Results of the (ISC)² 2010 Career Impact Survey were released at this week’s RSA Conference in San Francisco and were gathered from more than 3000 security professionals worldwide, including better than 1800 in the US. The survey, which examined the impact of the recession and the current economic climate on IT security professionals, found that hiring should increase in 2010, but that the industry may face a challenge in finding enough qualified personnel.
Of the US survey respondents, 55.1% said they received a salary increase in 2009, with only 11.6% indicating that their salaries were cut due to, most likely, the economic crisis. And with unemployment still hovering near the 10% mark in the US, only 5% of IT professionals surveyed lost their jobs in 2009.
“We are not saying that the security industry is recession proof” said Hord Tipton, executive director of (ISC)². “But it did hold its own and, in fact, remained fairly flat in many areas.” He added that 2009 actually saw an increase in the demand for educational and certification services.
On the hiring front, the (ISC)² poll shows that more than half (50.1%) of US-based respondents, numbering more than 800, plan on hiring permanent and/or contract security professionals during 2010. At RSA, representatives from (ISC)² told Infosecurity that about 40% of the survey respondents had hiring responsibilities, a fair indication that the survey trends may actually be realized.
However, the biggest concern may not be about the availability of IT security jobs in 2010. According to the (ISC)² survey, 90% of respondents – both in the US and globally – said their largest challenge is finding qualified candidates with the appropriate level of expertise and experience to fill these positions.
"Trained people are just not available", said Tipton. "Particularly trained, certified people.”
But, via the organization’s recently launched Safe and Secure Online Program – a global initiative designed to teach children how to protect themselves online – members are going into classrooms and planting seeds that will hopefully grown into a new crop of security professionals, in addition to providing the primary goal of online security instruction to children.
“When talking to kids, we just want to let them know that there are nice, lucrative careers in the IT field,” added Tipton.