The growing demand for cyber security professionals

Are cyber security jobs in demand?

As technology progresses, new careers and businesses are created to meet larger concerns. With more businesses relying on a digital workforce, there’s been an increased need for cyber security. There’s an abundance of online scams doing the rounds with an increased number of people being caught out by scammers every year.

As that happens, businesses the world over are reporting a shortage of cyber security professionals. The statistics in this area are alarming. It’s easy to see then, while this epidemic of hacks continues that we need an increased number of people working in this field.

Why cyber security matters for business

There are two types of companies in the world – those that worry about online security and those that don’t. Some shrug it off, thinking they won’t be targeted since they’re not in banking or finance. But every business has some form of data that may be useful to a cyber-criminal. And so, it goes without saying that every business should be concerned with the security of their data.

Cyber security jobs in demand

The demand for jobs in cyber security is growing at a rate much faster than that of other industries. A report released last year by Cisco estimates that there are one million unfilled cyber security jobs worldwide. More than 209,000 cyber security jobs in the U.S. are unfilled, and postings are up 74 percent over the past five years, according to a Peninsula Press analysis of numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What does it mean to work in cyber security?

It seems, like most jobs, there are high points of intense excitement and low points of quiet and boredom. Says an answer on question site Quora about what it’s like to work in this position: “Depending on the actual role, most jobs require review and audit activities that are pretty routine. Most of this time must be spent on studying and keeping oneself sharp and up to date.

“However, when a problem does occur, this is where the action picks up. Doing incident response or digital forensics has the same feeling as doing detective work. There is definitely the thrill of the chase.”

Why working in cyber security is one of the most important jobs in the world

If you’re already working in the tech sector, moving over to cyber security can mean a significant bump in pay. Professionals in this field tend to earn, on average, 9 percent more than other employees in this sector and most have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, programming, or engineering. If you don’t have a degree, there are plenty of online courses available in this area that you might want to look into.

But there is, it seems, a growing misperception about this field largely thanks to the movie industry. In Hollywood films, those in cyber security are often portrayed as men sitting in dark rooms, frowning in front of glowing computer screens. In the real world, they’re likely to be your neighbor who leaves for work in the morning at the same time you do. Working in cyber security is just a job, like any other, although at times they might protect your personal and banking information from being stolen by the bad guys.

If you’re interested in cyber security, there’s no doubt you’re interested in the intersection between smart homes and keeping them safe. Be sure to read our recent article that looks at the possible cyber security dangers of smart homes and why they need to be secured.