Course Preview | Professional Certificate in Cybersecurity from MIT xPRO

Hello, I'm Dr. Keri Pearlson. I'm the program architect for the journey you're about to take with our cybersecurity professional program. Of course, this program was not done by just one person. We have a large village of faculty and experts working with me on the materials, the concepts, the activities, and the production you'll experience. We're all delighted that you are here. I assume you're here because you want to transition into a career in cybersecurity, or at least you want to explore the area as a potential career opportunity. Well, let me tell you, cybersecurity needs you. There is a big need for cybersecurity resources. The New York Times recently reported that there are something like 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs worldwide as of 2021. And a study done at the Wharton Business School said nowhere is the workforce skills gap more pronounced than in cybersecurity. Even the Harvard Business Review reported that more than 50 percent of chief information security officers are concerned that they will not be able to fill all of their cybersecurity jobs in their organization with qualified staff. Forbes did a study of the most needed skills in our space. And they found out that application development, security and cloud security are by far and away the fastest growing skill areas in cybersecurity , with a projected five year growth of 164 percent for application development and 115 percent for cloud security. And there's a big shift from reactive to proactive security strategies that look after protecting and securing our organizations rather than responding after a problem has occurred. Even the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the median job pay for information security analysts is close to $99,000 a year, and the expected number of jobs will grow more than 30% between now and 2029.

So, you're in the right place, not only to learn about new skills but to make a big difference in the lives of the people around you, the companies who hire you, and the countries in which you work. So, our course is designed to achieve three main goals. The first is to give you a foundation of cybersecurity. What are the main ideas in cybersecurity today? What are the most common frameworks and the technologies that we use today? What are the newest thinking around how to keep our organization secure? Second is to give you specific information on entry level jobs in cybersecurity. So, you will feel comfortable interviewing for those jobs. We've targeted three jobs and have devoted specific weeks to teach you the basics you'll need for each one of those jobs. We'll also discuss several other types of jobs that might be targets for you. And finally, our course is designed to give you enough background in cybersecurity and the concepts that you'll encounter to prepare you for a degree or a certificate in cybersecurity. Now, we're not teaching you enough to pass a certification test like the CISSP, but we are giving you concepts that are necessary for you to understand so that you can easily go further in your cybersecurity education. You don't have to be a techie to be in cybersecurity. There are enough opportunities for everyone. If you are technical, that's great. Some of the readings and the materials that you'll get in this program will build upon things you already know. But if you're not a techie, don't worry, don't despair. These materials might be a bit more of a challenge, but stay with us. There are many roles in our field for smart dedicated professionals who are not techies, and you too can have a bright future in cybersecurity. So, this program, our journey is 24 weeks long. We have involved MIT faculty and researchers, we've involved practitioners and experts from different angles of cyber security, we have a number of guest speakers lined up to share their personal experiences with you. And we have activities and exercises and readings and more to help you develop your understanding of cybersecurity and the practices, and to give yourself an opportunity to practice some of the things that you'll hear. So, let's get started.