A Career Interest Inventory for Cybersecurity: Development and Initial Validation

What Did This Cybersecurity Research Find?

This cybersecurity career assessment study developed a career interest inventory specific to security work roles and validated it across 2,000 participants. The cybersecurity career interest inventory identified six distinct interest clusters that mapped to NICE Framework work role categories with good convergent validity.

Key Findings

• 1Six interest clusters emerged: Defend, Investigate, Build, Govern, Analyze, and Test
• 2Interest clusters aligned with NICE Framework categories with good convergent validity (r = 0.45-0.62)
• 3Interest-role fit predicted job satisfaction at 2-year follow-up (r = 0.38)
• 4The inventory reliably differentiated between security specialization preferences
• 5Students who chose roles aligned with their interest profile reported 27% higher job satisfaction

How Does This Apply to Cybersecurity Careers?

Career explorers can use interest inventories to identify which cybersecurity specialization aligns with their preferences. This supports more informed career decisions.

Who Should Read This?

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