Despite being laid off from her hotel job at age 30, this individual now earns $125,000 without a bachelor's degree thanks to this one skill.

Ayana Dunlap successfully switched careers and boosted her income potential during a summer, all without a bachelor's degree or any financial investment.

In June 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Dunlap was let go from her position as a senior sales manager at the Hilton Garden Inn Tysons Corner in Virginia, as hotels and restaurants closed down.

Since she was a teenager, Dunlap had always dreamed of pursuing a career in hospitality. However, now that she was back in the field, she felt like it was "impossible" to achieve her dream.

Dunlap, 30, recalls how he spent years working in the same industry and building up his career, only for the pandemic to put it on an indefinite hold.

Dunlap was concerned that her job prospects would be restricted without a bachelor's degree, as she only had an associate's degree in business administration and had exclusively worked in hospitality until then.

One of Dunlap's friends informed her about a free online course she had seen advertised on Google: a 15-week IT support course from Per Scholas, a national tech training non-profit based in New York.

Dunlap obtained three certifications: Google IT support, CompTIA Security+, and CompTIA Network+, as part of the program. Additionally, Per Scholas collaborates with U.S. employers to recommend candidates from their boot camps for tech job openings.

In August, Dunlap began the program and graduated in November with an offer for a hybrid job as a tier 2 technical support engineer at designDATA, an IT services and consulting firm based in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Since 2020, she has been working in tech and is currently the vice president of operations and information technology at the Bank Policy Institute, a public policy, research, and advocacy group that represents U.S. banks in Washington, D.C.

Dunlap's salary in her current role is $125,000 per year, according to financial documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. She says this salary would have been unimaginable at this point in her career if she had stayed in hospitality.

Dunlap landed a six-figure tech job without a bachelor's degree, and she attributes her success to cybersecurity.

Companies have an 'incredible need' for cybersecurity skills

As more businesses shift online, the number of cyberattacks is increasing. The FBI has reported a 300% increase in cybercrimes since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The demand for cybersecurity experts increases as the threat of cyberattacks intensifies.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the number of cybersecurity jobs will increase by 32% in the next ten years, which is significantly higher than the average growth rate for all occupations.

Dunlap has observed that cybersecurity skills are frequently mentioned as a requirement or bonus in job descriptions for new tech jobs. She notes that hiring managers have expressed their admiration for her Comp TIA Security+ certification.

Dunlap obtained the Comp TIA Security + certification through the Per Scholas program, which verifies their ability to pursue an IT security career with skills in risk management and threat response.

According to Comp TIA's website, the cost to obtain the Security + certification can vary from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.

Several organizations and colleges, including Google, Amazon Web Services, Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania, offer cybersecurity certificates at a lower cost. Additionally, there are free training programs, such as the Per Scholas program, that provide certification at no cost.

There is a particularly urgent need for cybersecurity professionals in financial services, health care, and government, according to Lisa Gevelber, Google's chief marketing officer for the Americas, in November 2023.

There's a high demand for cybersecurity professionals, but employers are struggling to find qualified candidates. Despite this, they are willing to pay six figures to attract top talent in the field.

According to BLS data, the median salary for cybersecurity analysts is $112,000, while the median salary for cybersecurity managers is $164,070.

"According to Dunlap, learning cybersecurity is a valuable skill to acquire in order to enter the tech industry. Cybersecurity is applicable across various industries and has been instrumental in advancing his career."

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