Page 46 - Cybersecurity Career Guide for UT Austin

START-ENGINEERING.COM
46
Okay, let’s cut to the chase:
A career in the cybersecurity
industry can do wonders for
your bank account.
In 2019, when Ashley Richardson-
Sequeira started at Palo Alto Networks,
one of the country’s leading cybersecu-
rity companies, she was a recent com-
munity college graduate who had picked
Companies that provide
cybersecurity services to both
government and industry can
be a great career option.
Cyber Specialists for Hire
IBM Security
Headquarters in
Cambridge, MA
recent report. It’s an industry whose
goods and services are in high demand
because there’s no shortage of bad guys
— criminal hackers are constantly at-
tacking the computer systems of busi-
nesses of every stripe, as well as
everyone else’s, including federal, state,
and local government agencies, univer-
sities, and medical providers. Cyberse-
curity companies like Palo Alto, IBM, and
McAfee are major players in the nonstop
efforts to thwart cyberattacks. They
develop hardware, software, and strat-
egies to protect networks, data, and de-
vices from hacks that aim to steal, lock
up, or damage data, or disrupt services.
up a few certifications in cybersecurity,
was working in retail and earning around
$17 an hour, after taxes. Once joining
Palo Alto, her after-tax income immedi-
ately jumped to $30 an hour. “One of
the huge benefits (of working in the cy-
bersecurity industry) is that you will
typically be well compensated for your
work,” says Richardson-Sequeira, who is
now 33 and a senior technical trainer for
security operations at Palo Alto.
Here’s why the industry can afford to
pay top salaries: The global cybersecu-
rity market’s worth will top $156 billion
this year and mushroom to more than
$240 billion by 2025, according to one
careers: Cybersecurity Companies