A career in cybersecurity will shield you against recessions and massive layoffs, and it has its reasons why
After jumpstarting your career in cybersecurity, the reality behind its glitz and glamour should not take you by surprise.
High Demand: Cybersecurity jobs have boomed across different sectors—from banks, universities to investment firms, to combat the perils of technology advancement. Organisations are keenly willing to hire experts for continuous monitoring and theft prevention. During the pandemic-imposed lockdown, companies have expanded their network of cybersecurity architects to fortify security walls as employees work remotely.
Gruelling Hours: Across the world, organisations are massively vulnerable to cyberattacks—the rate has further accelerated with the shift to work from home. Cybersecurity experts are constantly on their toes to haul hacking, theft of private data or breaches in virtual meetings which drag the shift hours to a crazy, inhumane level. Professionals are bombarded with on-call hours at eerie ties of the day, and including weekends, to thwart off possible damages or reduce the extent of the damage. As the Good Shepherd, you are expected to stay alert and accessible, off or on shift.
Outsourcing and Consultation: Being a cybersecurity expert in IT allows you the liberty to work independently and possibly in multiple projects earning whopping lakhs or loyally work in one organization to chart a steady career progression. People flag off their careers perhaps as security analysts and are promoted to managerial levels in the department. Even if you choose to work independently, the constant shift in trends implies that you will never face career stagnation.
Repetitive Task: The methodology with which experts execute the jobs routinely verges on monotony. Well, since exaggerated, Hollywood-ish notions of hacking are absent in the real, cybersecurity experts have the standard, articulated task of processing and analysing data to prevent, alleviate or mitigate potential threats. This loop is stretched throughout the shift time unless the organisation has incorporated AI or other interventions to help experts with innovation and exciting challenges.
Fast-Paced Learning Curve: If you are employed full-time, chances of keeping up with the changing trends and radical advancements in the field becomes a bit difficult. This is where most corporate Sisyphuses, toiling under the daunting work hours, are flung outside the phenomenal learning opportunities. The pressure of keeping up with latest technology, acronyms and jargons bogs down at the end of the day. Experts have defined the domain as a never-ending treadmill of knowledge where working professionals often lag in keeping up with the constant influx of information.
