The higher education strata have seen some major shifts over the past couple of decades and the recent developments happening in the digital and corporate realm have been reflected in higher education. Educators are now coming up with new and innovative courses to equip students with the required skill sets and knowledge to thrive in the modern world. Cybersecurity education is one such upgradation that has happened in higher education and various cybersecurity courses are gaining popularity among students now. More and more educational institutions have started offering various levels of cybersecurity courses and new institutions that solely concentrate on cybersecurity are mushrooming in India as well as in countries across the globe.

At a time when higher education is getting more competitive on a yearly basis and students are finding it hard to bag jobs that complement their academic background, cybersecurity education can be a better option for many students both from an academic and career perspective. Now, lets’ look in detail, about the various advantages of pursuing higher education in cybersecurity.

With digital becoming the new norm, job opportunities in cyber securities are only going to increase which makes pursuing higher education in cybersecurity a win-win situation for aspiring students.

1. Vast Job Opportunities: The first and foremost advantage of taking up a degree in cybersecurity is the fact that owing to the increasing demand for qualified cybersecurity experts, there are a wide array of job opportunities for cybersecurity students. A study conducted in 2019 sheds light on the issue which found that for the six million information and cybersecurity openings in the industry only 4.5 million professionals will be available to fill those roles. This ensures that students who are certified as cybersecurity professionals have a better chance of getting placed in the current highly competitive job market.

2. Monetary Advantages: As a continuation of the above-mentioned point, cybersecurity professionals are poised to earns high salaries and in fact, on average a cybersecurity professional earns nine percent more than other IT professionals.  Another positive aspect is that the average salary packages for cybersecurity professionals in rising which makes pursuing higher education in cybersecurity in the current context an even more appealing option.

3. Relatively Low Course Fees: Unlike many other traditional programs where the course fees are constantly on the rise, cybersecurity courses on average will only cost somewhere between 40,000 to 60,000 in India. This makes cybersecurity education a worthy investment considering the fact that there are plenty of highly paid job opportunities waiting for qualified cybersecurity professionals. This will help students to not worry about the financial aspect of their higher education and enjoy the student life experience to the fullest.

4. Increasing Career Prospects: Cybersecurity education is a vast domain with a plethora of career options such as ethical hacking, information security analysing, penetration testing, information security managing, and security consultancy to mention a few. Apart from this, there are newer career prospects opening up for cybersecurity professionals in the future which makes pursuing higher education in cybersecurity a far more attractive option for students who are looking for a stable and relevant career option.

5. Flexibility of Cybersecurity Courses: Unlike many other conventional higher education streams, pursuing higher education in cybersecurity offers far more flexibility. Owing to the fact that there are plenty of online courses available for cybersecurity, aspiring students have the opportunity to learn at their own pace. This allows students to pursue higher education in cybersecurity as part-time and carry on with their other academic, personal and professional commitments.

Cybersecurity education is one of the most effective and efficient options to get a job and start a successful professional career without having to spend a ton of money on higher education unlike many other in-demand courses right now. With digital becoming the new norm, job opportunities in cyber securities are only going to increase which makes pursuing higher education in cybersecurity a win-win situation for aspiring students.