For college and university students returning to school or starting as freshmen this fall, the outlook for launching a career in technology, IT, coding, or even cybersecurity appears much bleaker than in years past.
Recent computer science and computer engineering majors are now experiencing unemployment rates of 6.1 to 7.5 percent, according to an analysis conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Following that study, the New York Times reported that young tech professionals and recent grads are struggling to find their way in a job industry where many entry-level positions have been eliminated as artificial intelligence and other automation platforms upend the U.S. tech space.
Even the promise of AI as a career remains uncertain. Meta recently revised its plans for the company’s AI research and development efforts. The reshuffling at the Facebook parent firm also means staff reductions and fewer open positions.
In the case of cybersecurity – a field that traditionally had more open positions than qualified candidates – college students pursuing security jobs now face reduced budgets and fewer entry-level roles that serve as launching points.
Even with this level of uncertainty in what was once a hot market, cyber experts note that aspiring security professionals can succeed by adjusting their college course load to better align with technology changes, new business methods and an industry undergoing significant transformation.
At the same time, there are numerous ways to build experience and knowledge while still in school.
“The important thing for college students to remember is that cybersecurity and risk management are ultimately human-driven problems, and the scope of this industry is unbelievably broad,” Casey Ellis, founder at cybersecurity crowdsourcing firm Bugcrowd, recently told Dice.
“While the dominant technologies and the job environment will always shift and change, the fundamentals that drive our industry remain the same. From my perspective, a smart study strategy includes a combination of these business and human fundamentals, some technology fundamentals, some bets on ‘where the puck is going to be’ from a technology standpoint, and a healthy dose of self-directed practical experience,” Ellis said.
Summary
Cybersecurity: A Well-Rounded Education
When Ellis considers how cybersecurity is evolving, he sees a field that remains rooted in technology, but has also become a fundamental part of the business since security threats can significantly affect the bottom line.
By approaching cybersecurity from this outlook, students who want to pursue a security career can study a wide range of subjects beyond computer science. These include economics, risk management, communications, leadership, criminology, international relations, political science, and organizational and social psychology.
For students finishing their bachelor's degree, Ellis noted that pursuing an MBA or another advanced degree afterward can help if they want to work toward an executive role, such as CISO.
“An MBA, for example, is extremely helpful for those aspiring to the CISO role in the future, and criminology and an understanding of criminal economics will never not be useful in this field,” Ellis said.
There are still technology fundamentals for students to pursue as well.
These include networking, coding, and data science. “Yes, the technology interface and the job landscape are continuously being abstracted further away from these basics, but for as long as there are networks and applications, there will also be networks and code, and ultimately these are the things that get attacked,” Ellis added.
Learning to code – even as AI takes over significant portions of application development – remains fundamental, especially within cybersecurity, said Shane Barney, CISO at Keeper Security.
“The cloud has redefined IT, and in this environment, infrastructure is code – and security is code, too. Building a strong understanding of the basics of coding and application development will prepare you for a career where automation, secure development practices and identity-first security are the standard,” Barney told Dice. “With threats ranging from privilege escalation to AI-powered phishing campaigns, those who understand both how systems are built and how they can be exploited will be best positioned to defend them.”
How AI Is Shaping Cybersecurity Studies and Careers
In only a few years, classes and training that focus on AI have exploded across college and university campuses as students look to learn these platforms to help make themselves attractive to future employers.
Cybersecurity is no exception.
“AI is shaping the future of IT, particularly with the rise of GenAI,” Barney noted. “Whether you want to work in cybersecurity, infrastructure or application development, understanding the basic operating principles of AI is essential. Future leaders of IT [and cybersecurity] must be able to evaluate both the risks and opportunities of AI, including how adversaries weaponize it and how defenders can leverage it for real-time threat detection.”
As technology changes and automation becomes more central to cybersecurity operations, the best jobs will go to professionals who are fluent in tech and business, confident working with AI, and experienced in real-world scenarios. This means students need an evolving skill set throughout their academic careers, said Chad Cragle, CISO at Deepwatch.
“Don’t try to out-code the AI engineers. Learn what AI excels at, where it breaks down, and how it can be hacked or manipulated. In tomorrow’s security operations center (SOC), AI will handle alerts, but humans will still need to steer, challenge and correct it. Know its blind spots, and you become irreplaceable,” Cragle told Dice. “If you want to lead, you must speak the language of the boardroom. The fastest-rising cyber professionals aren’t just fixing problems; they’re translating them into revenue impact, compliance risk and competitive advantage. Strategy, risk management, and behavioral science aren’t electives anymore; they’re your ticket to influence.”
For students looking to go beyond the AI courses taught at their schools, Satish Swargam, principal security consultant at Black Duck, noted that there are now numerous online courses in AI and cybersecurity that can help close the knowledge gap.
“There are several online resources available and adding AI to their curriculum would help them be competitive and bolster their chances of landing a job soon,” Swargam told Dice. “Fresh computer science graduates usually find jobs in the use of computer applications, which are meant to automate tasks. AI is another variation of automation with intelligence that is trending, and hence, it should be an area that must not be ignored.”
Find Hands-On Cybersecurity Experience
While employers have cut back the number of entry-level positions over the last few years, Bugcrowd’s Ellis said that there are several ways for students to gain practical experience even in a slowing job market. These include:
- Setting up a home lab to experiment with tools
- Participating in Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions and honing skills through community-based bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure programs
- Contributing to open source projects
“These are all excellent ways to gain real-world skills, while also demonstrating proactive self-leadership,” Ellis said. “These sorts of activities also provide opportunities to connect in community, and develop the kinds of mentor and mentee relationships that can make navigating entry into the workforce that little bit easier.”