Starting Cybersecurity Career with the best bachelor’s degree courses in 2024
Cybersecurity is the need of the hour. With technology advancing rapidly day by day, and the introduction of various AI tools, the cyber-crimes are becoming more innovative and sophisticated. So, it requires an innovative approach right at the foundational level to secure the organization’s IT infrastructure and digital assets. Cybersecurity professionals work hard to ensure the security of their network and applications is maintained.
According to Fortune Business Insight, the cybersecurity market is growing at a CAGR of 13.8% and is expected to reach a market value of $424.97 billion by 2030. Therefore, we can infer it is the perfect time for students and young professionals to switch to this cybersecurity career path.
Here we bring to you the best bachelor’s degree courses in cybersecurity that will help you kickstart your career in this domain.
What do cybersecurity professionals do?
Cybersecurity professionals are responsible for safeguarding the information system, networks and applications, and data from threats. They have to analyze the vulnerabilities and implement protective measures to mitigate any kind of security breaches. They have to continuously monitor the security system, update the same on a regular basis, identify threats, respond to any kind of cyber-attacks as well and analyze the situation for future reference if anything goes wrong.
From simple identity and access management to making an organization’s security strategies, there are several profiles in the field of cybersecurity. So, when you are just starting out, you need to make your foundation strong. The bachelor’s courses discussed below will help you do so.
Top bachelor’s degree courses to start a career in Cybersecurity
Though there are only a few top universities and institutes that have started programs in cybersecurity, you can choose from the following bachelor’s degree courses from any college of your choice to pursue a career in cybersecurity:
- BS in cybersecurity
- BS in information technology with a concentration in cybersecurity
- BS in computer science with a concentration in cybersecurity
- BA in computer science with a concentration in cybersecurity
Based on 2022-23 US News and World Report rankings, the following universities offer the best bachelor’s program in Cybersecurity:
- Carnegie Mellon University
- University of California, Berkeley
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Purdue University
- University of Maryland, College Park
- Indiana University Bloomington
- University of Washington
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Texas A&M University
- University of Michigan
What does the bachelor’s degree course cover?
The bachelor’s degree courses are designed to make the foundation strong and thus students enrolling in these programs can expect to learn the basic concepts of cybersecurity. After the completion of the course, they will be able to master cybersecurity skills in the following areas:
- Cloud-based security
- Computer or digital forensics
- Cyber Defense
- Data networking and communications
- Ethics, law, and policy
- Information technology and systems
- Programming
- Security systems
Is it worth going for a bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity?
Whether to go for a course or not completely depends upon individual personal and professional goals as well as their present situations. A bachelor’s degree course often spans a 4-year duration where students can earn 120 credits and requires a lot of money to do so. If you have sufficient resources to put in so much time and money, then this sector has a bright future and can prove to be rewarding.
Entering into a cybersecurity career demands having a strong technical background so you will have to get a graduate degree in either of the STEM fields, and a BS in cybersecurity can be a great option. The only drawback is you will be confined to this domain only. And therefore BS in IT or Computer science can be a better alternatives. Learning cybersecurity through cybersecurity certification can be another great option.
The best cybersecurity certification program for beginners
There are several cybersecurity certification programs that can help you get started with your cybersecurity career such as the one offered by ISC2, CompTIA+, USCSI®, Harvard, MIT, and Stanford University. We particularly recommend becoming a certified cybersecurity professional from USCSI®.
The United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI®) offers one of the best cybersecurity certifications for beginners called Certified Cybersecurity General Practitioner (CCGP™). The CCGPTM has been designed especially for graduate students and young professionals who want to step into the vast world of cybersecurity.
Priced at $389, this program covers fundamental topics such as Information Security, DDoS Flooding attacks, protection of devices, authentication for security, etc. Students get access to eBooks, lecture videos, and practice codes to prepare for this exam and validate their expertise.
This is a self-paced online program that can be covered within 4-25 weeks. So, students can schedule their certification exam anywhere between 25 to 175 days of paying the fees.
Conclusion
The cybersecurity career path looks very promising in the coming future and gaining the right skill will prove to be very beneficial in the long term. There are still millions of cybersecurity jobs vacant. So, get certified, or complete the bachelor’s degree course in cybersecurity to fully prepare yourself for this excellent career path.
