Source: Puhhha via Shutterstock Well-publicized estimates of a massive shortfall in cybersecurity workers have resulted in high expectations among job seekers in the field, but the reality often falls flat, because of a mismatch between companies’ requirements and job seekers’ skill sets. It raises the question: Is the so-called cyber-worker shortage a real phenomenon that will dog companies in 2024? On one hand, companies report facing difficulties in hiring knowledgeable cybersecurity professionals, with enough workers to satisfy only 72% of the demand , according to data provided by labor analyst firm Lightcast — a shortfall of nearly a half-million workers. But job seekers say that companies have unreasonable education, experience, and salary expectations. For example, the vast majority of job postings — about 85% — call for at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or other technical discipline, when historically only about 60% to 70% of cybersecurity workers have a college degree . The result is that cybersecurity job seekers with the right education, technical skills, credentials, and professional network — what Lightcast calls “mercenaries” — have little problem getting hired, but the lion’s share of hopefuls are finding less success, says Will Markow, vice president of applied research for the labor-data firm. “There’s an expectations gap that I think is leading to a lot of the confusion around whether or not there really is a talent shortage in cybersecurity,” he says. “We often see, for example, that employers are requesting cybersecurity workers with a minimum of three- to five-years of prior work experience for jobs that probably could be performed by an entry-level worker.” The situation has left job seekers lashing out at companies, citing additional concerns to boot, like overly long interview processes and a lack of commitment to training. In a series of articles […]
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