Online Cybersecurity Programs Overview

Cyber crime is a growing threat and the industry is suffering a dramatic draught of qualified cybersecurity professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), cybersecurity jobs are predicted to grow 33% through 2030, meaning the time to get started on one of the hottest careers is now. 

By earning a degree in cybersecurity, students will be prepared to protect computer systems against malicious attacks from hackers. Cloud computing has increasingly become an essential component of any business, which makes a cybersecurity team a necessity for virtually every company. A degree in cybersecurity allows professionals to demonstrate the foundational knowledge they’ll need to stay up-to-date and adapt in a field that is constantly evolving.

With a cybersecurity degree, graduates enter an exciting field with flexible and potentially lucrative opportunities. But how to choose the right program? Ten years ago, cybersecurity programs were few and far between but as the demand for cybersecurity professionals grows, so do schools who are eager to supply them. But cybersecurity programs have expanded dramatically during the past decade, particularly online programs that are perfect for mid-career professionals who aren’t in a position to relocate and need to complete their studies on nights and weekends.

So, let’s explore what to expect in these online cybersecurity programs and how to choose the one that’s perfect for your career goals.

Type of Degree

The first decision you’ll need to make is what type of degree you’re getting. A bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity is perfect if you don’t yet have a college degree or if the degree you do have is a completely different field. Though online undergraduate programs specifically targeting cybersecurity (as opposed to more general programs like computer science or information technology) are less common than online Master’s degree, if you’ll be starting off your journey on the right foot.

If you already have a Bachelor’s degree, particularly if it’s in a related field like information technology, computer or data science or business, you should explore an online Master’s degree in cybersecurity. They’ve become increasingly common, and many online programs are designed to focus on students graduating with skills that make them career-ready on Day 1.

While a Master’s degree will likely look most impressive on a resume, those who wanted to get their cybersecurity more quickly and for less money can go the more intensive route of going through a cybersecurity bootcamp or getting a graduate certificate. Both options will provide you with a crash course in everything you absolutely need to know to succeed in a cybersecurity role and will likely see you graduated and on the job market within a year. Plus, some bootcamps even offer you a job guarantee!

Programs

Cybersecurity

By far the most common program you’re likely to encounter is the most general one, either a B.S. or M.S. in Cybersecurity and that degree program is likely to qualify you for many cyber crime defense roles including:

  • Cybersecurity Analyst
  • Cybersecurity Engineer
  • Freelance Cybersecurity Specialist or Consultant
  • Information Security Analyst
  • Network or Security Administrator
  • Security Architect

Information Technology

Digital advancements like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and robotics are all thanks to IT professionals. Schools like Northeastern University offer online Bachelor’s degrees in Information Technology which focuses less on protecting and securing data (like cybersecurity) and more on what companies do with that data. As the world becomes increasingly digitized, the need for qualified IT professionals has grown too.

A bachelor’s in information technology meets the minimum education requirement for most entry-level IT jobs and can prepare you for a wide array of career paths including:

  • Systems, network, and database administration
  • Networking or security specialist
  • Software developer or programmer
  • Web designer
  • Information systems scientist or analyst

Additionally, should you later want to pursue a further education in cybersecurity, a Bachelor’s in Information Technology is a excellent (and quite common) foundation on which to start.

Cybersecurity MBA

For those looking to structure their cybersecurity career in a leadership role in the business world, a Cybersecurity MBA is the perfect ways to effectively ‘kill two birds with one stone’ and gain two degrees in one. Cybersecurity MBAs can be earned a few different ways. Some schools offer an MBA program that is particularly tailored or concentrated in a cybersecurity foundation, like at Thomas University or Maryville University. Others, like Texas A&M University offer a different track, pairing a traditional MBA with a minor in Cybersecurity to give you a well-rounded but distinct education in both fields. Neither way can lead you wrong.

An MBA in Cybersecurity should make you well qualified for any role that an MBA or a degree in cybersecurity would prepare you for, but some particular leadership roles include:

  • Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
  • Lead Software Security Engineer
  • Security Architect
  • Freelance Cybersecurity Expert or Consultant

Computer or Digital Forensics

The fields of computer or digital forensics and cybersecurity are very closely aligned, and you’ll likely find that a degree in either will qualify you for similar roles. But they’re not exactly the same. Put in the simplest terms, while cybersecurity is about crime prevention, computer forensics is about response. A cybersecurity team works to defend an organization from cyber attacks but if they fail, that’s when computer forensics comes into play. Identifying the hack, learning the source, and working to recover whatever compromised data they can. These differences are why some schools, like, Champlain College, offer degrees in both disciplines.

Top jobs in the computer forensics field include:

  • Computer Crime Investigators
  • Computer Forensics Analysts
  • Computer Forensics Examiners
  • Digital Forensics Specialists

Career Outlook and Earning Potential

It’s no exaggeration to say that there likely is no career path with a better outlook than cybersecurity. According to a 2020 annual cybersecurity jobs report, there is a zero-percent unemployment rate for suitable candidates in the field of cybersecurity, which is virtually unheard of in most other fields. Threats of cybercrime keep rising all over the world and large corporations are desperate for a force of cybersecurity experts to help confront it. The only thing stopping them is that there are not enough qualified professionals to fill these roles. That means that anyone with either a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in cybersecurity is an extremely enviable position.