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I am studying Business Management and digital marketing. I need suggestions whether I should take Masters in Cybersecurity or Data Science?

I do not have a very technical background but I have basic knowledge on HTML and Java. So I am confuse which master degree is best for me? which is more challenging and which has better job prospect and higher salary? Thank you and I hope someone can give me advice:) #job #masters #employment #cybersecurity #data #datascience #dataanalyst #school #salary #technology #coding

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Patrick’s Answer

Hello Kelly,

I have worked with analytics and data science for almost 10 years now and the careers and options are growing exponentially each year. You can test the waters by exploring some of the free trials for software tools available (tableau is the one I use). Data science and Data security (IT) functions are pretty different in my opinion but they are both offer exciting career opportunities and they both are in growing fields within Tech.

Patrick recommends the following next steps:

Check out a few free software downloads from data visualization tools and try your own hand at exploring some sample data. Lots of great programs out there.
Volunteer to create/assist a non profit as you learn to gain experience
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Julia’s Answer

I have my Bachelor's in Marketing and have decided to continue my education to receive my Master's in Business Analytics and Project Management. If you are looking to utilize your background in business, going in the direction of pursuing Data Science could be very interesting because it's very helpful to be able to connect your data analysis with the actual business needs. I feel as if I have an advantage because I have the business background and can apply that to my findings from coding.
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karthik’s Answer

The degree needed for a job in cybersecurity depends on which career path you choose. If you’re interested in an entry job you may be able to enter cybersecurity with a bachelor’s degree.
Most jobs in cybersecurity will require a bachelor’s degree in an IT field such as computer science or information technology. Some security jobs will require a master’s degree in cybersecurity, such as a masters in computer engineering or a masters in data science. A higher level of education may qualify you for advanced job opportunities
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karthik’s Answer

In comparing Machine Learning, Cyber Security, and Data Science, i find that Data Science leads to the highest average earnings of the three. There are a number of readily-available, flexible and affordable choices for earning an Online Degree in Data Science as well. But is this the right degree for you? Data Scientists must wear many hats, and wield a variety of interdisciplinary skills. These top-paid professionals are expected to possess mastery in a broad range of technical skills, from analysis to engineering, as well as business acumen. Unlike many IT positions, this role involves actively driving business decisions and communicating with professionals in managerial and leadership positions. To sum up, a top Data Scientist will be comfortable in the domains of customer/user insights, analytics skills, statistical skills, programming skills, machine learning skills, data visualization, and communication. That’s a tall order, and the justification behind the high salary
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Sydney’s Answer

Hello!
I would like to say what my dad always says: "security is rising and will always be needed" & I completely agree with him. Cyber security will *always* be needed in the technology field. We'll always want to have out data protected so I think by moving into cyber security you'll be able to secure a job and ensure that job will last for a long time. Luckily, I don't believe a robot can take this job quite yet.
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Liam’s Answer

Like others said, depends on what you want to do. Your level of technical acumen is less important than what you truly desire. Follow your heart. If you honestly like what you've been studying and want to pursue that as a career, the data science path will give you a solid foundation to take with you into your first job. Which ever path you decide, go all in!

Good Luck!
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Zhe’s Answer

Salary perspective, cybersecurity is having a higher salary than data science. But the question for your is how do you want to choose your future, only based on salary or your interest. Both career would need you to learn some more programming languages and have a deeper understand of coding. But since you are studying business major now, chase a data science career may be a better choice for you. Data scientist are using different machine learning models to solve business questions or get business insights from data. You have the business knowledge which can help you understand the business problems faster and you will know what is having more business value.
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Race’s Answer

Dear Kelly,

To be very honest with you, Business and Information Technology are two different filed, however, if you find it interested in IT filed, we encourage you to try.

For the higher salary within Cybersecurity or Data Science, we believe is Cybersecurity since internet usage involved peoples daily lives, nowadays, every size of companies will need the IT person for securing they internal network for avoiding hackers.

But one thing you need to clarify with the Master degree you are willing to apply, is there any IT knowledge requirement (like related certificates) before you apply for? If so, we suggest you to study related course before you go for Master degree.

Best wish!
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Suraj’s Answer

To add pointers, I come from a security back-ground. I would like to back Cybersecurity is right now a very sparkling career to have. The new era of digital world has also unearthed a lot of loop holes in Cybersecurity.

The 1st and foremost suggestion is do you have passion of getting into cybersecuirty: if you check box this then you should be taking up the masters. You may have very less known facts of the career options or market looking for cyber experts, but believe me for next couple of decades Security will have a very important role to play on the digital network.

I would also like to give you some career opportunities across industry for Cybersecurity : Few are Entrepreneurship opportunities and few are Jobs in market
Chief infoec officier, Forensic expert, Security Architect, Security Developer, Security Audit officer, Security Consultant.

Suraj recommends the following next steps:

My suggestion would be to look for these topics for your interest : Confidentiality Integrity and Availability Pyramid, Threat Environment,Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing , Web application security
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Kuntesh’s Answer

Your career prospect and future success will depend on you, your Attitude and your ability to stay Curious throughout your career. You will not go wrong with either options (Data Science and Cybesecurity) as both are good paths to have a gainful employment for decades to come.

Here is some food for thought on both and you need to also consider day to day activities, environment and culture
- Cybersecurity : You will have more customer-facing meetings, industry is more dynamic which means you will have to be a lifelong learner and you will be not get bored solving problems everyday. (I would recommend this more than Data Science)
- Data Science : You need to have more analytical mindset.

In addition, for more clarity, I would recommend you to think of this below exercise (we in Sales put ourselves in our Customer shoes to help them solve business problems).
- reach out to Cybersecurity professional and Data Science professional to understand their what Day in the Life looks like, what they like or dislike about their work, and what excites them about it.

Since you have basic understanding of technical know-how you will be able to learn and adapt on both the career options...

Good Luck and All the Best!
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David’s Answer

With your unique combination of skills and experience, I would go with Data Science. That expertise is desperately needed in the marketing field and I would view your technical expertise as "icing on the cake". As a marketer, I would ecstatic to find someone who understood my marketing objectives, could create/analyze the data to support that and be able to translate my needs to technical teams and vice versa.

In my opinion, having a degree in business/marketing, and then pivoting to cybersecurity, would essentially waste that first degree. The types of jobs you'd find with that masters would take you away from the business/marketing side of the house and more exclusively into the IT side.
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Rayna’s Answer

Hey there!
First it really depends on what you're more passionate about. If you're leaning towards something because you enjoy it more then definitely move towards that option. I say that because all of the options require lots of hard work and if you enjoy what you're doing, it makes the world of difference.

If you're not leaning towards any, I'd say look at some short online courses to get a feel for both before you make a decision. Even then if you're not leaning a certain way, I'd say data science opens more doors and could lead to many different options in your career. Good luck and I hope this helps!
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Nathan’s Answer

It very much depends on your interests! Having a Cybersecurity background and IT in general. If it was myself, I would focus on what the job markets look like for each of the career paths you are looking at. Cybersecurity has a HUGE upside when it comes to job openings. The shortage of cybersecurity talent by 2021 will be more than 3.5 million people...
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John’s Answer

In the last few years Cybersecurity has become a requirement for small businesses to do work for the government. Many small businesses can't comprehend this thus growing need for people to help them do this. Also, more companies have to do this because so easy to get hacked. It's a growing need and will grow quicker as people realize they need it. You can search Linked-In, the internet, etc. for this and see the types of jobs that are available. Also, check out the companies that support computers, networks and you'll see how many are starting to offer this support.

If you like this area may be a good path to pursue.

John recommends the following next steps:

Contact a company that provides Cybersecurity and ask them if they can show you what they do. You can probably find presentations online that you can download.
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Joel’s Answer

Hi Kelly,

If you are finishing up your undergraduate, I would recommend you get into the workplace first. I believe it is the best way for you to see for yourself. Is it challenging? Is it something you will like to do as a job? Is it something you expected? All this will help you answer this question. Every situation/individual is different - you will only know once you try it. You will also eventually find that job prospects and salary will be determined by you.

Good luck.
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