The demand for cybersecurity professionals has grown more than 3.5 times faster than the demand for other information technology (IT) jobs and about 12 times faster than the demand for all other jobs in the past five years according to a 2013 report from Burning Glass Technologies. More so, cybersecurity professionals at all levels of the profession command higher salaries than do their IT counterparts across the country.
Burning Glass Technologies, a Boston-based labor market analytics firm, has prepared a detailed report on cybersecurity jobs in Massachusetts for the University of Massachusetts and their partners at the Business Higher Education Forum, Accenture, the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, the Advanced Cyber Security Center, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
A summary of the report includes the following:
- In 2013, there were 7,129 postings for cybersecurity-related jobs in MA.
- Cybersecurity postings in MA have grown 2x faster than IT postings overall.
- In 2013, MA had the 9th most cybersecurity postings, behind CA, VA, TX, NY, IL, MD, FL, and GA.
- On a per capita basis, MA has the 4th highest concentration of cybersecurity postings in the nation, behind only VA, MD and CO.
- Professional Services, Finance, and Manufacturing are the leading industries for cybersecurity professionals.
- Compared to the nation, a higher proportion of demand in MA comes from the Health Care, Educational Services, and Retail Trade Sectors. A lower portion of demand is from Manufacturing, which includes defense contractors.
Cybersecurity jobs require significant education and experience:
- 89% of cybersecurity postings in MA specify at least a Bachelor’s.
- 97% of postings prefer or request a Bachelors or above and 26% prefer or request a Master’s or above
- 1/3 of cybersecurity postings in MA require at least 4 years of experience.
As more groups recognize the need and as more businesses and industry leaders partner with colleges and universities, the greater the ability to close the skills gap and prepare talent for the jobs that await them upon graduation. Ultimately, building a talented cybersecurity workforce to meet demand requires a coordinated, strategic effort between business and higher education institutions that mobilizes stakeholders in a new and comprehensive way. When fully implemented, business can expand higher education’s capacity to boost the regional economy in high-demand, high-skill fields, such as cybersecurity.
The University of Massachusetts has established a Task Force to address MA postsecondary education needs in cybersecurity and help meet growing demand for cybersecurity professionals across the state. The key goal for the Task Force is to construct a “strategic plan” for the programs UMass campuses could bring forward, separately and/or collectively, to address the identified needs of the Commonwealth and the region in the area of Cyber Security.