Entering the Cybersecurity Workforce: Certification vs. College Degree

The volume and sophistication of cyberattacks have grown rapidly over the past 30 years. Early cyber defense was typically the responsibility of network and system administrators who lacked security-specific training and tools to detect and stop attacks. Organizations struggled to develop policies and procedures for protecting information which led to numerous attacks and outages. Risk and compliance practices did not address system vulnerabilities and were not part of the audit process. As attacks evolved the approach to cyber defense slowly started to improve. Eventually, a comprehensive approach was adopted and a new field evolved called cybersecurity. The demand for qualified cybersecurity professionals is extremely high and I will review the situation in this chapter. The required skills are varied, making this a challenge for industry and government leaders. The data in this chapter will show that organizations are struggling to find qualified cybersecurity professionals. Educating a workforce for careers in cybersecurity is a key priority for the nation, and this work will examine several educational approaches for individuals seeking to fill entry-level roles.