Help Wanted: Hackers
This morning I read an interesting article that had much to do with what’s going on in our production studio. As mentioned in a previous post, we are currently filming the CCNA Security training featuring Tom Carpenter and this article, titled Help Wanted: Hackers, written by Annie Fisher with CNNMoney.com, couldn’t have fit more perfectly for this entry.
A student emails in and asks Annie the following question:
Dear Annie: I’m a college freshman trying to decide on a major, and I’m kind of confused. I really love computers and the computer science courses I’ve taken so far. I’d like to major in the field, but people tell me I won’t be able to find a job in it.
Everything in the U.S. runs on computers now, so how can that be? It doesn’t make sense. If I do major in computer science, what are my chances of finding a good job? –West Coast Geek
Interesting question…
Annie responded back telling West Coast Geek that it is true- tech jobs in the United States are experiencing their fair share of trouble. There have been significant job cuts already in 2010, hiring has been slow to recover, and if a lucky one does have a job, they’re most likely working harder for less pay.
Discouraging?
Fear not! The article doesn’t end with such a depressing tone, in fact, Annie still encourages one to specialize in Computer Science, “especially if you concentrate on getting expertise in cybersecurity and become a network administrator.” She continues to explain that “as technology, especially mobile tech, gets more and more sophisticated, demand for network administrators will rise 23% by 2018, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics — far outpacing the average for all occupations.”
A new study from Cisco Systems found and reaffirmed, that right now there are more network administration jobs available than there are qualified people to actually fill them. Therefore, it would be wise to train in this field because cybersecurity has become so popular these last 24 months and there is an increasing sense of urgency among technology executives and government officials “to plug holes in network protection, keep personal data secure, and make national security information safe from cyberattack”, says Tom Silver, a senior vice president at IT job board Dice.com
At the end of the article, Annie reiterates the importance of this field and closes with this simple statement, “focus your studies on keeping networks safe, and you should have no trouble getting a job once you graduate.”
If network security interests you, let LearnKey help! Check out our Career Tracks Guide that will direct you through the courses you need to achieve industry certifications, earn college approved credit, and reach your career goals.
Visit www.learnkey.com/careertracks.com and begin your career journey today!
To read Annie’s entire article, visit https://money.cnn.com/2010/05/24/news/economy/cybersecurity.experts.wanted.fortune/index.htm)
One thought on “Help Wanted: Hackers”
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I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been telling people in my training classes that three skills based on infrastructure fundamentals (standard wired networking) are essential for job security in the future:
-VoIP
-Security
-Wireless
If find it interesting that Cisco also chose these three topics for their CCNA concentration exams. Maybe they see the same picture I see. Jobs in the infrastructure area are still continuing to grow. I love Windows administration from the server to the client, but – assuming the network is working – they can often be administered from remote. You can’t physically install a new switch from remote. You can’t physically install that user’s new VoIP phone from remote. You get the point…
Want a job that can’t be outsourced? Gain skills that require physical presence. VoIP, Wireless and Security definitely fall into this category.
Just a few additional thoughts – Tom