This is a great time to consider a new career as a cybersecurity professional. According to CIO magazine, experts in cybersecurity are among the most sought-after professionals in the tech sector, with demand for workers in that field outpacing other IT jobs by a wide margin.
According to a recent report from Burning Glass Technologies, the demand for cybersecurity professionals has grown more than 3.5 times faster than the demand for other IT jobs over the past five years and more than 12 times faster than the demand for all other non-IT jobs. Current staffing shortages are estimated between 20,000 and 40,000 and are expected to continue for years to come.
In a recent Network World blog post, John Oltsik of The Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) confirms the severe shortage of skilled people in this field. ESG just completed a survey on 2014 IT spending intentions, and results show that 42% of responding organizations intend to increase headcount in information security. This is the highest percentage of all IT skillsets in demand.
Moreover, 25% of all organizations surveyed claim to have a “problematic shortage” of information security skills. The shortage is especially acute in the government, manufacturing, financial services, retail/wholesale, and healthcare industries. This is not surprising, given the vast amount of sensitive (and monetizable) data in those organizations, and the high regulatory pressure to secure that data.
via This is a great time to start a career in cybersecurity – Network World.