Explore the demand for cybersecurity practitioners and the wide range of career options and pathways to enter the field.
Most people, young and old, don’t understand what a cybersecurity practitioner does or the multiple career pathways to get into the cybersecurity field. National Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week inspires and promotes awareness and exploration of cybersecurity careers.
Why consider a career in cybersecurity?
Learn more about the different types of work roles that constitute cybersecurity work by exploring the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework, NIST Special Publication 800-181, a national focused resource that categorizes and describes cybersecurity work. The NICE Framework establishes a taxonomy and common lexicon that describes cybersecurity work and workers irrespective of where or for whom the work is performed.
Want to learn more about cybersecurity workforce demand or career pathways to the work roles identified in the NICE Framework? Explore CyberSeek which includes an interactive jobs heat map and career pathways aligned to the NICE Framework to answer questions such as:
The NICE Framework:
Learn more at the NICE Framework Resource Center.
These cybersecurity career resources provide job descriptions, salary information, employment outlooks, educational requirements, overviews of sample cybersecurity opportunities, and more.
Palo Alto Networks Cybersecurity Career Guide: Who Works in Cybersecurity, How We Got Started, and Why We Need You shares amazing stories about how some of the best practitioners in the industry got started.
College Board BigFuture allows you to browse majors and career profiles, and it provides career guidance. For example, explore a career in network security.
RoadTrip Nation offers interviews from leaders in the field, perspectives on the possibilities of cybersecurity from three aspiring cybersecurity workers, and much more.
CareerOneStop provides career information, resources, and advice in addition to a career profile and an occupation profile with details on more than 950 careers. Search for cybersecurity job roles, such as Information Security Analysts.
O*NET OnLine has detailed descriptions for use by job seekers, HR professionals, students, and researchers. Search by Keyword or O*NET-SOC Code. Included is a list of technologies frequently seen in job postings and a MyNextMove for veterans.
Resources from DICE include a tool for exploring Cybersecurity Career Paths and Salary Predictors and Skills Portal.
ClearanceJobs Cybersecurity Resource Center offers career advice and job search tips.
View videos depicting a day in the life of cybersecurity practitioners in a range of work roles:
Security Research Manager, Rapid 7, Tod Beardsley
Penetration tester, PWC, Tim Varkalis
Security Consultant, Context Information Security, Andy Hornegold
Penetration Tester, Nettitude, Chris Oakley
CISO, HP Enterprise Services, Andrea Simmons
CEO, Titania, Ian Whiting
Additional videos:
NICE Framework in Focus Interviews - listen to these profiles of a cybersecurity practitioners to illustrate application of the NICE Framework categories, specialty areas, and work roles.
Do you have videos to share? Contact us at nccaw@nist.gov.
CISA and NICERC Cybersecurity Career Profiles
The Center for Internet Security explains why starting a career in cybersecurity is a good idea for students or individuals looking for a career change.
NICE Workforce Demand One Pager.
Industries at a Glance, with industries arranged by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code.
See additional resources in our toolkit.