To begin, it is essential to acknowledge that cybersecurity, as a relatively young field compared to other professions, deals with an issue of great significance and potential for debate around what a true “professional” in our field should have associated with their educational background. This controversy underlines the necessity for academia to expand the boundaries of conventional expectations / approaches, equipping students with the tools they will need in the evolving and unpredictable landscape of the future in a field with massive challenges.
A bit about me and my educational journey - I am a non-traditional student who pursued my undergraduate degree during my service with the United States Marine Corps at embassies in Niger and China, followed by a master’s degree in cyber security management from a well renowned traditional brick/mortar university while working in the field after my military tenure. For the past seven years, I've been teaching cyber-security courses at various universities at both undergraduate and graduate levels which is a very big passion of mine trying to equip the next generation of leaders.
I recently was asked to speak to a few key questions and lend my insights.
Do Cybersecurity Degrees Help the Student Gain Employment Compared to Commercially Available Courses?
“Gain Employment” is a part of this question which made me think long and hard as a hiring manager, professor, and life-long learner on where I place the most value.
Both traditional academia and modern distance learning offer valuable experiences, particularly in promoting diversity and collaboration in structured graduate programs. In contrast, commercial courses (AWS, Cisco, IANS, SANS, ISC2, COMPTIA etc..) provide up-to-date content and thought leadership, which is crucial for continuing professional development, albeit they're often underused despite employer-sponsored access through platforms like LinkedIn Learning or Pluralsight.
Higher education can suffer from outdated curriculums that have natural constraints on timely updates, while commercial courses might be too narrow and lack the collaborative environment of an undergraduate/graduate traditional or distance classroom.
Ultimately, I value both academic degrees and commercial cyber-education highly because they demonstrate ambition and the desire to advance. I believe blending both approaches is the best strategy for gaining a competitive advantage and fostering well-rounded individuals ready for technical or leadership roles.
With Cybersecurity being Such a Fast-moving Industry - How Can You Best Prepare Students for the Future?
My absolute favorite class that I developed at Washington University in Saint Louis is Emerging Cybersecurity and Technology. I believe that students are not fully engaged with understanding the future developments, evolving trends, and direction of Cybersecurity & Technology. Developing this class—and revamping it every semester I teach—really involves stepping back to examine the evolving areas within cybersecurity and technology with the capacity to transform global operations. This includes new developments in cryptographic science, artificial intelligence, digital warfare, data protection, artificial and augmented reality, among countless other subjects.
The real area in which I believe is important to best prepare students (and professionals) for the future is how do you not remain stagnant. Resources like books, podcasts, videos, mentors, or hobbies encourage you to maintain your commitment to being a life-long learner. As an example, I make it an absolute priority each day during my 4:30 - 6 :00 AM exercise before my little ones wake up to ensure I am listening to the latest cyber threat brief podcasts, catching up on a chapter or two of an audio book, and watching a video or two on Youtube on a concept that I know little to nothing about. As humans, we tend to adhere to our habits, which is why I constantly advise students to approach their learning with consistency. By doing so, it becomes ingrained as a habitual practice. We are creatures of habit!
What Sources do you Recommend Your Students to Follow?
Numerous valuable resources exist, so I'll mention a select few from a large list that I believe aid in development and ongoing improvement as a leader and a technical cybersecurity professional.
- philvenables.com Cybersecurity leadership thought-blogs
- csoonline.com for Cyber industry news
- CyberWire Daily Podcast for Cyber podcasts
- Schneier on Security for Cyber current event blogs
- Masters of Scale Podcast for technology founder growth / leadership stories
- Cyber Security Tribe for Cyber-Industry professional led thought leadership
