Cybersecurity

Only 9 percent of millennials interested in cybersecurity careers, says survey by Denver’s ProtectWise

As the cybersecurity industry struggles to fill job openings, Denver-based ProtectWise decided to ask the future workforce whether they’d be interested in such a career. The response? Not so much.

In a survey of 524 “technology-savvy millennials and post-millennials,” only 9 percent said they’re interested in a cybersecurity career, which tend to pay a lot more than most jobs in Denver. A more appealing tech-job career? Video game development, at 33 percent.

“It’s surprising the number is that low given the amount of news coverage related to cybersecurity,” said James Condon, director of ProtectWise’s threat research team, in an email. “That being said, this shows that we need to spread more awareness about the exciting opportunities in this field.”

The survey, conducted by Enterprise Strategy Group and sponsored by ProtectWise, also found that the majority, or 68 percent, would classify themselves as a technology innovator or early adopter. Most didn’t know anybody in the cybersecurity industry and very few had been exposed to classes or other educational opportunities during school.