Cybersecurity degrees in Delaware — Your guide to choosing a school

This guide is a brief overview of the cybersecurity educational and career opportunities in Delaware.

As the first state, Delaware’s adoption of technology gives its population new opportunities. While the economy’s focused on its abundance for sand and gravel and holding of the country’s biggest chemical manufacturers, jobs in technology, finance, and business make way as the new staple for production.

Initially, Delaware’s ties to the du Pont family helped transform the state into a sizeable chief producer for chemicals, food products, and plastic. Other sectors include agriculture, fishing, and mining as a primary source for GDP income, according to the Department of Labor and Industry. 

However, a new economic sector is emerging in Delaware. As mining, chemical production, and business continually slow down due to limited supply, job openings in cybersecurity continue to increase.

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Featured Cybersecurity Degree Programs

• Associate degree
• Bachelor’s degree
• Master’s degree
• Cybersecurity certifications

Trends in Delaware over the past 12 years has to lead increased activities in the finance and business sectors, significantly higher portions than any other state. More than half of US-based publically-traded companies reside in Delaware because of its business-friendly corporate law, according to Forbes. 

Overall, Delaware’s job growth has slowly increased on an annual basis, with Delaware’s leading companies reforming its infrastructure to supply for its consumers and match its competitors. The job market maintains its steady rise through operation and managing business and government servers, building technology systems, mitigating information technology threats to information systems, and analyzing intelligence. 

One impact seen across the state is the adoption of cybersecurity skills in the financial sector. Delaware’s adoption of fintech —  financial services delivered through technology —  has begun to lower the barriers for new businesses, giving way to many potential opportunities for cybersecurity professionals to grow in their profession and continue to grow the technology sector. 

Growing awareness of cybersecurity in Delaware

Delaware is steadily developing cybersecurity resources at the state level. 

According to Delaware’s Department of Technology and Information,  the state developed the “Delaware Broadband Fund” to support broadband services in public schools and libraries for broadband initiatives. Delaware’s businesses and government sectors have moved to cloud for 80% of its servers, with goals to create information technology efficiency. 

The department also controls cybersecurity for all branches of state government and school networks.  The Delaware Information Security Advisory Council began in 2015 to discuss cyber resilience and has since developed cyber partnerships with infrastructure sectors in the state.  

Additionally, Delaware formed the Cyberstart Initiative, a program offering information on cybersecurity to high school girls to improve chances to learn about cryptography, digital forensics, and penetration testing as part of a way to increase diversity within the industry. 

Cybersecurity education in Delaware

Colleges and universities throughout the state offer both on-campus and online programs that allow students in Delaware and outside of the state to have multiple options for a cybersecurity degree. 

One possible way to get a career in cybersecurity is through an associate degree. 

Associate degree

Associate degrees give career preparation to students in need of basic comprehension of cybersecurity concepts and prepare for the industry. Many college students attend community colleges to earn degrees or credits before transferring to another school or state university to finish their bachelor’s degree.

Courses for an associate degree in cybersecurity include data analytics, server administration, networking devices, IP routing, operating systems, and coding. Typically, associate degrees in cybersecurity also prepare students for industry certification exams such as CISCO Networking I and CompTIA Security+. Internship requirements for associate degrees will also help obtain knowledge of the industry and help prepare students for a career in cybersecurity. 

Bachelor degree

Campus-based bachelor’s degrees in Delaware

Bachelor’s degrees in cybersecurity begin the foundation for a professional career in the field, allowing students to gain extensive knowledge in networking infrastructure, computer science, and data management. Bachelor’s cybersecurity degree programs typically have a focus, and the credit hours for the degree will help students become well-versed in the latest computer technology trends. 

Wilmington University offers a computer and networking security degree, containing courses related to Linux operation, Python programming, Algorithm applications, and database foundations. The degree focuses on a general focus of cybersecurity, allowing students to specialize in a specific area of the field, such as digital forensics and systems analytics. 

All courses give a generalized education, then narrow into areas such as support, security, digital forensics, and project management to help students find employment opportunities across various fields. 

Students are also offered the chance to complete credit hours through co-op assignments and internships, allowing students to receive full-time employment from their employers after graduation. 

The university provides a completion degree, giving students the ability to customize their cybersecurity degree to a narrower focus, specifically for those who previously earned an associate degree from an accredited institution. Accredited institutions that successfully transfer their credits will be able to take completion courses such as inferential statistics, firewall and network security, and cryptography. 

Undergraduate students (as well as graduate students) at University of Delaware can also participate in the Cybersecurity Scholars program, Vertically Integrated Projects, Capture-the-Flag competitions, and more.

Master’s degree

Online cybersecurity master’s degree in Delaware

The University of Delaware offers the state’s only online master’s degree in cybersecurity. It’s master’s degree implements security tools and procedures, teaching students to create new tactics for protecting data. 

“Unlike other programs that only focus on implementing security tools and procedures, UD’s online M.S. in Cybersecurity shows you how to create secure systems and software that integrate defensive tactics in all stages of the process: design, execution, and evaluation.”

The University of Delaware is recognized as a National Center of Academic Excellence its developments in cybersecurity education, approved by the National Security Agency and the Department for Homeland Security. Students wishing to apply and complete the program will earn technical skills in cybersecurity that expands on computer engineering, networking protocols, and Python computer programming. 

Certifications

In addition to the various on-campus programs for both associate and bachelor’s degrees, Wilmington University provides students with two cybersecurity certificate programs, derived from the university’s bachelor’s degree. The goal of these certificates is to identify and recover digital evidence for investigators, outlining the baseline for cybersecurity, and help students earn technical skills related to forensics and computer crime. 

Cybersecurity Jobs in Delaware

Although the state isn’t home to information technology companies, financial companies such as JP Morgan & Chase, Delaware Board of Trade, and Lyapunov Technologies have started hiring cybersecurity professionals. These companies, through employment, aim to create data management software to find new ways of approaching risk management with sensitive data information.

With a total of 3,489 job opening in Delaware, roughly 4,041 people are currently employed in the cybersecurity workforce, according to Cyberseek. 

Other notes in Delaware cybersecurity employment include: 

Supply  The supply for cybersecurity workers in Delaware is very low. The workforce supply/demand ratio is 2.3, while the national average for available cybersecurity workers is 2.0, both very low indicators. 

Location Delaware scores a location quotient of 1.2, with the national average being 1.0. Due to the state’s efforts in cybersecurity only developing within the past few years, the availability for job employment in Delaware remains low but steadily increasing. 

Certifications The state’s requirements for certification potential employment request demonstration of competence with the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and CompTIA Security+. 

Some of the top job titles in the state of Delaware include: 

• Cyber Security Engineer
• Cyber Security Analyst
• Vulnerability Analyst/Penetration Tester
• Cyber Security Manager / Administrator
• Cyber Security Consultant

According to the 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the average hourly wage for a cybersecurity analyst in Delaware is $57.41, while the average annual salary was $119,420. 

Cybersecurity in Delaware

Delaware’s transition into information technology moves steadily into the economy; cybersecurity will continue to be in demand regardless of location. Although the state isn’t known for its cybersecurity systems, government implementation for better data security measures has helped increase the state’s development in its financial sectors.

Internet and digital technologies continue to increase, becoming part of the way corporate companies and economic handlers communicate, exchange data, and track the supply and demand of its products and services. Through education programs at Delaware colleges and state initiatives, Delaware can provide unique opportunities for training future employees for the field of cybersecurity threats and other skills in digital technology.