UM, Missoula College Prepare Next Generation of Cybersecurity Professionals

By Skylar Rispens, UM News Service

MISSOULA – Growing up, Jace Reddick had an aptitude for technology and assumed the role as de facto computer support specialist at home helping his mom set up and navigate her cell phone.

After graduating high school, he spent a few years playing college football in North Dakota before he made his way to Missoula College of the University of Montana to pursue his passion and earn an associate’s degree in software and app development. However, he found coding to be frustrating and tedious and eventually discovered that perhaps a career in cybersecurity would better resonate with him.

Now, he’s in his senior year at UM pursuing a bachelor’s degrees in cybersecurity and management information systems through the College of Business and works with UM Information Technology as a security analyst.

“It’s amazing,” Reddick said. “I always had an interest in working in tech, but these experiences just solidified it. I feel very confident in where I’m going and am excited to continue learning this school year. You never stop learning in this field.”

From certificates in computer support and cloud computing, to degrees in cybersecurity, management information systems and more, students can explore a wide array of tech careers between UM and Missoula College that lead to careers that are high-demand with competitive wages.

For example, a student with a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity could go on to a career as an information security analyst, where the median pay in 2023 was $120,000 for a field that is projected to grow about 33% in the next 10 years, according to the Department of Labor Statistics.

“I often make the statement that modern information technology is cybersecurity, because really, you can’t have IT without security,” said Vic Valgenti, program director for the IT program at Missoula College. “You can’t have one without the other.”

In response to the growing need for cybersecurity professionals, UM’s College of Business began offering a Bachelor of Science degree in cybersecurity. The new degree is a collaboration between the College of Business and the Missoula College, where students pursuing the bachelor’s degree take two years of cyber classes at Missoula College before moving to courses at the main UM campus.

The associate degree is more focused on preparing students for industry certifications including COMPTIA A+, Cisco Certified Network Administration and COMPTIA Security+, which cover the basics of networking, hardware maintenance and use, as well as cybersecurity, threat analysis and other topics.

“It’s one of the areas that this country really needs,” said Shawn Clouse, professor and chair of the Department of Management Information Systems at UM’s College of Business. “Every industry needs it. There’s no part of life that isn’t touched by cybersecurity.”

Although the cybersecurity bachelor’s degree is relatively new to UM, producing graduates who become cybersecurity professionals is not.

Claire Bradley, who graduated with an MIS degree and a certificate in cybersecurity and currently works for the firm PwC in the field of governance, risk and compliance.  

“I thought cybersecurity would be good for me because a lot of the field can be very people based, so it requires a lot of knowledge both on how the business needs technology to support them and also how to build that technology,” Bradley said. “I really like the idea of being the person who’s kind of the translator in between the tech and business sides.”

Bradley graduated in 2022 and said she had no problem finding a job after graduation, particularly due to her internship experience while in school. In some cases, students may be offered a job upon completing their internship, she added.

“It’s less like you’re begging people for a job or searching super hard,” Bradley said. “The University sets you up to have very desirable qualities.”

Ashley Rodondi, who attended UM for graduate school, also did not have difficulty finding a job after graduation. Shortly after wrapping up her degree, she landed an internship with the Walt Disney Co., where she still works full-time as a security engineer.

But landing that full-time job was not guaranteed, she said. Instead, she applied what she learned from her professors at the College of Business and worked to get her foot in the door.

“I would show up every day early and be the last one to leave to really make sure they knew I wanted to be here and work here,” Rodondi said. “You know, the door is open, but now I wanted to walk through it. I got a dream job going that route and I never thought it’d be possible.”

“The people who come out of UM are just ready to go and it’s so apparent in the kids I meet and discuss opportunities with,” she continued. “They’re creating world-class workers in all fields and I’m so proud to be an alumni.”

Students also can put their skills from cybersecurity classes into practice while on campus and work for UM’s IT department. The department offers students opportunities to work should-to-shoulder with IT professionals and hone their skills in a real-world setting, and the experience can often lead to full-time work on campus after graduation, said UM Chief Information Officer Zach Rossmiller.

“The University has provided me so many opportunities to help me get to where I am today,” he said, explaining that he attended UM as a student and worked his way through the IT department, eventually becoming CIO. “That’s why I’ve worked to develop this employment pipeline so that our students can gain the real experience and help set them up for their future careers.”