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Cybersecurity jobs skyrocket in San Diego

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Posted at 1:11 PM, Oct 08, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-10 16:54:37-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- The University of San Diego is working to give a boost to those interested in getting a foot in the door of the ever-growing field of cybersecurity.

To create the six-month program, USD partnered with a boot camp company to get people trained and employed in cybersecurity as soon as possible.

The program springs out of a need for employees.

According to a new economic report, the cybersecurity industry has a more than $2 billion economic impact on San Diego, with a total of 19,660 jobs impacted.

More than 150 cyber firms call San Diego home, according to the report. Of those, 75 percent expect to grow their cyber employment in the next 12 months.

RELATED: University of San Diego launches cybersecurity boot camp

“It's always a challenge. It's a challenging job market to find those people right now because it is such a high need across the board and across every industry,” said Andy Haass, Chief Engineer at Booz Allen Hamilton.

From 2016 to 2018, 830 new jobs were created in the field in San Diego alone. The 11 percent increase is faster than the regional employment increase of 3 percent.

That’s great news for San Diegans hoping for a fresh start in a new career. According to the report, 82 percent of firms believe it’s important to be near universities doing cyber work.