Cybersecurity Reading Series

After months of news about layoffs in tech, RPIE participants have been thinking critically about how to develop a competitive edge in the job market. 

However, one industry in tech is not only growing, but urgently recruiting applicants: cybersecurity.

According to a new report released by Cybersecurity Ventures, there are 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity positions internationally, with more than 750,000 in the US.

“Every IT position is also a cybersecurity position now,” Cybersecurity Ventures explains. “Every IT worker, every technology worker, is (or should be) involved at some level with protecting and defending apps, data, devices, infrastructure, and people.”

This follows the announcement of the new National Cybersecurity Strategy, outlined by the Biden administration in March of 2023. In this plan, the US Government placed added responsibility on private technology companies to prevent and thwart potential cyberthreats. If this plan becomes policy, this would mean an expectation that individual companies invest more money in their cybersecurity infrastructures.

RPIE’s Suzanna Schmeelk has this advice for participants looking to get into the cybersecurity industry: “Research, research, research. There are plenty of ways to get involved in knowing more on what's out there: volunteering, conferences, hackathons, meetups.”

Where to start? RPIE participants have access to Cooper’s library, including its database of technical journals. 

Use LinkedIn to build your professional network and keep track of developments, gatherings, and job opportunities in cybersecurity.

And keep reading the RPIE newsletter to learn more about tech and cybersecurity events and meetups in the NYC area. 

Additionally, you might consider:

  • Enrolling in RPIE cybersecurity courses and creating study groups for cybersecurity exams (such as: entry-level certifications like Certified Ethical Hacker and CompTIA Security+)
  • Applying for positions within organizations that have cybersecurity training built into its IT department
  • For participants with existing cybersecurity experience, preparing for the CISA certification (​​Certified Information Systems Auditor) and the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) certification

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.