Between a full-time job as a software engineer and raising a young child, Carlos Villegas knew that pursuing a master’s degree in cybersecurity wouldn’t be easy.
That’s where online learning came in, the 48-year-old says.
Villegas, a California resident, enrolled in a remote master’s program in cybersecurity at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering. He took courses on subjects ranging from computer networking to applied cryptography, communicated with students on discussion boards and cracked passwords for assignments.
Now a cybersecurity engineer, Villegas, who graduated in January, worked primarily at his own pace to balance his education with his other responsibilities.
[Discover what to ask about flexibility in online programs.]
“The main benefit is efficiency,” he says. “When you’re working full time and have a family, every 10 minutes you spend is precious.”
In an era where data breaches and online threats are common, Villegas isn’t alone as demand for employees with cybersecurity knowledge rises, experts say, and online bachelor’s and master’s programs in the discipline become more prevalent. In 2015, more than 209,000 cybersecurity jobs were unfilled, according to an analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Everybody now understands that they’re vulnerable, and that security is not a technology that you can buy and simply solve the problem,” says Nasir Memon, a computer science and engineering professor at NYU.
It also makes sense that cybersecurity degree programs are moving online given their focus on computers and networks, experts say. The for-profit Kaplan University launched its online bachelor’s and master’s in cybersecurity about a year ago given high demand, says Jay Blatt, department chair man of the university’s business and information technology school.
Because many cybersecurity tasks are performed remotely, “It’s appropriate to be engaged in the same types of mediums that professionals would use,” he says.
When starting an online cybersecurity degree program, prospective students should expect different types of coursework and assessments, from writing to programming, depending on the class and professor — just like on campus.
For instance, Julian Brown, a Kaplan University cybersecurity online bachelor’s student and president of the school’s cybersecurity club, says he often writes papers, sometimes with a lab or project component; once, he explored how to create scripts in the operating system Linux. At NYU, Villegas did everything from creating a chat program through steganography — the practice of concealing and embedding text, such as in an image — to decrypting, or decoding, files.
But there are a few things that make online education different. For one, lab assignments are completed virtually, which is often the case at University of Maryland University College, says Emma Garrison-Alexander, vice dean for cybersecurity and information assurance at the grad school.
UMUC offers three bachelor’s degrees in the field — including cybersecurity management and policy, and software development and security — and four master’s, including digital forensics and cyber investigation, and cybersecurity technology.
In some UMUC online courses, labs consist of “virtual machines,” Garrison-Alexander says — a simulation of a physical machine, such as a computer, where students solve problems as if they’re sitting in front of it.
For instance, with virtual machines, “You’re going to run some tests, or maybe reverse engineer some software, and then report the results,” says Stephan Bohacek, an associate professor who teaches online cybersecurity master’s courses at the University of Delaware.
At UMUC, Garrison-Alexander says, students might also use encryption tools that they would encounter in the workplace, such as WireShark, a network analyzer.
As in many disciplines, discussion boards are also common in online cybersecurity programs, experts say. Students respond to prompts from a professor and build on each other’s answers.
[Discover how to ace online course discussion board assignments.]
But in the field of cybersecurity, says NYU alum Villegas, the questions aren’t always as straightforward as one might initially assume. He says he responded to inquiries about current events related to the field as well as challenging technical prompts.
“They wanted to see your thoughts,” says Villegas, of his program’s professors. “It wasn’t just ‘choose A, B, C, D.'”
For Villegas, online learning presented another advantage: Cybersecurity is a very detailed-oriented discipline, he says, and because many lectures were prerecorded, he was able to re-watch and re-listen to the nitty-gritty details as needed. Still, prospective students should be aware that some programs do have a live requirement.
Many online bachelor’s and master’s programs in cybersecurity also combine group and independent work, experts say, especially given that some subjects within the field are better suited for collaborative learning.
[Learn five steps to take before starting online group work.]
While NYU’s Memon thinks cryptography is better suited to independent learning, students can expect more team projects in application testing , and have to communicate virtually.
“You’re able to provide these hands-on abilities remotely,” says Memon, particularly of lab components. “Online then becomes something that does not reduce the experience.”
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What to Expect in an Online Cybersecurity Degree Program originally appeared on usnews.com
