There is an article today that shows one high-paying job category that has a lot of unfilled positions. That category is Cybersecurity and here is the article:

U.S. has almost 500,000 job openings in cybersecurity

From the article:

“There are about 465,000 open positions in cybersecurity nationwide as of May 2021, according to Cyber Seek — a tech job-tracking database from the U.S. Commerce Department — and the trade group CompTIA. The need for more web watchmen spans from private businesses to government agencies, experts say, and most of the job openings are in California, Florida, Texas and Virginia. That means for anyone looking to switch careers and considering a job in cybersecurity, there’s no greater time than now to find work, the job trackers said.”

It is fairly easy to learn to be a truck driver. Cybersecurity requires a little more brainpower, and it is best fitted to people who enjoy technology and computers. But if you are that kind of person, Cybersecurity is probably easier to learn that, say, software development. The article puts it this way:

“You don’t have to be a graduate of MIT to work in cybersecurity,” said Tim Herbert, executive vice president for research at CompTIA. “It just requires someone who has the proper training, proper certification and is certainly committed to the work.” Switching careers to cybersecurity could be as easy as grabbing a Network+ or Security+ certification, said Michelle Moore, who teaches cybersecurity operations at the University of San Diego. An  eight-week online course could help someone land an entry-level job as a “pen tester,” a network security engineer or an incident response analyst, Moore said. Those jobs pay between $60,000 to $90,000 a year, she added. 

There are many different ways to get the certifications. You could start with a Google search like this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=learn+cybersecurity

If you want to get a taste of what Cybersecurity is about, this 8-hour long (!) YouTube video is a free starting point:

Many other free options like this are available. Or if you prefer to pay for a course, lots of options are available there as well. Either way you will need to pay for the certification tests, and once you have passed you are ready to find a job.

More Jobs Articles

Easy directory of all of Marshall Brain’s Jobs-related blog posts:

1. Introduction to “Getting a Good Job in America”
2. “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 2 – How do you gain skills?
3. “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 3 – Newsweek weighs in with 19 jobs
4. “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 4 – Driving a Truck
5. “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 5 – Information Technology (IT) and Cybersecurity jobs
6. “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 6 – Google Career Certificates
7. “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 7 – Becoming an Engineer
8. “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 8 – Making the most of entry-level sales jobs
9. “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 9 – Jobs to Avoid
10. “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 10 – Medical jobs like Nurse Practitioner
11. “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 11 – Electrical Lineworker
12. “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 12 – Software Developer and “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 12.1 – Software Developer
13. “Getting a Good Job in America” Part 13 – Cybersecurity