There’s no question that cybercrime is at all time high and continues to grow. The unfortunate outlook is there is an unprecedented shortage of cyber security workers to fill cyber security careers.

According to Cybersecurity Ventures, there will be roughly 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity positions by 2021. Did you know that the cyber security unemployment rate for cyber security positions is zero percent right now and it’s expected to stay there for years to come? Talk about job security!

Cybercrime is the second most reported economic crime for organizations with the misappropriation of assets first in 2016. A cyber security career is one in which you are fighting on the front lines against today’s most cerebral criminals and protecting organizations around the world from the negative effects of cybercrime.

In this blog, we share the top reasons why you should consider a cyber security career.

The Demand is There

What are the top three 2017 most in-demand cyber security positions you might ask? er security experts are some of the most sought-after professionals in the IT industry. The demand for cyber security practitioners across a multitude of industries and organizational types is there. Take a look at this Figure from Indeed’s blog on cyber security skills gap:

What are the top three 2017 most in-demand cybersecurity positions you might ask?

• Penetration Testers
• Cybersecurity Engineers
• CISOs

There’s no question that organizations are looking for security leaders who can be consultative, identify issues, and offer solutions to these big security challenges. Not to mention the transformation we see with all types of technologies requires security expertise in all areas of the spectrum, from IoT, cloud, critical infrastructure and more.

Learn more about the upcoming trends in cyber security here. 

Cyber Security Careers Are Rewarding (Personally & Financially)

Because of the demand for cyber security positions globally, you can travel and be almost anywhere for any company with a career in cybersecurity. A professional can earn an average salary $116,000 per year or approximately $55.77 per hour according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For many, it’s more than just the compensation that keeps cyber security professionals going. Cybercrime is on such a significant scale at this point that a career in cybersecurity becomes almost like a public service. Cyber security professionals protect not only the businesses that employ them but also the general public.

We recently chatted with one of our Twitter followers (@PhishFinder007) about his passion for developing his cyber security career. Here is his fantastic summary of why he’s getting into the field of cyber security:

“A few years back I watched a show on cyberwars and it just captivated me. I started learning as much as I could in my free time, I set up Twitter to follow security professionals to keep up with all the latest and breaking news and threats. I created a test lab at home so I could start learning hacking skills and tried to figure out what skills I needed for cyber defense and the certifications my company might look for if I ever decided to leave my current role for a position in the new SOC that is being developed. I really have a passion for this stuff. It’s very technical which is what I love but its also a sense of responsibility, you learn how susceptible we are, how scary the future looks and you just find a sense of duty and you want to learn how to defend from all of the emerging threats. Cybersecurity combines all of my interests. I used to be a police officer and I was in the Coast Guard. Now, I’m in information technology, so when you put them all together its InfoSec.”

Cyber security professionals are agents of change, bringing specialized expertise and knowledge to their roles. The cyber security field is rewarding because you are continually learning and expanding your expertise and knowledge. Cyber security practitioners are learning how to prevent attacks, how to build defenses, and how to leverage the latest security technologies to help mitigate attacks and implement and enforce the organizational security policies.

You Have the Latest Security Technologies at Your Disposal

Technology is innovating and changing at a rapid pace, Moore’s Law demonstrates the concept very well. Technology’s acceleration means that hackers have more and more exploits to use against organizations. From the cyber security professionals point of view, they have no shortage of technologies and tools to use to prevent attackers from exploiting the network and applications. Security tools allow the practitioner to have both a 30,000-foot view of the network but also a very granular look at security incidents. Some technologies will enable the security practitioner to identify trends and anomalies from the security data.

All around, cyber security careers are rewarding both professionally and financially. The field is vast, and there are many areas of specialization where you can focus your energy and efforts. Learn more about the skills sets needed to perform in a cyber security role in our blog here. And as always, feel free to ask one of our experts about how they got started in the field of cyber security in our comments below!