Each year, there are more cybersecurity attacks than the year before. As a result, organizations are allocating more of their IT budgets to increase security, which leads to the need to hire more cybersecurity professionals to help protect their data and systems. In the metropolitan Washington, DC area, there are hundreds of open positions for cybersecurity experts and not enough qualified candidates to fill them.
As a network engineer in Washington, D.C., you will be in the heart of the country and the IT industry. The duties of someone in this role are wide-ranging and can be very complex. Putting it simply, a network engineer is responsible for building and maintaining the daily operations of an organization’s computer networks, including an intranet, extranet, wide area network (WAN), and local area network (LAN). However, there isn’t a typical day for a network engineer, and you never know what will come up.
The Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) qualification is one of the most popular — and well-paying — credentials in the IT industry. Focused on advancing the skills and knowledge of experienced security professionals, CISM is sought-after by employers looking to enhance infosec departments and expand C-suite teams.
Security and risk-focused IT certifications are in high demand as organizations look to bridge the cybersecurity skills gap and boost data defense. While digital attack surfaces rapidly expand and attackers develop new techniques, the supply of skilled security professionals hasn’t kept pace, leaving companies on the hunt for experienced IT pros capable of recognizing key risks, developing effective defenses and deploying security measures at scale.
Washington, DC continues to deliver on startup tech potential — The Tech Tribune recently highlighted 20 technology companies to watch heading into 2020. Combined with increasing federal investment in IT solutions and the infrastructure needed to support these new deployments, there’s a growing market for IT professionals in the DC area.