Cyber Security Career Pathway: How Does Formal Education Play a Part?

If you think working as a cybersecurity professional is more of a “hands-on” career, you might be right. So why do you need a degree to get a good job? You can be assured you’ll get a job if you know anything about integrated technologies, right?

Maybe. But you won’t get the good jobs; the best jobs. And when it’s time to advance beyond your starting salary and position, you could be passed over by the people who haven’t worked as long as you. They have degrees. Instead of being bitter about the unfairness of it, take a long, hard look at the advantages of earning a cybersecurity degree for yourself.

What a Cybersecurity Degree Really Says

Holding a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in cybersecurity is usually needed for a rewarding career as a cybersecurity professional. The advantages of this degree are:

• There is a critical shortage of cybersecurity professionals worldwide. In the U.S., only 3% of college graduates have cybersecurity-related skills.
  • There will be approximately 3.5 million available cybersecurity jobs in 2021 and not enough educated cybersecurity professionals.
  • Many other integrated technology careers require a Bachelor of Science degree. But only cybersecurity has the highest growth potential (28% for information security analysts through 2026).
• You might be happy with your starting salary today. A college degree makes a huge difference later when you have a growing family or your cost-of-living is higher.
  • When you get a degree, that tells employers you are willing to make an investment in yourself. You have an educated edge that can help them succeed. The “payback” for a cybersecurity career is better than most.
• A Bachelor of Science degree is the minimum requirement at some of the best technology companies. These companies can offer a long-term, challenging and rewarding careers, or they can be a terrific springboard for you to be a rising star in the cybersecurity industry.
• Professionalism is learned; not earned. You can study how companies operate and how to conduct yourself ethically – professionally – attending a university cybersecurity degree program. Even if you’re not a “people-person,” your ability to work with people from diverse populations and backgrounds is important as a cybersecurity professional. Customer service is a critical skill you should learn in an undergraduate degree program.
• A cybersecurity degree offers plenty of career path options for qualified applicants:
  • Information security analyst
  • Information technology solutions professional
  • Helpdesk technical support/remote specialist
  • Network and Security infrastructure support
  • Network security analyst
  • Network Security implementation
  • Technical support

The Value of Cybersecurity Skills? Priceless…

Computer and Information Science degree programs offer the foundation for most technology careers:

• Customer service
• Networking
• Operating systems
• Implementation
• Support
• Program development/planning
• Security
• Software apps

Just knowing the basics of integrated technology will give you the confidence and experience you need to:

• Administer network/security infrastructure
• Apply ethical and legal policies to internet-related activity
• Be able to explain situations to those who may not understand technology
• Communicate effectively when writing technical and non-technical documents
• Design/implement/evaluate computer solutions for organizations or companies
• Develop cloud-computing tools
• Installing/testing/securing and maintaining computer networks
• Offer risk-management solutions and implement processes to protect an organization or client business
• Troubleshoot
• Understand technical manuals
• Work with a team to establish goals/plan/meet deadlines and deliver solutions to avoid problems before they occur

Your education as a cybersecurity professional never ends! In this rapidly changing, dynamic environment, you could not only “learn something new every day,” you might be required to attend conferences and stay on top of current research and development. You should refine your personal, professional development by joining user groups and associations.

Join Cybersecurity Graduates Sooner than you Think

The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security have designated ECPI University as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber-Defense Education (CAE-CDE) for the Bachelor of Science in Computer and Information Science: Cyber and Network Security major, Cybersecurity Track through academic year 2023. -NCAE-CDE

If you’re not in any hurry; that’s fine. Cybersecurity is a career that is going to be booming big-time for a long time! But if you’re eager to become an in-demand, integrated technology professional with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer and Information Science with a major in Cyber and Network Security, why wait? When you’re ready to work, ECPI University’s year-round degree programs can work for you.

For more information on this exciting program, connect with a knowledgeable admissions representative today.

It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

DISCLAIMER – ECPI University makes no claim, warranty, or guarantee as to actual employability or earning potential to current, past or future students or graduates of any educational program we offer. The ECPI University website is published for informational purposes only. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained on the ECPI.edu domain; however, no warranty of accuracy is made. No contractual rights, either expressed or implied, are created by its content.

Gainful Employment Information – Cyber and Network Security - Bachelor’s

For more information about ECPI University or any of our programs click here: http://www.ecpi.edu/ or http://ow.ly/Ca1ya.