Upskilling in times of uncertainty and change is a prudent career decision

By Tony Vizza, CISSP, CCSP

The saying “everything happens for a reason” is often invoked as a message of support during times of hardship or adversity. While it may be difficult to apply to a crisis on the scale and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resiliency that we as individuals develop during such difficult times can make us stronger and better prepared for whatever comes next.

A crisis comes with danger, but it also comes with opportunities. While the tourism, travel and retail sectors have been devastated by the global economic crisis, tech companies such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet (parent of Google) are now all “tera-cap” companies—worth more than U.S. $1 trillion each, with Apple worth more than U.S. $2 trillion. That’s not all. The digital transformation imposed on people and organizations worldwide has, almost overnight, precipitated the rise of such companies as Zoom, which have become the de facto standard in video calls—so much so that in a few (rather long) months, the phrase “to Zoom” has entered the vernacular the same way “to Google” has.

Multi-billion-dollar companies have the almost limitless set of resources to ideate and design think their way out of even global crises. Yet, if you distill the critical success factors, all that these companies have done is make the most of new opportunities at hand, pivot their operations to optimize the current environment and accept that they have to operate differently. As Charles Darwin famously said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” If this axiom rings true for the largest and most successful companies in the world today, the same must be true in our own daily and professional lives.

Recognizing this, how can we as cybersecurity professionals apply the concept of adaptability and change to our own careers and ensure that we remain relevant in our knowledge, coveted for our experience and sought after for our abilities? Like Zoom, there are other boom industries that have flourished because of COVID-19. The cybersecurity skills gap that existed prior to the pandemic has arguably become even more critical given the rapid shift to remote work. We have also seen boom areas emerge outside of cybersecurity in areas like cloud services and healthcare IT.

What can we as professionals do to make ourselves even more relevant in a job market that needs new expertise? How can we make an even bigger impact on the organizations that employ us while at the same time improving our earnings and growth? The answer, of course, is to upskill in key areas.

There is a reason the CCSP is the fastest growing certification at (ISC)², with existing CISSP holders making use of the single annual maintenance fee to extend their already deep understanding of cybersecurity by also certifying in cloud security. Similarly, workers in the IT space who see the opportunity in cybersecurity are choosing to become SSCP-certified. Meanwhile, IT staff around the world who work for healthcare organizations are seeing the value of the HCISPP certification to help them better perform their duties.

I have found that the current COVID-19 crisis is an optimal time to gauge where future opportunities arise and to make the most of upskilling. I have chosen to take advantage of it. I encourage you to do likewise.

Read more from the November/December 2020 issue of InfoSecurity Professional Magazine .