The feeling of doing something good and a high level of job security make IT security particularly attractive for applicants. Trend Micro, together with the market research company Mindfacts, asked IT professionals about their perception of the job market and potential employers.
From the resulting study, it can be deduced why security is the most popular area within IT. The results of the study also show what expectations employees have of the industry.
Career in the IT security industry
A career in the IT industry seems attractive to many employees. According to a study by Trend Micro, the sector impresses above all with good future prospects (59 percent), job security (51 percent) and an above-average income (48 percent).
But IT is not just IT. There are big differences within the industry, so some areas are more popular with applicants than others. IT security stands out as a lighthouse. More than two thirds of the study participants (66 percent) see IT security as the most important branch of the IT industry. Although attractive additional benefits and good career opportunities make an important contribution to attractiveness, many specialists have a higher goal at the top of their list. A full 70 percent associate working in IT security with the feeling of doing something good for the general public. Occupational safety in the sector is also rated highly at 72 percent. In addition, two-thirds of those surveyed consider the work in IT security to be varied.
IT security is simply exciting
Above all, the technically trained part of the respondents appreciate the advantages of IT security. With 71 percent and thus five percentage points more than the average, IT technicians name the security industry as their preferred work area. In the case of commercial employees, this figure is 61 percent.
“Sometimes the IT industry is abstract and employees don't immediately recognize the impact of their own actions on the big picture. It's different in security. Our employees directly support companies in identifying weak points and protecting themselves against cybercriminals or fending off hacker attacks with countermeasures. We are fighting at the forefront to make the digital space more secure,” says Hannes Steiner, Vice President Germany at Trend Micro. “More and more people find it important to see a higher purpose in their work. Our study shows that IT security is an ideal area for this.”
If IT, then please security
As far as work experience is concerned, IT security is particularly interesting for people in the mid to senior level. More than half of those surveyed at these experience levels stated that cybersecurity is the preferred area for a career in IT. There is still potential among young professionals: 37 percent of those surveyed also favor the security industry. In view of the rapidly increasing demand for specialists, however, it is important for security companies to pay even more attention to young people. Concerns expressed by study participants, such as the great complexity of the topic coupled with a high workload, must be taken seriously and relief provided.
"It's nice to see that we are at the top of the entire IT sector with our daily tasks and in terms of our attractiveness," says Hannes Steiner. "Although we operate globally, at Trend Micro we still live the values of a family-run company and want to offer our employees a meaningful, safe and varied job."
Background of the study
On behalf of Trend Micro, Mindfacts asked 200 employees about their job search and decision-making as part of a quantitative online survey. 50 percent of the people interviewed worked in the IT sector, the other 50 percent were open to employment in the IT sector.
More at TrendMicro.com
About Trend Micro As one of the world's leading providers of IT security, Trend Micro helps create a secure world for digital data exchange. With over 30 years of security expertise, global threat research, and constant innovation, Trend Micro offers protection for businesses, government agencies, and consumers. Thanks to our XGen™ security strategy, our solutions benefit from a cross-generational combination of defense techniques optimized for leading-edge environments. Networked threat information enables better and faster protection. Optimized for cloud workloads, endpoints, email, the IIoT and networks, our connected solutions provide centralized visibility across the entire enterprise for faster threat detection and response.