How to get into cybersecurity: Degrees, careers and salaries

• Cybersecurity is a high-demand, growing field. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects 33% job growth between 2020 and 2030.
• The global cybersecurity workforce needs to grow 65% to effectively defend organizations’ critical assets, according to the Cybersecurity Workforce Study, published by the nonprofit cybersecurity professional organization (ISC)².
• The annual salary range for information security analysts was $60,060 to $163,300 in May 2020, according to BLS.
• In 2021, cybersecurity services were expected to account for well over 50% of budgets, according to an article on LegalJobs.io.

A degree program is the most time-intensive cybersecurity credential, and it also may offer the most solid foundation on which to build an cybersecurity career. According to CompTIA, a nonprofit IT trade association, 82% of cybersecurity job postings require a bachelor’s degree.

At University of Phoenix (UOPX), there are three cybersecurity degrees: Associate of Science in Cybersecurity, Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity and Master of Science in Cybersecurity.

Business and information technology curricula are intentionally housed in one college at UOPX. “This prepares students to work with agile, cross-functional business teams, which may set them apart educationally from their business-only or IT-only peers,” says Kevin Wilhelmsen, PhD, the dean of the College of Business and IT at UOPX.

This approach syncs with the advice of a cybersecurity consultant interviewed in a BLS article. She said cybersecurity analysts “need to understand business — the concepts of program management and teams — and not just technology.”

Similar to degrees, certificates are earned through educational programs. These can happen at an undergraduate or graduate level, and they can take several weeks to several years to complete, according to CompTIA.

At UOPX, students can choose from a number of cybersecurity-related certificates. Certificates are a great option for professionals who want to upskill quickly and position themselves with credits that may transfer into UOPX bachelor’s degree programs.

Certificate options include:

Undergraduate

• Advanced Cybersecurity
• Cyber and Network Defense
• Cybersecurity Digital Forensics
• Cybersecurity Network Forensics
• Cybersecurity Policy and Governance

Graduate

• Cybersecurity

Certifications are issued by independent organizations, and they evaluate a professional’s existing skills and abilities, according to CompTIA. Certifications, unlike certificates and degrees, are issued upon the completion of one or more exams. They also often require continuing education to remain active.

To make things interesting, sometimes certificate programs are aligned with certification exams. For example, at UOPX, the Cybersecurity Digital Forensics Certificate is aligned with the EC-Council Certified Incident Handler (ECIH) and Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) certification exams. The Cyber and Network Defense Certificate educationally prepares students to take the EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) exam.

Earning a certificate can help set you apart from other IT professionals. Additionally, certificates can also sometimes be applied toward certain degrees.

More and more companies are realizing they need cybersecurity experts to protect them from hackers and other threats. With billions of people accessing the internet every day, an increasing number of services are moving either partially or entirely online. This makes a cybersecurity career path an exciting prospect for those looking for work in a growing field. 

Reasons cybersecurity jobs might be worth considering include:

• High demand: Information security analyst roles are expected to grow by 33% between 2020 and 2030, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.
• High investment in the field: A worldwide annual spend of nearly $134 billion is expected for 2022, according to a LegalJobs.io article.
• High job satisfaction: Cybersecurity experts thwart cybercrime. This can be rewarding for problem-solvers who stay on top of tech innovations — and the threats that accompany them.
• High pay: The 2020 salary range for information security analysts was $60,060 to $163,300, according to BLS.

With cybersecurity, there’s a new sheriff in town. Unlike the sun-weathered, leathery lawmen of old, this new breed is protecting a digital frontier from cybercrime, staying one step ahead of criminals intent on stealing, infecting or compromising personal or company data through ransomware and hacking.

Cybersecurity experts work in many different environments, including:

• Software companies
• Healthcare institutions
• Government agencies (the FBI is the lead federal agency for investigating cyberattacks)
• Law enforcement agencies
• Business or financial companies
• Consulting firms

In some companies, aspects of cybersecurity have even climbed up to the ranks of the C-suite with the newer chief privacy officer (CPO) position in executive management. According to job listings on Indeed.com, one role of a CPO is data privacy and protection.

According to BLS, reported job titles for those who graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity have the following average salary, education requirements and job outlooks.

Overview: Information security analysts plan and carry out security measures to protect an organization’s computer networks and systems.

Salary range: The salary range in May 2020 was $60,060 to $163,300, according to BLS.*

Education requirements: Typical entry-level education is a bachelor’s degree, according to BLS.

Job outlook: 33% between 2020 and 2030, according to BLS.

Overview: Computer and information systems managers plan, coordinate and direct computer-related activities in an organization.

Salary range: The salary range in May 2020 was $90,430 to $208,000, according to BLS.*

Education requirements: Typical entry-level education is a bachelor’s degree, according to BLS.

Job outlook: 11% between 2020 and 2030, according to BLS.

Overview: Network and computer systems administrators are responsible for the day-to-day operation of computer networks.

Salary range: The salary range in May 2020 was $52,830 to $134,970, according to BLS.*

Education requirements: Typical entry-level education is a bachelor’s degree, according to BLS.

Job outlook: 5% between 2020 and 2030, according to BLS.

While UOPX does not guarantee job or salary outcomes for our graduates — those hinge on geographic location, experience, competition and other individual factors — this much is clear: The demand for cybersecurity experts is high.

Fun fact: A 2020 report from (ISC)² projected that employment in cybersecurity would need to grow by 41% in the U.S. and 89% globally to close the talent gap of skilled cybersecurity professionals.

If you are thinking about going back to school to get a master’s degree in cybersecurity, UOPX offers a high-quality education on a flexible basis.

The online program requires 39 credits, which can be completed in approximately two years. Each class is taken consecutively so that students can focus on one 6-week course at a time.

In addition to six core courses, the master’s program at UOPX empowers students to select seven electives that align with CompTIA and EC-Council certifications in Leadership Auditing or Tactical Cyber.

Outcomes for this program include:

• Network security analyst
• Information security analyst/manager
• Systems analyst
• Security officer
• Data processing manager
• Application development director

Not sure how the online experience works? We break it down for you here.

Asked if a degree is needed, this expert featured on BLS says: “Yes and no. … I know a bunch of people working in the field today who don’t have a degree. But should you get one? Yes, because it gives you the discipline to develop skills for lifelong learning.”

A bachelor’s in cybersecurity will help you learn:

• How to apply math, science and engineering principles in the cyber domain
• How to determine the computing requirements needed to solve technical problems

A master’s in cybersecurity also offers numerous benefits, aside from giving you an edge in a highly competitive field. With a Master of Science in Cybersecurity, you will learn:

• How to better spot security vulnerabilities hackers might exploit
• How to develop an incident response
• How to determine which preexisting security policies need to be updated
• How to implement new security policies

At UOPX, an online bachelor’s in cybersecurity can be completed in 120 credits in approximately four years. The online master’s degree in cybersecurity can be completed in 39 credits in approximately two years.

While many schools operate on a traditional semester basis, UOPX offers one 5- or 6-week class at a time. While both types of learning setups can lead to degrees in the approximate time frames above, the latter can be a more flexible option for working adults or parents.

Just like any postsecondary degree, the degree of difficulty will depend on the rigor of the coursework as well as your work and life demands. To pursue cybersecurity jobs, most candidates will need an aptitude for technology and a mastery of the skills outlined in the next section.

According to the worldwide employment website Indeed.com, five skills that an information security analyst should have include:

1. An understanding of information technology
2. Attack-pattern and security-threat recognition
3. Analytical skills
4. Problem-solving/quick decision-making
5. Communication

Wondering what an IT career looks like in real life? We break it down for you here.

Take the first step toward a career in cybersecurity with University of Phoenix’s Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity!