Cybersecurity is a great field of work and it is fairly simple to get started and have a great starting salary, but sometimes people can be misled to think that women aren’t as capable in the field as men. 

Mr. Lloyd Mann, the cyber security teacher at Shadow states, “Both girls and boys participate equally in the class.  The only difference is that the enrollment in the class seems to be predominantly male.  According to some studies this has been linked to girls not being as interested in computers as males.  The females I have in the class are just as capable as the males in the class.  In the field of cybersecurity females tend to do better as they bring a different perspective and are more social than males.”

Cyber security has become a very male dominated field over time, but Mr. Mann has also noticed that some females tend to be more social in his classes, and that they bring a different perspective to the class, which helps a lot of the girls sometimes do even better than some of the males in the class. 

Mann continues to say, “All of my students are currently participating in cyber security competitions.  They are also working towards industry credentials in the field.  They study about computers and how they work and learn about security vulnerabilities and how to patch them.  All students who have an interest in computers would benefit from taking this class and they can gather skills for a high paying career in cybersecurity with an average salary of $60,000 – $80,000.  They will also learn how to repair computers and set up computer networks.”

Students in cyber security are prepared thoroughly to jump into the cyber security field after high school. Cyber security can even benefit students who don’t plan on going into the field right away, as they learn how to repair computers and set up networks, which can prepare them for a number of other career paths they might choose. 

Females especially can benefit from things like this because it shows that they can also do something a boy could do just as well if not better. Cyber security does not have a lot of female representation, so changing that could change a lot of similar situations in other career paths, schools, or any other situation like that.

Mann states, “It has many different skills that are used to perform the job functions.  Just as both males and females can play video games, so too can both female and male students excel in cybersecurity.” 

He believes that women should be given a fair shot in the field, just as male students do. He encourages more female students to take that jump and try out his class, because it can benefit many people in the real world. The whole of the cybersecurity courses include cybersecurity one, two, Cybersecurity three honors, and cybersecurity advanced studies.

Students interested in cybersecurity should register for the classes next year, as these courses are great choices for electives.