Jobs in Cyber security - Essay Example

Jobs in Cyber security According to occupational employment projections to employment is projected to rise to about 18.9 Million over the next few years, especially in professional and related occupations, and in service areas (Hecker 7). For instance, in response to the growing threat of cyber-attacks, there has been an increase of cyber security positions, and this upwards trend is projected to last over the next 30 or so years (Geeks News Desk); cyber security jobs are well paying, and these professional earn way over their counterparts in general IT (Ballenstedt).

Currently, there are over 500,000 cyber security jobs needing to be filled in the near future both in the federal government such as in the pentagon, which requires over 4000 more cyber force (Vijayan), and in the private industry. 3 out of 4 cyber security jobs require a degree, and in most cases, a bachelor’s degree is the lowest qualification; data from a recent survey indicates that about 76% of cyber security positions need a bachelor’s degree or higher, while about 4% require a minimum of a master’s degree (UMUC).

The highest paying cyber security jobs, based on median annual wages, are rated between $ 70,000 to about $118,000, and places like Baltimore, Washington, D.C. in addition to other metropolitan areas have the highest concentration of cyber security jobs in the country. Baltimore alone has over 13000 cyber security jobs, and the unemployment level for qualified professionals in these areas is almost zero given the higher demand for their services (Miyares). Fitzpatrick argues that cyber security jobs are a guarantee for employment and job security, and that the area assures students of over 30 years of steady employment on average, with the government requiring hiring of about 10,000 cyber security experts and the private sector twice that amount.

The Washington post reported that the US cyber command was seeking to grow its workforce from 90 to about 4,900 and 70-80% of these positions would be awarded to civilians with an active federal security clearance in the state (Kyzer). Some of the cyber-security job titles include information security analysts, security management specialist, computer systems analysts, software developer/applications, Network and computer systems’ administrator, Computer systems engineer, auditor, security manager, and intelligence analyst (Abell Foundation 16).

Information security analysts are responsible for planning, implementing, upgrading, or monitoring measures for the protection of computer networks and information, and ensure proper security controls are in place to safeguard digital files. Professions in this area need proficiency in computers and electronics, processors, electronic equipment, in addition to, knowledge in applications and programming, among other key areas. Security management specialists are responsible for conducting security assessments for organizations, and designing security systems and processes and areas of specialization in this title include physical security, personnel security, and information security; this occupation may require a background in the STEM education disciplines, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The Computer Systems analyst is in charge of analyzing science, engineering, business, and other data processing problems to implement and improve computer systems, in addition to analyzing user requirements, procedures, and problems to automate or improve existing systems; this occupation also requires a background in the STEM education disciplines. Software developers are involved in researching, designing, developing, testing operating systems-level software, and connecting distribution software for industrial, communications, business, scientific, and general computing applications.

Network and computer systems administrators are in charge of installation, configuration, and supporting an organization's local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), and Internet systems or a portion of a network system in addition to, monitoring network to ensure it is available to all system users and may perform necessary maintenance to support network availability. Computer systems engineering entails designing and developing solutions to complex applications complications, system administration problems, or network issues, and perform systems management and integration functions.

Security managers are responsible for directing an organization's security functions, and this includes direction of physical security and safety of employees, facilities, and assets of firm in question. Intelligence analysts take charge of gathering, analyzing, or evaluating information from different sources including law enforcement databases, surveillance, in addition to, intelligence networks or geographic information systems, and later utilize this intelligence data to anticipate and avert organized criminal activities such as terrorism.

About 26% of Computer systems analyst, Cyber security analyst, and system analyst hold a bachelor's degree, while 16% hold master's degree and their median annual wages were about $78,770 in the year 2011; the projected growth in these areas is between 20% to 28% from 2010-2020. About 54% of Systems software developer Software engineer, software assurance engineer, and software assurance developers hold a bachelors’ degree while 23% hold a masters’ degree. About 65% of Information security analyst, Information systems security professional, and network security analyst hold a bachelors’ degree and 23 % hold a masters while about 61% of Computer systems engineer/architect , Cyber security engineers, and cyber security architects have a masters.

Individuals who seek cyber security jobs are few, despite the boom in the area, and the basic requirement is for them to have federal security clearance, in addition to knowledge in Science, Technology, Engineering, and mathematics (Fitzpatrick “cyber security…”). Overall, cyber security job opportunities have been on an upwards trend and projections into the near future indicate a critical need for cyber security professionals to fill cyber security posts in various capacities and titles.

Metropolitan areas such as Baltimore and Washington DC have the largest concentration of cyber security jobs Works Cited Vijayan, Jaikumar. “Pentagon to add thousands of new cyber security jobs”. Computerworld. 2013. Web. 18th July, 2013. Fitzpatrick ,Alex. “For Job Security, Try Cyber security, Experts Say”. Mashable. 2012. Web. 18th July, 2013. Geeks News Desk “Cyber Coders: Continued Dramatic Increase for Cyber security Jobs in 2014”. Broadwayworld.com. 2013. Web. 18th July, 2013.

Ballenstedt, Brittany. “Cyber security jobs continue to pay better than others”. Wired Workplace. 2013. Web. 18th July, 2013. Fitzpatrick, Alexander, “Cyber security experts needed to meet growing demand”. Washington Post. 2012. Web. 18th July, 2013. UMUC-University of Maryland University College “In-demand careers in cyber security”. Umuc. n.d. Web. 18th July, 2013. Abell Foundation. “Cyber-security jobs report”. 2013. Web. 18th July, 2013 Hecker, Daniel. “Occupational employment projections to 2014”. 2005.Web.

18th July, 2013. < http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2005/11/art5full.pdf > Kyzer, Lindy. “Top 5 Cities for Cyber Security Jobs”. clearancejobs. 2013. Web. 18th July, 2013. Miyares, Javier. “Cyber help wanted”. The Baltimore Sun.com. 2013. Web. 18th July, 2013.< http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-02-26/news/bs-ed-cybersecurity-20130226_1_cybersecurity-higher-education-job-openings>