The technology sector is rapidly growing and expanding to include multiple sectors including soft development, e-commerce, fintech, telecommunications, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and cyber security to name a few key categories.
According to Grandview Research, the global cyber security market was valued at $202.72B in 2022 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3% from 2023 to 2030.
Cybersecurity is the protection of computer systems which includes data, hardware and software from attacks and threats or unauthorized access. Although it may look as though cybersecurity is an emerging tech field, it has been on the rise for the last 20 years.
Cybersecurity has become increasingly popular in recent times, especially after the pandemic, with so many employees working from home or having hybrid work environments. Thus, all over the world, there are many companies, businesses and organizations looking to recruit cybersecurity professionals to ensure that their company assets are safe from malware and attacks.
A quick search on www.cyberseek.org of cyber security jobs showed results of over 750,000 jobs available in the industry.
According to IBM, the cost of a data breach can be significant, with companies spending an average of $4 million globally or $9 million in the USA for each incident. As a result, cybersecurity professionals are well compensated for their critical role in protecting a company's assets.
Cybersecurity is critical in today’s world because anyone can be a victim to cyber criminals. A cyberattack affects the economy, can create threats to national security and make the web environment unsafe.
Edmond Sarpong, CEO of Prime Tech Associates states that “cyber security’s importance in today’s business world cannot be underestimated. Cyber criminals are lurking after businesses and individuals, and this is expected to continue to be on the rise in today’s digital world”.
Unique for this IT field, cybersecurity offers high wages and competitive salaries along with flexible or remote work environments making this profession one of the most sought-after industries.
In fact, according to Fortune.com there is a global shortage of 3.4M workers in the field which continues to keep cyber wages on the rise.
This is the inspiration behind Prime Tech Associates, a USA based cyber security agency that specializes in training Africans both in the diaspora and on the African continent, a crash course in cyber security to enter the industry.
“As a first-generation immigrant, finding a career path takes a lot of time, effort and trial and error. At times it requires you to dig deep and be motivated by grit and determination. On the African continent, technology is becoming an innovative part of everyday life,” says Edmond Sarpong.
“There is an opportunity here through cyber security to easily identify a life changing and lucrative career path that can allow Africans, everywhere, to gain financial freedom to provide for their families and make a greater and visible impact on organizations small or large.”