Irony is interesting because it’s unexpected. In my case, I still don’t have an IT certification (I promise I haven’t stopped working on my Desktop Pro), yet I am frequently asked to speak to students about careers in the tech industry.
When young people hear that I write for Certification Magazine, the first question they invariably ask is about the pros and cons of certification. I typically respond by listing the four big advantages of earning a cert:
• They contain current information.
• They are quicker to complete than a college degree.
• They are less expensive to complete than a college degree.
• They measure and verify directly applicable, job-ready knowledge and skills.
That gets kids are excited for me to answer their next question: Which cert will best help them land a high-paying job? Without fail, my answer is, “Cybersecurity, all the way.” To buttress my humble opinion, I pop out a few verifiable statistics.
For example, within the next two years, worldwide spending on cybersecurity will exceed $140 billion annually. Or there’s this: Only five percent of companies feel confident that they are sufficiently protected from a cyber-attack. That sort of thing.
The truth is that when it comes to in-demand IT jobs, nothing compares to cybersecurity. You just can’t go wrong with a security certification. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over the past seven years the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals has grown at an average of 37 percent annually.
This story is from the January 2020 edition of Certification Magazine.
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This story is from the January 2020 edition of Certification Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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