Demand for cybersecurity professionals will stay strong through the remainder of the decade, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics. In the 10-year period between 2019 and 2029, employment of information security analysts will grow by 31%, according to the bureau’s Occupational Outlook Handbook.
The projected growth rate is more than seven times higher than the national job growth average of 4%, and roughly three times that of the 11% projected growth in IT-related occupations.
The reason for the high growth rate for information security analysts is no secret to anyone in the industry. As the bureau notes: “Cyberattacks have grown in frequency, and analysts will be needed to come up with innovative solutions to prevent hackers from stealing critical information or creating problems for computer networks.”
With that in mind, the bureau says that corporations of all types, but particularly banking and finance, will need to strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities to handle growing security threats. Healthcare, too, will need to invest more in security as the industry increases its use of electronic medical records. “Ensuring patients’ privacy and protecting personal data are becoming more important,” according to the bureau’s handbook.
U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics estimate medium compensation for information security analysts at $99,730 per year. By its estimates, information security analysts specifically account for 131,000 cybersecurity professionals, a number that is expected to grow to 171,900 by 2029.
Skills Gap
The bureau’s estimates focus on a specific role within cybersecurity, which also includes many other job titles as well as contributions from a wide array of tangential roles that support security tasks, even without a cyber title. For years, the cybersecurity industry has experienced a severe skills gap. In the 2020 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, (ISC)2 estimated the worldwide gap at 3.1 million positions, a decrease from the estimate of 4 million in the previous year. In the U.S., the current gap is estimated at about 360,000.
The smaller gap resulted from a combination of new entrants to the field and an apparent reduction in demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused economic downturns around the globe.
The Bureau of Labor’s growth projections confirm the acute need for cybersecurity professionals. It’s clear the number of cybersecurity jobs needs to continue to grow steadily in order to meet demand. For professionals in other fields, or adjacent fields such as IT, a move to cybersecurity holds serious career growth potential. Those considering such a move should look into training and certification programs, which will position them even better for employment in the field.