Degrees in Cybersecurity

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that cybersecurity is one of the fastest growing job fields around the world and the fastest growing in the IT industry. The infographic below is sort of the tip of this fascinating iceberg. Another is salaries. Entry-level salaries are impressive while salaries for experienced people in the hottest parts of cybersecurity are stratospheric.

Link to the infographic and more at  https://bit.ly/2C9bWtS

Wednesday's post listed some top MOOCs in cybersecurity. That is one way to break into the field. It is possibly the best way to determine whether you would like to pursue a degree in cybersecurity. The next step might be some sort of certification. The bit.ly link above connects to some programs and I'm sure there are more. Many of them are for-profit; check them out carefully before you pay $.

That said, I'm going to focus on degree programs. They begin with 2-year associates programs and go on from there. Here is one list of degree programs. This is a longer list, which is global and alphabetical--no pretense at ranking.

Word of warning--the reader quickly comes across for-profit colleges. That's not surprising because they are skewed toward the trendier degrees. Some are good; some are rip-offs. So check out any for-profit degree programs, even if they have some sort of higher ed certification, just as carefully as a certification program. And use exactly the same criteria used for a non-profit. That's the only way to find out 1) if the program is credible and 2) if it's worth what is likely to be extra $$.

Graduation rates are one useful indicator but I cannot find a source for specific degree programs. This is a searchable list that seems to contain most colleges and other good data like student/teacher ratio. Just keep in mind that is is at the college level and graduation rates for STEM degrees are consistently lower than others.

Notice that the graduation rates link above has other useful criteria like student-teacher ratio and percent of students who receive financial aid. Also do a general search on any program that seems worth consideration. Look at the News tab to see whether there's anything a prospective students should be aware of.

Stay Safe!