Employer demand for cybersecurity professionals across the United State continues to accelerate, according to new data published on†CyberSeek, the leading source of actionable data on supply and demand in the nation’s cybersecurity job market.
U.S. employers in the private and public sectors posted an estimated 313,735 job openings for cybersecurity workers between†September 2017†and†August 2018. That’s in addition to the 715,000-plus cybersecurity workers currently employed around the country.
“Increasingly, governments and businesses are working to build better defense against cyber attacks, but training programs are simply not producing enough cybersecurity talent to keep up with demand and to keep data-driven enterprises safe,” said†Matthew Sigelman, CEO of Burning Glass Technologies.
The new data from CyberSeek was released in conjunction with the†National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Conference†hosted in†Miami†by NICE, a program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
CyberSeek was created by†CompTIA†and†Burning Glass Technologies†through a grant awarded by NIST, a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The new CyberSeek data shows that the cybersecurity job market has tightened. Across all occupations in the U.S. economy there are currently 5.8 employed workers for every job opening. Within the cybersecurity realm, the ratio of existing cybersecurity workers to the number of cybersecurity job openings is 2.3. That means employers have fewer opportunities to “poach” cybersecurity workers from other companies; and must look to other tactics – cyber training for current workers, or attracting new talent, for example – to fill their needs for cybersecurity professionals.
“Efforts to address the shortage of cybersecurity workers are underway on many fronts, but progress has been frustratingly slow,” said†Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO, CompTIA. “The threats are real and growing, with the potential to impact the livelihood of any organization. Our current cybersecurity workforce is doing what it can to keep us protected. It’s critical for private sector companies and public sector agencies to take the actions necessary to bring more people into the cybersecurity workforce, and to equip them with the appropriate education, training and certifications.”
In-demand cybersecurity roles
CyberSeek is aligned with NIST’s†NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework, providing unprecedented visibility into the job roles most in demand. The latest update reveals that positions in Operate & Maintain (207,190 openings), Securely Provision (186,864), Protect & Defend (129,716), and Analyze (124,389) are the most sought after by employers.
Among specific core jobs, the top five by employer demand are cybersecurity engineer, cybersecurity analyst, cybersecurity manager/administrator, cybersecurity consultant, and penetration and vulnerability tester.
The†Washington, D.C., metropolitan area has the largest number of job openings for cybersecurity professionals (44,058). Rounding out the top five metro areas are†New York City†(20,243),†Dallas†(12,062),†Chicago†(11,201), and†Los Angeles(10,589)
CyberSeek career resources
Beyond the comprehensive supply-and-demand data, CyberSeek also features an†interactive career pathway, showing key jobs within cybersecurity, common transition opportunities between them, and detailed information about the salaries, credentials, and skill sets associated with each role.
For example, average salaries for core cybersecurity jobs range from†$75,000†for a cybersecurity specialist/technician to†$129,000†for a cybersecurity architect.
CyberSeek can support local employers, educators, guidance and career counselors, students, current workers, policymakers, and other stakeholders interested in building and maintaining the U.S. cybersecurity workforce.
