The Q2 2015 Edition of Cybersecurity Ventures’ Cybersecurity Market Report indicates that cybersecurity hiring is trending up, and will continue for the foreseeable future.
Key information on cybersecurity hiring from the Q2 Report:
Demand for (U.S.) information security professionals is expected to grow by 53 percent through 2018.
More than 209,000 cybersecurity jobs in the U.S. are unfilled, and postings are up 74 percent over the past five years, according to a Peninsula Press (a project of the Stanford University Journalism Program) analysis of numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The demand for information security professionals is expected to grow by 53 percent through 2018.
Demand for cybersecurity professionals over the past five years grew 3.5 times faster than demand for other IT jobs and about 12 times faster than for all other jobs, according to a 2014 report by Burning Glass Technologies in Boston.
Channel Partners reported that The Pentagon plans to triple its cyber workforce, the FBI’s Cyber Division plans to hire 1,000 agents and 1,000 analysts, and The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is hiring 1,000 cybersecurity professionals.
The FBI wants to grow to meet tomorrow’s challenges. “We’re looking to hire a lot of cyber agents now,” said Robert Anderson, Jr., executive assistant director for the Bureau’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch. “It’s an area where the FBI and the whole U.S. government will be looking for this talent for years to come.” Key requirements to be a special agent include passing a rigorous background check and fitness test. Agents must be at least 23 and no older than 37. Prospective cyber special agents are expected to meet the same threshold as special agents, but also have a wealth of experience in computers and technology. Preferred backgrounds include computer programming and security, database administration, malware analysis, digital forensics, and even ethical hacking.
A recent BloombergBusiness article highlights that cybersecurity firms have hired hundreds of ex-government hackers over the last couple of years. The former government spies and hackers are now moving to the front lines of the cybersecurity services industry. FireEye, a cybersecurity market leader, has hired more than 100 ex-government hackers since 2013, according to CEO and Chairman of the Board David DeWalt.
U.S. News and World Report ranked a career in information security analysis eighth on its list of the 100 best jobs for 2015. They state the profession is growing at a rate of 36.5 percent through 2022.
To read the Cybersecurity Market Report and learn more about the cybersecurity job market, visit HERE.
To view the Cybersecurity 500 list of top cybersecurity companies globally, visit HERE.
Founder of Cybersecurity Ventures and Editor-in-Chief at Cybercrime Magazine
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