Hyper-stackable Emerging Careers
Multi-Track Cybersecurity Pathways & Second Careers in Aging Services
The second set of reports from our four-part Industry Futures series, these resources explore professions that are in very high demand, but for which current educational offerings aren’t adequately targeting the right students, or enough students.
Supply and demand: Too few professionals for growing fields
Many professional fields are growing at a rapid rate due to demographic and sociological changes, but the supply of qualified candidates to fill those jobs is lacking.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is one field where the demand is far outpacing the number of skilled professionals available. As we continue to integrate technology into daily life and companies become reliant on the cloud, growth in demand for IT professionals is expected.
While IT roles are predictably growing at a fast clip, the growth of cybersecurity positions is staggering, with a 73% increase from 2007 to 2012.
Yet despite high salaries and employer demand across industries, employers struggle to find qualified candidates for cybersecurity positions, stemming from two root causes: curriculum misalignment and an unclear career value proposition.
Aging services
The senior citizen population in the United States is set to reach 90 million by 2050, driving demand in fields such as health care, marketing, financial planning, and interior design.
Although 10,000 baby boomers celebrate their 65th birthday each day, more than 80 gerontology programs have shuttered in the last 10 years. These programs weren’t enrolling enough students and weren’t making enough money, and when budget cuts came around they were often rolled into larger health care or social work departments.
Struggling aging studies programs all position gerontology and aging as an educational foundation, rather than a specialization that someone can elect to pursue later in their career. EAB identified four programs that appeal to mid or late-career professionals with some background in one of these fields:
- Patient Advocacy and Health Coaching
- Motivational Wellness
- Aging in Place
- Financial Planning
At institutions with gerontology or aging services programs, COE leaders can supplement core gerontology courses with existing courses in related fields. At institutions without formal gerontology programs, administrators can begin with specializations (e.g., nursing, interior design) and reverse-engineer programs by adding coursework in aging services.
Multi-Track Cybersecurity Pathways
Examine the growing demand for—but large shortage of—cybersecurity professionals, learn about the current barriers to pursuing a career in cybersecurity, and explore the potential “stackability” of cybersecurity programs that will allow multiple entry and exit points to accommodate career starters, career advancers, and even career changers.
Second Careers in Aging Services
Learn why there’s a disparity between the demand for aging services professionals and the number of failing gerontology programs, and how aging services programs can adjust their curriculum to appeal to mid-career professionals seeking encore careers or certifications to add to their existing credentials.
This resource requires EAB partnership access to view.
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