Do You Have A Cybersecurity Talent Shortage? Don't Require A Four-Year Degree

These days, college-educated cybersecurity professionals are in high demand and short supply. According to the 2020 Cybersecurity Workforce, the industry is currently in need of about 3 million qualified cybersecurity workers, and 64% of the cybersecurity professionals surveyed say their organization is impacted by this cybersecurity skills shortage. 

If this is true, we are in a massive data security crisis, missing an entire army of people to fight against online criminals. Yes, this is a problem! But here's my issue with that perspective:

What if the problem isn't actually a lack of qualified workers?

What if we're passing up plenty of top-notch candidates because we have an outdated idea of what it means to be "qualified" for a cybersecurity position? Today, to be hired for a cybersecurity position, you are most often required to have a four-year degree. 

In my opinion, this is one of the biggest reasons why we're in this talent shortage predicament in the first place—we are passing over plenty of qualified candidates who exist outside the realm of a four-year college. 

-by Judith Magyar