provide a stern STEM background to students. Education institutes are very lenient about building a strong foundation for students. Pursuing a career in cybersecurity declares aspirants to at least have basic knowledge of cyber attacks and their impacts. They need to familiar with cybersecurity concepts, extensive cybersecurity work experience, industry certification, knowledge of regulatory policies, etc.