Wanted: Junior cybersecurity staff with 10 years' experience and a PhD

ISC2’s hiring trends study critiques unrealistic requirements in entry-level cybersecurity roles—such as expecting advanced certifications—and urges clearer must-have versus nice-to-have qualifications, more on-the-job training, and broader talent pipelines from nontraditional backgrounds. The report highlights demand for teamwork and problem-solving alongside technical focus areas like cloud and data security, notes Security+ as a key entry credential, and observes a shifting market favoring specialists amid layoffs and AI-driven automation, with public sector pay constraints particularly notable in the UK.