You can find plenty of stories online from students in technical fields sharing their worries about school and their career path. One computer engineering student complained about the lack of hands-on experience, saying he was so used to learning theory that he had no idea how to apply it at work. Another student, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, worried that he hadn’t picked up any of the practical skills employers actually want, and joking that McDonald’s is the only place he’ll be able to get a job.

Students, especially those at technical universities, often don’t see the practical value in what they’re learning. As a result, many don’t know what to do next or how to find a job. Here’s a look at where that anxiety comes from, what steps can help overcome it, and why knowing the basics of cybersecurity can come in handy for anyone starting out in a technical field.

Where the anxiety comes from, and what to do about it

The most important thing to know about the fear of not living up to your potential is that it’s completely normal to feel it. American clinical psychologist, Meg Jay, in her book The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter — And How to Make the Most of Them Now, argues that the years between 20 and 30 are some of the toughest. A person not only runs into their first, often unsuccessful, work experiences and makes bad decisions (“many firsts and worsts”), but also feels unsure of themselves. Reasons may vary. For example, according to Harvard’s Making Caring Common project, 34% of young people aged 18–25 reported feeling lonely, while 58% said they felt their lives lacked “meaning or purpose”. Half of respondents said not knowing what to do with their lives was hurting their mental wellbeing.

That said, Meg Jay writes that this decade plays a key role, since it’s when people make 80% of their major life decisions. According to the psychologist, many young people believe they need to work out what to do with their lives before they can start taking action. Jay, however, disagrees with this approach. She offers the concept of identity capital: the combination of education, work experience, skills, and connections that makes young people valuable professionals. Even without full confidence in a career choice, taking small steps like applying for an internship or taking an extra course can help build a meaningful path for professional growth. On top of that, it’s important for young people to figure out what they enjoy doing, what they’re good at, what the world needs, and, of course, what people are willing to pay them for.

Which skills are sure to come in handy

The concept of identity capital is especially relevant for students in technical fields. According to the World Economic Forum, an average of 39% of workers’ current skills will be transformed or become outdated by 2030. That’s why one should not only stick to one’s chosen field of study, but also build skills in adjacent fields. The same report highlights fast-growing areas like AI, big data, computer literacy, and cybersecurity. Cybersecurity, among others, has its own advantages.

Experts note that the digital landscape is changing rapidly, and cybercriminals are taking advantage of this. Indeed, a recent study of ours found that more than half (56%) of internet users encountered scams or phishing over the past year, and the attacks themselves have become more frequent. In 2025, Kaspersky solutions detected an average of half-a-million new malicious files per day, which is 7% more than the year before.

Human error remains a leading cause of security incidents. For this reason, employers want to make sure all their staff have at least a basic knowledge of cybersecurity: it lowers risk and reduces the cost of dealing with incidents. Knowing the basics of cybersecurity is becoming not just a competitive advantage, but also an integral part of training for professionals in every technical field.

For students, a basic understanding of cybersecurity opens the door to professional development in a wide range of consulting roles. Such professions are quite widespread — especially among young professionals with modest work experience. Against the backdrop of an acute shortage of cybersecurity professionals, these consulting services are in high demand, which is a good sign for graduates with some level of cybersecurity in their background.

The cybersecurity knowledge and practical skills of the specialists of the future are of great importance for their potential employers. For these businesses, a cyber-savvy workforce reduces the need for expensive third-party cybersecurity consultants. Even professionals who lack dedicated technical training but have reasonable digital literacy can significantly reduce the risks of security incidents — in particular in cases involving human error.

Pavel Laskov, Professor for Data and Application Security at the University of Liechtenstein

What’s more, the spread of digital resilience skills benefits not only employers, but also employees themselves: learning the basics of cybersecurity helps develop systems thinking and the ability to see the elements of a structure not as disconnected objects but as a unified whole. It also allows professionals to work across different roles and protect their personal and work data from scammers.

With that in mind, a logical step toward building your identity capital could be Kaspersky Academy’s free online course Cybersecurity. Entry Level. The course is designed for first and second-year students at colleges and universities. It helps them understand what cybersecurity is, what tools cybercriminals use, what fields and specialties information-security professionals work in, and what the future holds for the industry and those working in it.

The program was recently expanded with a new module, Security by Design, which covers information-security architecture and design of inherently secure systems.

Kaspersky’s leading experts cover every topic in the course in plain, easy-to-follow language with examples, so students get a comprehensive view of cybersecurity straight from practitioners. The course lasts one month, and students who pass the final test receive a Kaspersky Academy certificate.

The main goal of the course is to raise students’ awareness of cybersecurity, and teach them how to protect themselves against the most common types of cyber-incidents. During the course, students will gain knowledge and skills that will serve them well — no matter what field of study they choose.

The course is available as video lessons on the Kaspersky Academy learning platform. To get access to the course, submit a request on the program’s website providing your academic email address (with a university or college domain).

Educational institutions can easily integrate the course into their curriculum: it’s available in SCORM — a standard e-learning format — to institutions that join our Kaspersky Academy Alliance partner program.

A breakup is a major upheaval — the kind that turns life upside down. The familiar order of things, where two people shared the same interests, moments, and often even the same physical space, collapses in an instant, leaving each of you in a world of your own.

Besides that, couples are connected not just in real life, but digitally too. Shared subscriptions, saved addresses and passwords, access to joint cloud storage — all of that used to be woven into your day-to-day life. Moving on emotionally can take a long time, sure, but there are steps you can take right now that will tighten up your security — even if they won’t help you get over your ex.

Here’s what you need to check after a breakup, which services to disconnect, and why you should do it even if the split was amicable.

Digital hygiene: your insurance policy

Cutting off your ex’s access to your online accounts isn’t paranoia — it’s looking out for your own security. A breakup doesn’t automatically sever your digital ties: any access you granted each other during the relationship stays active until someone manually shuts it down. Most of the time, nobody’s plotting to actually exploit it, yet it can still lead to anything from awkward moments to a genuine risk of being tracked.

Take Aleta Dignard-Fung, of Las Vegas, who told NPR that after breaking up with her boyfriend, it didn’t immediately occur to her that he still knew her Spotify password. One day, in the shower with music playing, she noticed her playlist suddenly switch. Her ex had logged in from another device and started playing his own chosen tracks. “It was just kind of like the Spotify wars, and we’d just spend like 10 minutes trying to override each other’s songs,” she admitted. But the fallout isn’t always this lighthearted.

Relationship coach Susan Winter shared a case from her own practice in that same interview. One of her clients simply couldn’t let go of his ex-girlfriend after their breakup. The two had shared an OpenTable account — the restaurant reservation service — and she’d never revoked his access. He started tracking her bookings: where she was going, what time, how many people. That’s how he kept tabs on whether someone new had entered her life.

These two stories, while showing very different behavior from the exes involved, both trace back to the same root cause: accounts that were never properly locked down. In the former case, it led to an awkward moment. In the latter, it led to anxiety and a real sense of being watched. To make sure neither scenario happens to you, it’s worth running through a quick checklist.

Terminate your partner’s sessions

In the settings for your social media, messaging apps, email, and other key services, pull up the list of active sessions and log out everything except your current devices.

Change your passwords

Update the passwords to any key accounts your partner might have known — say, if you used a meaningful date as your password. If you reused the same password across multiple services, change it everywhere. While you’re at it, review your security questions and your backup email or phone number for account recovery — neither should still be tied to your ex. To skip the hassle of memorizing new credentials while still leveling up your security, we recommend using a password manager — it’ll generate a unique, strong password for every account, and save and sync it across all your devices; the only thing you need to remember is a single main password.

Check two-factor authentication and trusted devices

Make sure verification codes only go to your own device. Remove your partner’s devices from your trusted list — you can do this in your Apple and Google account settings.

Split up your shared Apple/Google accounts

If you shared an Apple or Google account, sign out of that. Turn off Family Sharing, iCloud, and backups. Check your shared photo albums too — anything that lands there automatically is visible to your ex as well.

Review your subscriptions

If you shared subscriptions — streaming services, family plans, that kind of thing — cancel them or set up new ones and link your own card.

Check your bank cards

If your ex’s card is linked to a marketplace, delivery app, or rideshare service account you own, remove it from your saved payment methods. If your card is linked to their account and you no longer have access to it, the safest move is to just get your card reissued.

Revoke smart home access

Cut off your ex’s access to cameras, video doorbells, GPS trackers, and smart speakers. If the devices were on a shared account, change the password or move them over to your own personal account.

Review your privacy settings

Check the privacy settings across your accounts on various services and social media using our free online tool, Privacy Checker. It walks you through a privacy configuration tailored to your operating system, platform, and even your browser.

If you notice signs of stalking

Reach out to advocacy or legal aid organizations — they can help you map out the best course of action. It’s also worth leaning on family and close friends who can support you through a tough situation. On Android devices, you can use our security suite with the Who’s Spying on Me feature. It’s designed to help you detect tracking and stalking so you can take the right steps to protect yourself. The feature includes:

• Stalkerware Detection. Flags apps designed to secretly monitor your life and collect data you’d never want shared with anyone else.
• Device Scanner. Finds planted trackers that let someone follow your movements and always know where you are.
• Permissions Control. Shows which apps have access to permissions that could make it easier for someone to spy on you or compromise your privacy.

What can actually help — and what might make things worse — during this difficult time? Check out our other posts:

• Love, AI & robots
• What happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom
• How chatting with a bot can lead to tragedy
• AI and the new reality of sextortion
• Digital detox: How to take a safe break from screens
• Subscription security: how to protect your account, your wallet… and your sanity