George Educational Discussion Post about CyberSeek.org
cyberseek_infographic.pdf & https://www.cyberseek.org/
Cyberseek and the outlook on Jobs and Career Pathways
At first glance, cyberseek.org was a great visual way to look at a snapshot of the open roles in the cybersecurity job market. Using the heatmaps, I was able to get a sense of what roles (and how many) were available in my area of the U.S. (Massachusetts). I was able to see what certs were being asked for and in demand. In addition, the Framework Category was a great way to see the roles and what the Knowledge, Skills and etc, were needed for the role.
The Career Pathway was exactly what I had been looking for when I started this course, I have been in IT for a long time, and while I am an IT generalist and a manager currently. I couldn’t figure out a direction to go in Cybersecurity, this interactive exercise leads me to believe that starting with Security+ is the best way for me to start with, and getting a few specific certs along the way.
Personally, I would have liked to see more of the job description data, as well as the way CyberSeek obtained this information? I would’ve wanted to see the actual post(s) even if filled or outdated, to get a sense of what the job entails. This way I could work on the other areas alongside the cyber certs that I would need and start tailoring my resume into the role I want.
Proceed with Caution
In my opinion, I also suggest airing with a side of caution, CompTIA, while being vendor-neutral, is at their core selling a product. While “Certs” are a good way to test and reinforce your knowledge, over the years I have seen their cost stand in the way of great people who can’t afford their certs. Emsi – Buring Glass also has a vested interest in marketing their products to the audience, clicking on Solutions and Career Insights leads to a page suggesting that it can help “Make Choosing a career easy for your students” and further below there is a link to Try Career Insight and a walkthrough. I would have liked to see this in action. However, this page opened to https://www.burning-glass.com/career-insight-course-description-certificate-page/ offering me a $4,500 per course page at their own “Burning Glass University” for a cert in Cybersecurity.
While the US Government, appears to be neutral with the NIST / NICE pages, it is focused heavily on education, reading through their listing of free and low-cost cybersecurity courses was cool, I will be using these more. I personally like the mix of on-the-job learning, in addition to classes.
My Thoughts and Opinion of CyberSecurity Pathways
My final thoughts, Cybersecurity is a complex field to navigate, with many different career paths, opinions, and options. I found myself starting with this course at the recommendation of Gerald Auger of Simply Cyber (https://www.simplycyber.io/free-cyber-resources), in addition to others who suggested edx.org. My hope is that this course on edx for Washington University, would help me navigate the ever-growing field, and help me decide what direction to go in.
