Page 36 - Cybersecurity Career Guide for North Dakota

workplace: Support for Minorities and W
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DIVERSITY REQ
Like a lot of STEM fields, cybersecurity has long been dominated by white men—but that’s changing. Today’s cybersecurity professionals know that the best cybersecurity solutions come from diversity. It’s been proven: Having a variety of back- grounds and experience on a team yields maximum creativity.
The field is committed to becoming more inclusive. Scott Young, executive director of synED, a major cyber- security education initiative in California, has a mes- sage for anyone thinking about pursuing a cyber career: “We need you as you are! We don’t want you to change!”
In fact, success depends on it: The more thought diver- sity a cybersecurity team has, the better.
Cybersecurity is so broad that no one should give up interest or opt out because of weak skills at the intro- ductory class level. It’s possible to get into the field through multiple means, says Davina Pruitt-Mentle, lead for Academic Engagement of the National Initia- tive for Cybersecurity Education (NICE). “As long as you have some good analytical skills and you’re willing to keep learning, we’ve got something for you.”
One key is to reach out for support. “Seek mentors
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