-

K12 Cybersecurity Career Awareness

for School Counselors and Administrators 

but most students and teachers don’t understand what a cybersecurity practitioner does. National 

Cybersecurity is a promising feld 

Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) is your one stop shop for cybersecurity career information, 

and the resources highlighted here only scratch the surface of what’s available. Key to guiding your 

students is awareness that cybersecurity jobs span the FULL spectrum of educational disciplines. Many 

jobs require only high school and technical certifcations to get started, some others are enhanced by 

college and post college education. There are subject matter experts available to reach into classrooms 

and provide detailed information on cybersecurity topics and the jobs they support. 

WHAT DIFFERENT CYBERSECURITY JOBS EXIST? 

Not every cybersecurity job involves writing code! 

Instead, some jobs require knowledge about 

applications, the network, or operating systems. 

The NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework is 

a reference resource that includes work roles and 

corresponding knowledge, skills and abilities. 

n NICE Framework [nist.gov/nice/framework] 

n Cyberseek.org provides information about different

entry-level jobs and suggests possible career pathways. 

n National Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week 

resources. [nist.gov/nice/nccaw] 

n NICERC Career Profles 

[https://nicerc.org/teacherresources/careerprofles/] 

HOW TO TALK AND MEET WITH PRACTITIONERS? 

Yes! Talking with someone who is performing 

a cybersecurity work role can be a great 

way to learn about the day to day tasks, 

challenges and learn what they love about the job. 

Some recommended resources to get you started are: 

n Nepris.com connects practitioners and classrooms. 

n Visit nist.gov/nice/nccaw for speaker options, contacts,

and speaker tips. 

n Visit the Cyber Center for Education and Innovation

cryptologicfoundation.org for additional speaker

suggestions. 

n Many cybersecurity membership associations provide

speakers for school events! Check out the Speakers

Bureau or local chapters of organizations such as 

ISC(2), ISSA, ISACA, or WiCyS. 

HOW CAN STUDENTS SEE IF THEY 

ARE GOOD AT CYBERSECURITY? 

Research suggests that a passion for learning 

and real curiosity is more important for a career 

in cybersecurity than technical skills or knowing 

how to write code. Get started by exploring National 

Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week Resources 

[nist.gov/nice/nccaw] 

n Summer camps like those funded by GenCyber require

no prior cybersecurity knowledge or experience. 

n Grow their skillset through competitions like CyberPa

triot where local elementary, middle school and high

school groups practice and compete in challenges. 

n Even if they have no experience with cybersecurity,

they can play the challenges at SANS CyberStart

[https://www.sans.org/CyberStartUS] or CyberAces 

programs or through Cybrary content [cybrary.it] 

CAN STUDENTS MAKE A GOOD LIVING 

AT CYBERSECURITY? 

The average starting salary 

ranges from $89-98,000 

n CyberSeek.org shows more than 504,316 unflled

cybersecurity jobs - some in every industry and in

every state. You can search jobs and explore career 

pathways at Cyberseek.org. 

n Many jobs don’t require a college degree, and

employers will often pay for additional training 

or degrees once you’ve been hired. 

* Cyberseek.org as of March 2020 

Visit nist.gov/nice/nccaw or nist.gov/nice/nicewg to access additional cybersecurity career resources. Learn more about 

cybersecurity education for K12 with the NICE Working Group K12 Subgroup or email us at nist.nice@nist.gov.