An industry is about to see a big job boom and you don’t necessarily need a degree to secure your $ 100,000 salary.
In a constantly changing job landscape, an industry faces a severe shortage of skills and offers cybersecurity features with a salary of $ 100,000.
The Technology Council of Australia has a mission to offer one million technology jobs by 2025, a goal that means “we need an additional 286,000 workers to join the sector”.
“There’s a huge lack of skills,” Mimecast technical director Alison O’Hare told news.com.au.
“You have this rampant cybercrime and you have your excellent solutions to solve problems, but you don’t necessarily have insiders who can cope with keeping them.
“I’ve talked to a lot of customers who have the technology but don’t have the people to do anything about it. This is where the skills gap lies.
Ms. O’Hare said there was great job security so cybercrime would not go away.
What is cybersecurity?
“When I entered the world of cybersecurity, I thought it would be pretty technical, but also pretty dry,” O’Hare said.
“Many people associate IT roles with coding and software development. I actually found the role a lot about problem solving and people. “
“You’re trying to understand cyber gangs and attackers, and then you’re reaching out to your users, too. There’s a lot of human analysis and awareness training.”
When he started in the industry, he was amazed at how many different areas of cybersecurity there were to get involved.
“I find it really interesting the constant evolution of what we do,” O’Hare said. “Especially because it’s also global. There are a lot of aspects to what you do.”
“You could work more on the project management side, or on the technology side, or more on the people side: there are so many options.”
Roads to cybersecurity
According to O’Hare, there is more than one way to get into cybersecurity. In fact, he began his working life as a physiotherapist, before spending the last 20 years in computer science.
“I was working as a physiotherapist,” O’Hare told news.com.au, “our clinic had a couple of networked computers, so I started working on it, just to get them to communicate.” .
“It was a little interesting … I loved the idea of the ever-changing nature of IT and the challenge associated with it.”
“I got my first job working as an IT administrator. I loved it, I found it really interesting and challenging. Then I moved on to a lot of different roles, before I ended up in cybersecurity.”
O’Hare explained that there is also a lot of training in the workplace, so you don’t necessarily need to be an expert before applying for a cybersecurity feature. He also made it clear that while there are currently specific qualifications for cybersecurity, it is not necessary to graduate to get a job.
“Even if you don’t start a job with the skills they’re looking for, they’re bringing in people with at least some of those skills and the intention to grow and model in that role,” he said.
The lead researcher on BlackBerry threats in Canberra, who asked to remain anonymous, agrees that relevant formal education is not always necessary.
“I’m mostly self-taught,” he told news.com.au. “I had a natural curiosity to understand how things worked, especially computers and other devices.”
“One way to codify your knowledge is to complete certifications with technology providers. That can make it easier to get your foot in the door with employers. “
“However, finding ways to demonstrate your skills, for example, posting new code or tools you’ve developed, is the best way to stand out.”
Salary expectations
With the rising cost of living, wage expectations in cybersecurity are a great relief. Obviously, it depends on the function you have, but the average pay is about $ 70,000 at the entry level, which will go up to about $ 100,000 as you enter more experienced places.
Security in employment
There is almost constant talk about what roles will still exist in 20 years. It’s an especially important question, as the blockades saw so many industries fall into disrepair. This is not a cybersecurity concern.
“In my opinion, it’s the industry where to be,” O’Hare says. “It’s such a changing and evolving world to be; you have to be attentive, learning and thinking because technology changes as cybercrime advances.”
“Your job security is very high because you will always need people in these roles. Cybercrime will not go away.”
Women in STEM
According to O’Hare, many things have changed since she entered the IT world, and now is the time to be a woman in cybersecurity.
“To some extent getting my first job was pretty easy, because a lot of the teams I worked with were looking to hire women for diversity and a different opinion,” she explained.
“Being taken seriously was a little harder. Working and getting opportunities was harder, but that goes back 20 years.”
“I’d say most organizations are looking for a 50/50 gender balance now, but that’s hard to do.”
“I typically think women still feel like there’s a barrier to entry – I don’t know if it’s bullying, or they don’t know how to start, or if they’re going to be bullied or taken seriously.
However, I have seen a dramatic increase in the number of women, specifically in the last two years. “
Travel opportunities
Cybersecurity is also a good industry for global travelers, as its global nature and highly transferable skills make it the same job all over the world.
“There are so many opportunities to work internationally, and within our company we promote it,” O’Hare said. “Skills are universal, so you can absolutely transfer them and use them globally, either within the company itself or just on your own.”
“The work-life balance is excellent,” agreed the BlackBerry principal investigator, “and it also has the flexibility to work from anywhere with Internet access.”