Cybersecurity jobsWashington, D.C. area leads nation in cybersecurity jobs
The Washington, D.C metropolitan area had more than 23,000 cybersecurity job postings in 2013, making the region the leading destination for cybersecurity jobs, followed by the New York metro area with 15,000 cybersecurity job postings in 2013. On a state-by state basis, Virginia ranks second and Maryland ranks sixth, with Virginia reporting 25.1 cybersecurity job postings per 10,000 residents and Maryland posting 18.1 jobs per 10,000 residents.
Cybersecurity adds more jobs and job security // Source: chinaelc.cn
According to Burning Glass Technologies, the Washington, D.C metropolitan area had more than 23,000 cybersecurity job postings in 2013, making the region the leading destination for cybersecurity jobs, followed by the New York metro area with 15,000 cybersecurity job postings in 2013. On a state-by state basis, Virginia ranks second and Maryland ranks sixth, with Virginia reporting 25.1 cybersecurity job postings per 10,000 residents and Maryland posting 18.1 jobs per 10,000 residents.
The Washington Post reports that companies in the professional services sector held the largest share of cyber-job postings nationwide, with manufacturing and defense sector coming in second, followed by finance and insurance firms. Cybersecurity jobs took 36 percent longer to fill, and cybersecurity workers are more highly compensated (averaging $93,028 per year) when compared to general IT jobs (averaging $77,642 per year).
Matt Sigelman, chief executive of Burning Glass, attributes the number of cybersecurity job openings in Washington, D.C. to the unique requirements for cybersecurity positions in the federal government and contracting industry in the region. ThePost reports that 56 percent of cybersecurity jobs in the contracting industry require a CISSP, a certification for information security professionals, while in 2013, only 34 percent of companies outside the contracting industry required applicants with a CISSP.
Employers seeking candidates for cybersecurity jobs in Washington, D.C. have to work with a limited pool of candidates because many of the positions available require a security clearance. Jenessa Hoffman, president of Arlington-based Potomac Recruiting said that “it’s always challenging to source candidates that have specific types of clearances and specific types of experiences, but it did get more difficult in the last half of 2013.”
According to Washington, D.C. based recruiter Kathy Lavinder, head of SI Placement, employers are more flexible and willing to offer alternate work schedules or work-from-home options to employees and candidates with security clearances and a CISSP certification, due to the limited supply of qualified candidates. “It’s going to be a while before the demand for this talent is in a better state of equilibrium, and we’re not there yet and we’re not close to being there yet,” Lavinder said.
