Before COVID-19 became a global crisis, cybersecurity was shaping up to be one of the hottest possible career niches. However, COVID-19 is one factor that has contributed to massive upheaval in the global job market, disrupting heaps of industries ranging from food service to travel to retail.

Post COVID-19, there are many jobs that are now in a rapid state of decline. Some of them were already declining before COVID-19 became an issue; but some that were previously thriving did a U-turn and are now basically unviable as job prospects.

For example, in 2019, there was strong demand for restaurant chefs. The career experts at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics were predicting that there would be 10 percent growthin employment levels of chefs by the year 2026. That forecast, obviously, didn't take COVID-19 into consideration, because it hadn't happened yet.

In the immediate aftermath of COVID-19, there has actually been a 56 percent declinein the numbers of advertised job openings for chefs. It is possible that hiring for this position could recover in the long term; but it may not recover any time soon, considering that an economic downturnis highly likely. Now isn't the ideal time to seek out training in the culinary arts; and, indeed, many students who were enrolled in training programs for this vocation are now changing their plans. As a result, enrollments have dropped atmany of the world's most prestigious culinary institutions.

So how is the cybersecurity industry changingin the aftermath of COVID-19? Is it still a viable career path?

As it turns out, COVID-19 has accelerated the already-strong demand for cybersecurity professionals. Let's take a look at some of the most important considerations driving this demand:

Working From Home Results in More Security Issues for Cybersecurity Professionals to Fix

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, many workers stopped commuting to their offices and transitioned to working from home. This has created numerous security issues.

In many cases, workers' home environments are less secure than the corporate offices where they used to work. Furthermore, in an office environment, there is not as great a need to pass data back and forth; but when individuals are all working in different remote locations, more data is being transmitted, which results in greater numbers of vulnerabilities that hackers and criminals could potentially exploit.

More Online Shopping Transactions Leads to Greater Risk of Online Fraud

COVID-19 accelerated the rise of online shopping. With the increase in online sales came an increase in fraud attempts perpetrated online. This has created even greater demand for talent in the cybersecurity niche.

Every Industry Needs Protection From Cyber Crime

Businesses and organizations in all industries are susceptible to harm from cyber attacks. Every business, government agency and charity could potentially be a target of cyber criminals. Growing numbers of employers are coming to realize how vulnerable their organizations are to data breaches, fraud attempts and hacking. As they come to this realization, hiring managers are scrambling to either hire or train people who can help to protect their organizations from these sorts of threats. This is resulting in a massive amount of demand for people who have cybersecurity training and expertise.

Global Work Opportunities Abound for Cybersecurity Professionals

In the United States, knowledgeable experts at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics are forecastinga favorable employment outlook for information security analysts. They're predicting 31 percent growth in this vocation by the year 2029, which is a significantly faster rate of growth than is typical for other types of jobs in the current economy.

Cybersecurity also tends to be a lucrative niche for employees, considering that the average annual salary for an information security professional is $99,730 US per year.

In Australia, ICT security specialists typically earn a median annual pay of approximately $100,464 AU per year. Career experts at the Australian Government National Skills Commission are predicting very strong future growth of employment levels in this occupation.

The Verdict

Cybersecurity is definitely a viable career niche in the aftermath of COVID-19. If you aren't already an expert in this field, now would be a fantastic time to seek out training to gain the expertise needed for working as a cybersecurity professional.