Do you need a degree?
In the ISACA State of Cyber Security Report 2021, perceptions of university degrees in cyber security remain mixed among survey respondents.
Forty-six percent report that they neither agree nor disagree that cybersecurity degrees prepare university graduates well for their future organizations’ challenges (Figure 1). This represents an eight percentage-point increase from a year ago. The percent of respondents who indicate that cybersecurity university degrees do not prepare graduates for today’s challenges dropped to 28 percent this year, down from 39 percent last year.
Despite this sentiment, 55 percent report that their organizations require a degree (Figure 2), though responses vary by geography. For example, 78 percent of those responding from Africa indicate that their enterprises require a university degree to fill an entry-level cybers ecurity position, while only 37 percent of those responding from Oceana indicate requiring a university degree.
Respondents from other geographies fall somewhere in between regarding the university degree requirement—with Asia at 62 percent, Europe at 46 percent, Latin America at 64 percent, North America (including the Caribbean and Central America) at 54 percent and the Middle East at 67 percent.
Figure 1 - Confidence in University Degrees
To what extent do you agree or disagree that recent university graduates in cybersecurity are well prepared for the cybersecurity challenges in your organization?
Does your organization typically require a university degree to fill your entry-level cybersecurity positions?
Reporting shows that a large majority of cybersecurity professionals do have a degree. According to the (ISC)2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, 2019, 88 percent of practitioners have a degree—most at the bachelor-degree level or higher.
The value of formal education varies by region. However, given the cybersecurity human capital crisis that threatens global markets—and, when it comes to personal privacy, for example, jeopardizes the reputations of everyday citizens, or even continuity of life in hospitals or other healthcare settings—it becomes clear that not only enterprises, but the public in general, would benefit from greater numbers of cybersecurity applicants. Mandating degrees—especially via automated recruiting platforms—unnecessarily constrains talent pools.
So generally it can help if you have a degree but it's not necessary with many organizations. If you have aspirations of moving into security management or a CISO position then a degree would be advantageous.
If you want to pursue formal education here is my list of Top Cyber Security Universities and Colleges.