Service for America: Cyber Is Serving Your Country

By National Cyber Director Harry Coker, Jr.

Throughout our history, generation after generation of Americans have stepped up to meet the challenges of their day, protecting and serving our Nation in a variety of ways. Rationing everyday essentials like gasoline and food to support a war effort. Raising money to combat polio. Putting on a uniform and risking their lives to defend the rights and freedoms of this country. Today, we face a new challenge and with it a new opportunity to serve: defending cyberspace.

Every day in our Nation, we Americans find ourselves up against bad actors in cyberspace, whether they are foreign Governments or cyber criminals. They threaten the security of our schools, hospitals, small businesses, state, local, Tribal, and territorial Governments (SLTT), as well as critical infrastructure. It is crucial that we have a strong cyber workforce to address these threats and strengthen our resistance to them.

Our Nation has a critical need for cyber talent. Today, there are approximately 500,000 – half a million! – open cyber jobs in the United States and that number is only going to grow as more services and products go online with the expansion of technologies like artificial intelligence. In an increasingly digital and interconnected world, all cyber jobs are vital to our national security and serve our public interest.

To help meet this need, the White House Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD), in partnership with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM), is proud to announce Service for America, the Biden-Harris Administration’s recruiting, hiring, and engagement sprint, aimed at preparing our country for a digitally-enabled future by connecting Americans to good-paying, meaningful jobs in cyber, technology, and artificial intelligence. These jobs offer an opportunity to serve our country by protecting our national security, while also offering a personal path to prosperity.

Many Americans do not realize that a cyber career is available to them. There is a perception that you need a computer science degree and a deeply technical background to get a job in cyber. The truth is, cyber jobs are available to anyone who wants to pursue them. Cyber professionals are part of a dynamic and diverse modern workforce and individuals from all backgrounds and disciplines have a place.

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda is facilitating cyber job creation in every industry, paving the way for even more opportunities in communities across the country. ONCD, along with Federal, SLTT, and private sector participants, is committed to lowering barriers and broadening pathways, ensuring that there are multiple opportunities available for anyone who wants to launch a career in cyber.

As part of the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES), we are promoting best practices that make cyber jobs more accessible to individuals from all backgrounds in any part of the country.

• We are working to remove unnecessary degree requirements, moving toward a skills-based approach that emphasizes candidates’ ability to perform a job, rather than where they acquired their skills. Here, the Federal Government is leading the way by transitioning information technology positions to skills-based practices.
• We are expanding work-based learning, such as through registered apprenticeships, which allow Americans to continue earning income while they learn new skills. Earlier this summer, the Biden-Harris Administration announced an additional $244 million investment for registered apprenticeships in growing industries, including cybersecurity.
• We are lifting up locally-driven efforts, which bring together employers, academia, local Governments, and non-profits to best meet the specific training, education, and workforce needs in their communities. Since January of this year, we have traveled to 11 states and visited 14 community colleges, universities, and cyber centers to hear about the incredible work already being done, learn and share best practices, and understand how ONCD and its Federal partners can best support their efforts.

The demand for skilled cyber talent is a challenge, but also an incredible opportunity. These jobs offer Americans from all backgrounds – including veterans and military spouses, single parents, career changers, and rural workers – good-paying and meaningful careers.

ONCD and its partners will be sharing information about career fairs, job postings, and other resources to connect job seekers with employers and help them on their journey into cyber.

Choosing a cyber career means choosing service to our country. We are grateful for all the cyber workers who keep us safe every day. Service for America will help our country prepare for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges (and opportunities!) in cyberspace.

Find more information about Service for America and connect to cyber jobs here Service for America | ONCD | The White House.

For more about our work to build the Nation’s cyber workforce, visit www.whitehouse.gov/cyberworkforce.