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areas of shortage qualified people

Anyone else notice areas that need qualified people have either expensive tests to take, expensive books, complicated or just not really good for everyone to go for?
Ex. Cyber security certification entry level test comptia about $100 to take the test if I recall correctly. But CISSP a few thpusand. College classes are high cost to and you still dont get all. Maybe shpuld be more of a pipeline system instead of a person with debt pay more for something you may not get hired at because of time passed job maybe filled or a area you dont care for but want a job because of high pay?

My ex.
Microsoft comes out with Windows new
Job places want to pay you like a 20 year old, dedication of a 30 year old and job experience of a 40 year old with 3+ years of work and certification in the program that is less then a year old.
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Daniel’s Answer

Hi William!

The education landscape is changing rapidly. Many tech companies no longer require a college degree. And as others have mentioned, learning resources like YouTube, Udemy, Coursera, Google Certificates, and coding bootcamps provide paths to employment that are much less expensive and much faster than the traditional 4-year college degree.

Startups are another way to gain experience rapidly without needing a huge amount of education or certification up front. Companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft attract a lot of talent because they pay extremely well and people want them on their resume. It's actually harder to get a job at Google than it is to get into Harvard. On the other side are startups, many of which pay well and don't have as nearly as robust of a hiring pipeline, so your odds of getting an interview and even a job are much better.

I've spent most of my career in mid-sized startups ranging from 50 to 300 employees. I've learned a ton, worn a bunch of different hats, and been able to switch careers without going back to school. For example, my undergrad degree is in Computer Science, but was able to switch into a UX Designer role at a startup without needing a design degree.

In your original question, you mention cybersecurity specifically. Certifications are likely a bit more common here because of the highly specialized nature of the work. More generic roles like front-end development or DevOps are also in high demand but also less specialized so there fewer gates to getting into those fields. That said, even cybersecurity has free resources here too that can help you gain experience to make it easier to get into startups that might not be able to afford someone with 20 years of experience and a CISSP certification.

Daniel recommends the following next steps:

See Glassdoor's list of companies that no require a college degree: https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/no-degree-required/
See Google Career Certificates for an approach to quickly acquiring skills that employers want. https://grow.google/certificates/
HackerOne has good resources for learning cybersecurity skills. https://www.hackerone.com/for-hackers/start-hacking
Thank you comment icon Thank you very much William
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Maya’s Answer

Hi William! I've definitely noticed this and trust me you're not the only one bringing this point up as we look for a way to create a more equitable world. The short response I have is that capitalism has created a society in which we are inclined to produce a classist way of rewarding some specialties simply because of their prestige and not so much because of their work. On paper, sure, it makes sense to reward people for the extra education and training they received to do their jobs but realistically we are not providing all people with the opportunity to do that extra training and so the incentive that capitalism thinks its creating for innovation is actually limiting a majority of people because of the racist and classist construction of the systems currently in place. A pipeline is an interesting idea and a good first step but in general the solution is just making education and other resources for applying to schools accessible to everyone.
Thank you comment icon Thank you much William
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Simeon’s Answer

The job certificates are actually a much more practical path than going to a full four year university if you are worried about costs. Plus, you could get a lot of course work done at community college if you were still wanting to do the university path.
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Bob’s Answer

Hi William,

CISSP is a recognized certificate in the security industry. Many employers will pay for employees in the information security field to obtain this certification. This can become a baseline requirement for certain positions, and should enable you to earn more and be more marketable in this rapidly growing field.

Bob
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Brian’s Answer

Hi William,

So I work in cybersecurity and I can tell you first hand I and many of my friends had a very difficult time finding positions so I'm not sure I buy into the shortage of cybersecurity professionals. At least not in any major city. Where you need cybersecurity professionals are likely at lower pay in suburban and rural regions. With that being said here are the things I think you need in order to get into the field:

1. Networking
This is really the most pivotal step. The more people you know and are friends with the higher chance you have of securing a role
2. Certifications
Start with Sec+ and then explore what interests you. CEH, CISSP, OSCP, GIAC there are tons of career paths in cybersecurity and each certification has its pros and cons.
3. Education
This is the final thing that will help get the foot in the door but steps 1 and 2 are a higher priority
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