In April this year, I attended an ecommerce conference in Cape Town, South Africa. The conference was attended by just over a thousand delegates. The conference hall was packed as keynotes commenced. Starting with an overview of artificial intelligence, followed by a deep dive into the latest FinTech solutions. Just before the third keynote, on the topic of cybersecurity, about half of the delegates left the room. They either went to the expo or to get coffee. But they left the room.

While the exact number is often debated, the fact that there are more cybersecurity jobs than there are people to fill it is not disputed. For several reasons, a career in cybersecurity might seem like a good idea. When approached correctly, a decent salary is almost inevitable, but should never be the primary reason for wanting to pivot into a cybersecurity career.