Exploring the Vocational Interests of Cybersecurity Competition Participants

Abstract

The demand for cybersecurity professionals grows each year, and so do efforts to attract students to cybersecurity. One way educators, industry, and government have come together in a joint effort to train and attract talent is through cybersecurity competitions. However, it is unclear whether cybersecurity competition participants share similar interest profiles with those already employed in the field. This paper begins to explore that issue by assessing the vocational interests of cybersecurity competition participants using Holland's RIASEC model. Our results demonstrate that cybersecurity competition participants have vocational interests that can be characterized as investigative, social, and creative.