Cybersecurity has been in high demand with research showing that the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals will continue to increase in the foreseeable future.  Employers are expecting a shortage in the pool of qualified cybersecurity professionals.  In this field, you can never know it all so there are advantages and disadvantages of being in cybersecurity.  Below are a few pros and cons.  Further down are resources such as NICE framework and Cyberseek that helps with tools to help you in the career path of your interest, what the hot spot areas for supply and demand and up to date news.

Pros

High Demand – The number of attempted and successful attacks are getting higher by the day.  There isn’t business that is online.  This make them susceptible to be hacked.  The demand the IT security personnel is through the roof.  The cybersecurity personnel at companies are needed.

The Pay is High – Jumping into this field is an higher than average salary whether you’re fulfilling an entry role or have many years of experience.

Plenty Job Opportunities – As new risks come about, new technologies are created to counter those risks.  This presents the opportunity to use your current knowledge to gain new opportunities for employee.  Also, new technologies created demands more roles to be filed.

Learning Never Stops –  In this field, you will never stop learning.  You can do online training, CTF challenges, watch Youtube videos, webinars, etc.  

Work From Any Location – There has become a demand to work in remote area, which allows you to balance life and work.

Cons

Under High Pressure – You can be on call at any given time outside of your normal working hours because your company can be attacked by hackers at anytime.

No Mistakes – Your company can suffer tremendously if you make the wrong mistake in stopping an attack.  You must give 100% percent at all times.

Constant Defense – Its highly likely a hacker will adapt to the defenses in place.  Unfortunately, this way to learn what new guidance and defenses must be implemented. 

Resources

Cyberseek supports local employers, educators, guidance and career counselors, students, current workers, policy makers, and other stakeholder as it provides detailed, actionable data about supply and demand in the cybersecurity job market.https://www.cyberseek.org/index.html

National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) provides strong network and an ecosystem of cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development. NICE fulfills this mission by coordinating with government, academic, and industry partners to build on existing successful programs, facilitate change and innovation, and bring leadership and vision to increase the number of skilled cybersecurity professionals helping to keep our Nation secure. https://www.nist.gov/itl/applied-cybersecurity/nice

Burning Glass Technologies delivers job market analytics that empower employers, workers, and educators to make data-driven decisions. https://www.burning-glass.com/

NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework the blueprint to categorize, organize, and describe cybersecurity work. … It provides a common language to speak about cyber roles and jobs and can be referenced by those who wish to define professional requirements in cybersecurity.  There a few organizations and websites offer information on NICE.  Below is an example.