Getting Your Cybersecurity Career Started: Advice For Recent Tech Grads
Dice, Friday, June 21st, 2024
Recent college graduates and those looking to complete their studies in the coming years are facing a dichotomy as they begin to enter the cybersecurity or IT workforce: Low unemployment rates are coupled with a U.S. tech sector that has cut back on hiring and cybersecurity budgets over the past two years.
Regarding the good news: The latest CompTIA analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data finds that the tech unemployment rate hit 2.5 percent in May, much better than the overall 4 percent unemployment rate for U.S. workers. Other data suggests that there are only enough tech pros to fill 85 percent of open U.S. cybersecurity jobs, leaving numerous open positions for those seeking employment including entry-level opportunities.
At the same time, the biggest players in the U.S. tech industry have cut back on hiring. While most Silicon Valley firms have ended mass layoffs, hiring has remained slow, forcing developers, IT and cybersecurity pros to look to other sectors for employment. The buzz around generative artificial intelligence has also reshaped how some view career opportunities.