Job opportunities abound for cybersecurity grads

The cybersecurity horror stories are as fresh as today’s deadlines, and the need for professionals who can staunch electronic bleeding easily exceeds the number of trained applicants.

The pay is great—$86,170 a year with only a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The job outlook through 2022 calls for 37 percent growth—much faster than the average for all professions.

Those are just a few reasons that cybersecurity and information technology programs at many colleges and universities are among today’s hottest tickets.

Richard Forno, director of the graduate cybersecurity program at University of Maryland Baltimore County, said his program is for people who know the basics—how to build a firewall, how to run a network.

The degree, which is a master’s of professional studies, teaches students the analytical, management and policy skills that bolster their technical credentials, Forno said.

“Generally, we’re looking at people working in the IT field already, though I’ve seen students with English degrees who already are working [for the National Security Agency] who fit well in our program,” Forno said.

Alex Starykh came to the master’s program in technology management at George Mason University after working in IT as a software developer, architect and consultant. The program’s Saturday class schedule and speedy 16-month duration were appealing.

Even though he has ample IT experience, Starykh wanted the advanced degree to give him a more mature perspective. “It offers a more systematic thinking about fast changing world of technology,” he said.

Other programs in the metro area, such as the University of Maryland University College’s master’s degree in cybersecurity, are completely online.

Already, this relatively new discipline of cybersecurity is evolving rapidly and spinning off specialties such as forensics, cryptography and malware analysis.

The colleges in the metro area are fortunate to be surrounded by so many experts, Forno said. “Our faculty members are rock stars. They’ve written the books, and they’ve written the laws.”

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