UM’s CyberMontana Will Host Two Cybersecurity Career Events

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Cybersecurity is one of the fast growing careers in the world, and the University of Montana, along with Missoula College is hosting two special events on March 7, and again on March 28.

Dave Kuntz, Director of Strategic Communications at UM, described the special events that begin this Friday.

UM's CyberMontana to Host Two Events in March

“As part of that effort, CyberMontana, which is housed over here at the Missoula College, is going to host two events this month, the first one being on Friday, March 7,” he said. “The second one will be held on Friday, March 28 where attendees can get hands-on training, meet with experts, and really start to do the prep work that's needed to compete for some of these really high-end cyber security jobs that are available.”

Kuntz said UM has helped to pioneer the growth of cybersecurity education and career opportunities.

“In recent years, the University of Montana has really made great strides forward to really be the state’s cyber security hub,” began Kuntz. “We offer everything from degree programs that are two years and four years to certificates that just need a few weeks of education to be able to enter into that cyber security workforce.”

Experts Will be on Hand to Answer Cybersecurity Career Questions

Kuntz said there will be a number of experts in the cybersecurity field to assist and answer questions for those attending the events.

“There are a lot of really high-end cyber experts across the state, and some of these folks will be able to participate at these events,” he said. “These are people who have high-level cyber security jobs, both in government and in private industry; so at these events, attendees will be able to have access to them, be able to pick their brains, gather ideas, and just better understand what workforce leaders are looking as they're starting to expand cybersecurity opportunities, both within state government, the federal government and in private industry.”

UM Offers Both Two and Four Year Cybersecurity Degrees

Kuntz said there are both two-year and full four-year degrees in cybersecurity available at UM.

“We have a four-year cybersecurity degree program at the UM main campus within the College of Business, and what makes that program really unique is that it is rooted in the College of Business, unlike a lot of other cybersecurity programs across the country, so graduates of that program are not only getting the technical cyber skills needed to succeed, but also the Business Administration and Marketing and Information System classes that we require of our business students, which is making them really competitive in the job market, both here and across the country,” he said.

Experts participating in the March 7 event include career coach Angie Thompson, Angie Wild, a technical education coach at Missoula College and Kim Schrenk who works with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.

Find a registration form here.