Assessment of the recent postgraduates in cybersecurity on barriers and required skills for their early career

Abstract

Cybersecurity training is one of the relevant priorities for nations around the world in order to ensure a qualified, competitive and plentiful workforce in the years to come. It is necessary to promote the vocations of students towards cybersecurity studies to deal with the excess of uncovered labor demand with special attention to an under-represented group such as the female. To further this goal, our study focuses on a sample from among the group of students who have reached the postgraduate degree of MSc in Cybersecurity. Our methodology included in-person interviews and discussion groups and aims to identify the challenges/barriers that exist in the initial stages of career for young postgraduates as well as the skills and knowledge required for this group of young professionals.