Discussion on:

Are cybersecurity bachelor's degrees worth the time?

They are like most degrees focused on the "wants" of business. The old horse analogy set the tone right. A race horse designed by committee is a mule. Why does the world have so many types of horses or cars or weapons systems. Not one fits all jobs. If you design one to do so you will get a tool unsuited to performing well at most any job except the unglamorous ones like a mule.

These degrees are needed but they will take a while to mature. Personally I've always thought they needed to be specialties of IT and CS degrees. In my career field, mechanical engineering, a similar field industrial engineering is being absorbed into the degree as a specialty.

bboyd above has it right. that kind of cybersecurity degree (replacing coding with more policy coursework) should in my opinion be replaced with concentrations. many facets of the subject could covered by offering concentrations in computer science, computer/electrical engineering, MIS and business, both at the undergrad and graduate levels. this would ensure that schools are graduating a number of different folks (engineers, IT/IS, computer scientists and managers) that not only hit all of the security targets industry is looking for, but do it without sacrificing the technical background needed to really make it work.

are as ephemeral as the industry itself. Today it is cyber security, but two years from now who knows? Higher education should concern itself with fundamental concepts. Unfortunately colleges often go off in the weeds by teaching fundamentals without considering specific application. Thus formal education is often highly overrated by all concerned. Worse it doesn't prepare the newly minted for gainful employment outside of academia.

Thus I would have to say "run screaming" from any such specific degree. Certification program on top of a degree would be my advice. And CEU requirements for said specialty would be useful. At the very least it might formalize/normalize ongoing IT training.

It sounds like a stillborn idea.
It would be far more worthwhile to have it as a Master's Programme (2 years of narrow-field advanced studies to build on top of a Bachelor's degree that has 3 years of wide-focus general studies). Like a Bachelor's degree in Networking with a Master's programme booster pack of hardcore infosec specialization.

A graduate of a bachelor's level degree in cyber security would be pretty darn worthless as an employee, and totally unfit as a solo entrepreneur.

You need the background in hardware and software that a BS in Computer Science or Information Systems gives you as the basics. And at least 3 to 5 years of actual experience. If anything, a cyber security certificate program on top of the BS, or in conjunction with a master's program would be acceptable.

As we've discussed so many times, it depends on who's doing the hiring. If it's up to HR, then a degree which appears to fit in well with the job title could be the final deciding factor. If the IT manager gets to review the candidates, he/she will be much more likely to look for experience and background. For decades now, job postings have usually included some reference to a BS in Computer Science but also included 'or equivilent experience' buried in there as well. And even now, many of the managers started in 'Data Processing' long before there even was a degree in Computer Science and are very comfortable hiring someone who has a proven record.

I have been in IT for over 35 years.
"The Internet used to be like going to a library and looking at books. Now it is like walking through a mine field." - me
EVERYONE in IT needs serious security training!
BTW I have NO college degree, but I have been to several colleges......was even the head of IT at one.

As someone who will graduate in just less than two weeks with a bachelor's degree in Security and Risk Analysis (SRA) from Penn State, I disagree with this article. I started out in the Information Science and Technology (IST) program, but switched to SRA after it started being offered. I am a driven individual and know a great deal about IT. Often I believe that my peers and I know more about IT than regular IT majors. One of my specialties is programming even though there is only one programming class required for the SRA program. I've written an app for both iOS and Android. I've taken several of the computer science programming courses just for fun. Apart from courses centered on network security, cyber forensics, policy, the legal environment of IT, and a few others; the bulk of the course work comes from the general IT programs. The fact that my peers (both graduating this semester and next) have already accepted very promising job offers from big companies like PNC, Accenture, and Capital One shows the promise this type of degree program can have. The SRA program at Penn State is even endorsed by the NSA. I can't speak for the other universities offering cyber security programs, but the SRA program at Penn State is not what is described in this article.