Everyone repeats the same headline. Three million open cybersecurity roles. Zero percent unemployment for anyone who steps in. On paper, it looks like an opportunity machine.
Here’s the reality Raghu shared with me, and it cuts through the hype.
He told me about a family friend in India with a master’s degree in cybersecurity. Technically capable. Motivated. Job-ready for many SOC analyst roles.
But he was repeatedly rejected because he “only” has six months of real-world experience instead of five years.
That is the chicken-and-egg problem at the heart of the skills crisis. Employers say they cannot find talent. Skilled people are ready to work. And the experience bar locks them out anyway. So we end up creating our own shortage.
Are we repeating this same mistake with AI right now?
If AI tools remove large parts of entry-level work, where do tomorrow’s junior professionals learn their craft? How do they build judgment, muscle memory, and professional confidence if there is no pathway in?
Cybersecurity taught us that one tech buzzword can mask dozens of different job pathways. AI is exactly the same. Many treat it as a single discipline when in reality, there are at least 16 distinct career paths.
We need to rethink recruitment, apprenticeships, and early-career design before the ladder gets pulled up again.
If cybersecurity and AI are the backbone of our digital economy, we cannot afford a closed system that shuts out newcomers and does not upskill existing workers.
I’d love to know how you see this playing out in your organization.
You can also listen to my full conversation with Raghu Nandakumara about how Illumio is helping leaders rethink cybersecurity for a world where attacks keep happening.
https://techtalksnetwork.com/podcast/tech-talks-daily/episode/how-illumio-is-helping-leaders-rethink-cybersecurity-for-a-world-where-attacks-keep-happening
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