Career opportunity: Besides being a dominant theme due to the need to protect data from cybercriminal attacks, cybersecurity is today one of the best answers for young people looking for a well-paid job with solid career growth prospects. Summarising well the current panorama of a sector that offers enormous opportunities are the many studies on the subject, which show companies’ difficulty in finding professionals capable of filling certain positions. Turning the concept upside down, this means, in fact, ample availability for each of the many different roles in the sector.
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, between 2013 and 2021, cybersecurity vacancies increased from 1 million to 3.5 million, with the latter number of positions continuing to remain open until 2025. Focusing on the US, CyberSeek claims that there are currently around 950,000 workers employed in cybersecurity, with just under half a million positions still to be filled.
With the digitisation of key sectors such as healthcare and financial services, the cybersecurity market is also growing at a fast pace in Europe. According to one of IDC’s latest reports, spending by companies in the European markets on IT security will reach $47 billion by the end of 2022, a surge of almost 11 percent over the previous year. And the trend will continue for the next few years, so much so that investments in the field are expected to exceed $66 billion by 2026. Attention to the sector is steadily increasing, but with the war between Ukraine and Russia, risks have increased in the wake of geopolitical changes and the jump in inflation, forcing companies to “focus on short-term contingency plans, starting with data, network and cloud security,” said Stefano Perini, IDC Senior Research Analyst and European Data and Analytics.
Career Opportunity
Looking at the entire global landscape, a few numbers are enough to get an idea of how critical cybersecurity is and will increasingly be. We are talking about a market that is currently worth 173.5 billion dollars and is set to rise to 266.2 billion dollars in the next five years, according to forecasts by MarketsandMarkets—with growth driven not only by small and medium-sized companies, generally speaking, the most reluctant so far to invest in valuable resources to protect databases with sensitive data, but also by the need for defense on the part of the millions of intelligent workers, who have grown out of all proportion with the Covid-19 pandemic.
If betting on cybersecurity is a good choice in the professional field, let’s look at some of the most in-demand roles, some entry-level and others requiring more experience. With this in mind, however, it should be made clear that even for entry-level positions, excellent preparation is needed, including studies and previous work experience in the field of Information Technology.
Cybersecurity Professionals
Information Security Analyst – Protecting the company’s networks and devices is its mission. That goes from monitoring networks to indicating and reporting possible violations. Securing computers with state-of-the-art processes is his task, the result of continually keeping abreast of industry trends and products. According to Glassdoor’s references, which cover the US market, the role carries an average annual salary of close to $115,000.
Digital Forensic Examiner – The investigator on the hunt for cyber criminals. Recovering information from all kinds of devices to get to the bottom of who and how launched an attack and gathering valuable material in legal proceedings is his priority. This includes tracing data from damaged or deleted hard disks and assisting law enforcement agencies engaged in the case investigation. Tracking down data thieves secures a salary of approximately $83,500.
IT Auditor – Anticipating and anticipating determine the peculiarities of the role, which is responsible for assessing processes and technologies to be used to quell potential pitfalls. His main duties are planning moves, devising plans to remedy security holes, and pointing out the best opportunities for more efficient processes. The salary is just over $100,000 per annum.
Information Security Specialist – Rises through the ranks to a primary role in corporate security. He is in charge of choosing the defence tools to keep data safe. Antivirus and firewalls are his bread and butter—an average annual salary of around $110,000.
Career Opportunities
Penetration Tester – Getting there before the hackers are his goal, which is achieved by analysing the companies’ protection system to uncover vulnerabilities. In essence, he acts just like cybercriminals, simulating attacks to breach the defence network. A necessary step is to provide advice to secure the system. His salary is around $110,000.
Cryptography Engineer – Creating algorithms to encrypt data and decrypting encrypted information are two of his primary tasks. Therefore, in addition to analysing the algorithms in use to understand the percentage of risk of being hacked by an attacker, he tests new techniques and implements the most appropriate solutions. His average salary is $118,000.
Security Architect – Dictating the line in terms of defensive strategy for information security is their job. It incorporates programming knowledge and the ability to track cyber threats to determine the moves with which the company will be able to respond to any breach attempts. But decisions also include budgeting to secure systems and leading internal drills aimed at breaching the protection plan. A delicate role that is worth a salary of around $165,000.
Cybersecurity Manager – The division leader is responsible for overseeing all steps and the entire security infrastructure. In addition to technical skills, they must be able to manage human resources, ensure compliance with security regulations and determine the purchase of the necessary tools to keep the company safe. The average salary is around $140,000.
