When considering what to study and your resulting career choices, it is important to pay attention to your skills and interests, as well as the job market, in order to find a path that will bring you both fulfilment and lucrative employment. The exponential growth of technology and the related skills and knowledge ensure that industries across the board are increasingly in need of experts in this field. The increasing reliance on technology also axiomatically leads to a greater demand for effective cybersecurity and related intelligence.

What course do you need to study for a career in cybersecurity?

As you can imagine from the scope it covers, cybersecurity in itself is not one thing but rather a range of services and products related to technology and the online environment. While there are certainly some entry-level positions available within this field of expertise, most positions would require you to complete a bachelor’s degree or something equivalent in a relevant field such as computer science or information technology. For senior positions, a master’s degree may even be necessary.

What careers can you follow with a qualification in cybersecurity?

Upon successful completion of your 4-year degree, you will possess a mix of business and technical skills, which could include software development, systems administration, database applications, data science, and software engineering. You can apply these newly acquired skill sets to a number of roles within a variety of different industries. These roles can include, but are not limited to, Security Analyst, Engineer, Architect, or Administrator, Security Software Developer, Cryptographer, Cryptanalyst, or Security Consultant.

What acceptance criteria need to be met by those wanting to study a course related to cybersecurity?

If you are aiming to complete a 4-year bachelor’s degree or equivalent NQF level 8 course, the following requirements will most likely apply:

• South African students should have a National Senior Certificate certified by Umalusi.
• Students with a foreign qualification should have it converted by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) to verify that it is of equivalent value.
• An English pass rate of 50% or more. Foreign students are required to produce their SAQA-converted qualification listing English as a subject or complete an English proficiency test.
• Enrolling in degree courses generally requires a pass rate of 50% for Pure Maths. If you did Maths Literacy instead as a subject at school, you may be required to pass an introductory maths module.

Note that these requirements may differ from one learning institution to another, as well as from one course to the next. If you aim to complete a course with a different NQF level, different criteria might apply.

Where to study for this career path?

If you are interested in entering the world of cybersecurity, enrol for a HEQSF-aligned, NQF level 8 Bachelor of Computing qualification at Belgium Campus iTversity. Belgium Campus ensures that each course they offer matches stringent international standards, so that their students can be leaders in their field, wherever they choose to work.