Cybersecurity Career Requirements: A Literature Review

TL;DR

This literature review synthesizes existing research to identify key skills, knowledge, and barriers for cybersecurity careers, emphasizing the need for significant training and highlighting gender-specific challenges in the field.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive thematic analysis of cybersecurity career requirements and discusses gender barriers, offering insights for education and policy development.

Findings

Cybersecurity professionals require extensive technical training.

Gender barriers affect female entry and progression in cybersecurity.

Significant time investment is needed to achieve proficiency.

Abstract

This study employs a systematic literature review approach to identify the requirements of a career as a cybersecurity professional. It aims to raise public awareness regarding opportunities in the Information Security (IS) profession. A total of 1,520 articles were identified from four academic databases by searching using the terms "cybersecurity" and "skills". After rigorous screening according to various criteria, 31 papers remained. The findings of these studies were thematically analyzed to describe the knowledge and skills an IS professional should possess. The research found that a considerable investment in time is necessary for cybersecurity professionals to reach the required technical proficiency. It also identified female gender barriers to cybersecurity careers due to the unique requirements of the field and suggests that females may successfully enter at lower levels and progress up the tiers as circumstances dictate.