Cybersecurity is heating up. A 2016 CyberSeek report identified that nearly 350,000 online cybersecurity job listings were posted in the U.S. from July 2015 through June 2016.
Most cybersecurity careers feature high starting salaries , with the median pay in 2016 at more than $92,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau also predicts 18 percent job growth by 2024, which is faster than the average.
With increased demand for trained cybersecurity specialists, a number of organizations devote scholarship funds to encourage college students to study this field .
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The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, for example, offers the CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service, which is designed to boost the number of government information assurance professionals. The scholarships cover the full tuition and fees for recipients who attend a participating university full time and pursue a cybersecurity-related degree. They also receive annual stipends — $22,500 for undergraduate students and $34,00 0 for graduate students.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents to apply. Recipients are required to complete a government internship and then work full time for a government agency following graduation, one year of postgraduation employement for each academic year the student received the scholarship. Each participating university manages its own application and selection process, so interested students should contact the individual institution for applications and deadline information.
The Center for Cyber Safety and Education also offers a number scholarships for prospective cybersecurity professionals.
— Undergraduate scholarships: Each year, the center provides 15-19 undergraduate awards, valued at up to $5,000 each. High school seniors and college freshmen, sophomores and juniors are eligible to apply.
Applicants must have at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale and may be attending school in the U.S. or internationally as well as online or part time. Applications must include a letter of recommendation and a personal essay of no more than three pages, double spaced. Awards are for one year, but winners may apply again for subsequent years. The current application cycle is closed, but check the website for updated information on the 2018 awards.
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— Graduate: The center also annually awards 16-20 graduate awards at up to $5,000 per recipient. These are open to students beginning the first or second year of a master’s program or those seeking a doctoral degree.
Applicants must have at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale and may be studying in the U.S. or abroad, online or part time. As with the undergraduate awards, applications must include a letter of recommendation and a personal essay up to three pages, double spaced. Winners may reapply for the scholarship after their first year as a recipient. Check the site for updated 2018 application information and deadlines.
— The women’s scholarship: The center offers two types of scholarships for female students. Female high school seniors and college freshmen, sophomores and juniors are eligible for the center’s four to eight Women in Information Security Scholarships, which total $40,000 each year.
Female high school seniors and first-year undergraduates can also apply for one of three of the $8,000 Raytheon’s Women in Cyber Security Scholarship Awards. Additionally, the center offers up to three scholarships for women who are in the middle of their career but are changing career paths to cybersecurity.
Graduate students are not eligible for either scholarship, and eligibility and application requirements are the same as for the center’s other scholarships. Check the website for updated 2018 application information and deadlines.
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Female students interested in cyber security can also explore the multiple Scholarships for Women Studying Information Security that Applied Computer Security Associates and the Computing Research Association offer annually. Awards are valued at up to $10,000.
Female applicants must be pursuing bachelor’s or master’s degrees in information security. By Feb. 1, they must submit transcripts, the university name and their class status, letters of reference and an essay describing their interest and background in the field. Recipients can renew the scholarship for a second year if they meet certain conditions.
With data breaches occurring frequently, cybersecurity jobs are stable and growing. And with these and other scholarship opportunities, earning a degree to enter this job field is financially more manageable.
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Lock Up Scholarship Funds to Study Cybersecurity originally appeared on usnews.com
