OUR COUNTRY’S BIGGEST THREATS to national security don’t all come in the form of shoe bombers and incoming mortar. Nowadays, our government is more likely to be protecting resources, data or other secrets from computer geniuses who wreak havoc via keyboards instead of traditional weapons. But that’s where cybersecurity comes in.
Some colleges will offer a major in cybersecurity for those seeking a Bachelor of Science degree, while others will offer it as a certificate program or as a specialty to supplement another computer-related degree, such as information technology (IT).
WHAT IS CYBERSECURITY?
The simplified version is that cybersecurity is a collective approach to protecting computers from unauthorized access and/or destruction. Just think back to the movies you’ve seen in which hackers take out an entire city’s electric grid, steal money from online bank accounts or create a virus that shuts down all satellite communications. Of course, cybersecurity isn’t always that glamorous. Sometimes it’s as simple as protecting dental records or ensuring a virus doesn’t take out a school district’s lunch menu database.
WHAT CLASSES WILL I TAKE?
Curriculum will vary slightly, depending on the college, but you can likely expect courses in things like network security, cyber investigations and forensics, operational security, cryptography, Web security, cybercrime, and commerce and application security.
You may also choose to do a computer-related work-study program, an internship with a tech company to get your feet wet or even test your growing knowledge by entering a cybersecurity contest. That’s exactly what a group of seniors at Iowa State University did in 2012. All five, who were majoring in either software engineering, computer engineering or computer science, worked as a team to win the “Best Mashup API” prize category at a hackathon. The team won for their Facebook app that provides group bill payment management (e.g., for roommates sharing apartment expenses). When interviewed after their win, the team said they were pleased with the outcome, and that it was a lot of fun and not very stressful. Sounds like a perfect career match!
WHAT’S MY POTENTIAL FOR EMPLOYMENT?
Considering that technology is woven into every aspect of our lives, cybersecurity degrees offer incredible job opportunities for graduates. From the government and military to corporations, nonprofits and the health care industry, there’s always a need to protect the security of data and information. And because technology is constantly changing, there’s plenty of room for job growth for those who stay on top of the latest and greatest in the industry. According to an August 2013 survey by Semper Secure, a public-private partnership to enhance cybersecurity in Virginia and Washington, D.C., the demand has grown more than 3.5 times faster than the demand for all other IT jobs, and 12 times faster than for all other non-IT jobs. The same survey warns that the current vast shortage of “cyber pros” is expected to grow each year.
As for salary, you can’t ask for much better. The average annual salary of a cybersecurity professional is $116,000. Of course, that’s an average of those with a variety of degrees, and location will certainly play a role, as about 38 percent are concentrated in California and the D.C. metro area. But considering that average, it’s impressive that one in four cyber pros have been working in the field for fewer than five years.**
**SOURCE: August 2013 Semper Security survey
