Why Cyber Security Roles Are More In Demand Now

Cybersecurity breaches are as common as peanut butter, and their implications are just as messy. Remember the Equifax breach that potentially affected as many as 143 million consumers? And Verizon? Kmart? Yahoo? The implications are just as far-reaching: for consumers, it can range from annoyance over an interruption of services to serious concern that our most sensitive data is being tampered with and sold.

Whenever we experience a data breach, there are employees on the other end furiously racing to put out the fire. According to a 2017 report, the average cost of a data breach is $3.62 million — that's massive for any company, large or small. And according to a Verizon Data Breach Investigations report in 2017, 75% of breaches were perpetrated by outsiders, and 62% featured hacking.

So yeah, it's small wonder why cybersecurity experts are in high demand. In fact, ISACA, a non-profit information security advocacy group, predicted that there will be a global shortage of two million cyber security professionals by 2019. Every year in the U.S., a whopping 40,000 information security analyst jobs go unfilled, while employers are struggling to fill 200,000 other cybersecurity related roles. That means that while there's a huge demand for these roles, there's also a shortage of appropriate talent.

Lots of jobs, lots of money. Cybersecurity jobs can command a $6,500 premium over other IT jobs (which already pay well.) So if you learn the correct skill set, you're all but guaranteed a lucrative job in a dynamic field. 

If you're interested in a role in cybersecurity, there are a few essential skills and certifications you should learn/earn — all of which you can learn in the Pay What You Want: The Complete Cyber Security Certification Bundle.

CompTIA Security+

CompTIA is the foundation of any cybersecurity career. It's the first certification you should earn if you're interested in launching a full-blown IT career, and is a globally recognized certification that validates the baseline skills you need to perform core security functions. It ensures that you know best-practices for troubleshooting problems, and can both identify and most importantly, address security issues. It's also a certification that's compliant with ISO 17024 standards, a benchmark of industry-recognized credentials that can be carried across national borders.

Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI)

Once you establish a solid foundation, you can start to specialize. That's where the field of Computer Investigation comes in — it's a little more niche, but basically lets you act like a digital version of CSI (really). You learn to work with police, government and corporate entities to detect hacking attempts, extract evidence to report the crime and conduct audits to prevent future breaches.

Cisco 210-260

Cisco solutions are some of the most widely-used in the market today. By passing this certification exam, you'll validate that you have an associate-level knowledge and the skills required to secure Cisco networks. That includes developing a security infrastructure, recognizing threats and vulnerabilities, and of course, mitigating them.

CSA Certificate Of Cloud Technology Security Knowledge (CCSK)

Many organizations use some form of cloud technology, and to know how to secure that data is a near-essential skill for cybersecurity professionals. This certification indicates that you have a deep understanding of cloud computing and its security challenges, including governance and risk management, cloud architectural framework, as well as business continuity and disaster recovery.

Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)

You might be familiar with project managers, the folks who ensure that all projects actually go somewhat according to plan. The PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP) is an exam for you if you plan to work on the operational end of the things, still leveraging your technical expertise. It's a certification for a specialist role in project risk management, proving you can assess and identify project risks, capitalize on opportunities and mitigate risk, while still possessing a core knowledge and practical application in all areas of project management.

Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

Like the name of the certification might suggest, a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) is a person whose focus revolves around the management and design of an enterprise's information security. That includes auditing IT systems, developing and implementing those systems and protecting information assets. Essentially, it's overseeing the security program of any enterprise globally – and is perfect for individuals who enjoy looking at things on a more macro level.

CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP)

A subset of CompTIA, a CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) is a top certification to validate IT professionals with advanced-level security skills and knowledge. The difference lies mainly in the complexity of solutions that you would conceptualize, design and engineer across enterprise environments.

CompTIA CSA+ (Cyber Security Analyst)

This international, vendor-neutral cybersecurity certification revolves around the use of behavioral analytics to improve the overall state of IT security. Since firewalls and other standard means of protection are regularly bypassed by hackers these days, security measures are increasingly taken through the lens of analytics, which then shape the design of security solutions.

CISSP: Certified Information Systems Security Professional 2015

Reserved for experienced cybersecurity professionals, the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is an important exam to study for if you're looking to advance to the next step in your career. It's typically reserved for network security professionals and system administrators with at least four years of direct work experience in two or more of the eight test domains — but if you pass it, it's basically like getting a golden key into the security systems of any company looking to hire.

Interested in learning more? This Pay What You Want: The Complete Cyber Security Certification Bundle helps train you for all these exams, with nine comprehensive courses that include text prep materials. 

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