RE: Education and Security

["Billy Dodson" <billy () pmm-i com>]

I have looked into that Degree plan also.  One thing you might think
about is getting your BS in Computer Science, then going on to get their
masters of science in information assurance.  The security courses you
take are the same for both their BA in Infrastructure Assurance and the
Masters.  I chose computer science (not yet complete) because that was
really the only thing offered when I got out of high school.  I plan on
transferring to UTSA when my fiance finishes her course work here.  CS
is a well rounded core of programming type stuff, with no real specifics
on anything.  I believe you could learn to program better on your own.
But most jobs posted want a computer science/computer engineering
degree, that is why I chose the path.  You might look into the dual
degree plan, but I would defiantly look at their masters program if you
still plan to get the CS degree.   


Billy Dodson
Network Systems Engineer
Permian Micro Mart
3815 E. 52nd Street
Odessa, TX 79762
432.367.3239 - Direct Line
432.367.6179 x139

-----Original Message-----
From: Andy Blair [mailto:blai0015 () umn edu] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2004 2:34 PM
To: Gaydosh, Adam; security-basics () securityfocus com
Cc: Daryl
Subject: Re: Education and Security

My university does not offer the IA major, but I am emphasizing in
computer security. I also got a management minor from the business
department here (University of Minnesota) which allowed me to take
courses that taught business concepts as well as technical concepts. The
electives I took for the management minor were MIS courses which most
business schools will offer. They had a course in security and another
in e-commerce which helped tie the two fields together.

My suggestion would be to focus on what you want to do with your
security degree. If you want to work in a corporate or consulting
environment with businesses, the Infrastructure Assurance might be a
better focus. If you would rather do secure programming, academic or lab
research on security, the CS degree would be the way to go. Because of
the different core courses you'll need, double-majoring might be long
and expensive. I would pick one as a focus and try to round out the
other with electives or a minor.

Good luck!

Andy



On 7 Apr 2004, Gaydosh, Adam wrote:
> dual-major!  You will ultimately want a balance of the skills offered 
> by
=
> both degrees for your professional career..but if you find that's not 
> = feasible, then I suggest you go for the BA, and take a few CS 
> electives = to round out your technical background.  It is 
> increasingly important = that the techies can use their skills to 
> enable business, not just = support it.  Also, I find that most 
> undergradutate CS programs teach you
=
> core concepts, but often not much of the actual technologies you will 
> be
=
> working with out of school...so that you will have to continue your = 
> technical education [even if only self-study] beyond undergraduate = 
> courses regardless of which major you choose...HTH!
>
> -adam
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Daryl [mailto:dwalleck () satx rr com]
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 10:38 AM
> > To: security-basics () securityfocus com
> > Subject: Education and Security
> >
> >
> >    I believe questions similar to this have been asked before but my

> > version is a bit different. I'm currently a computer science major 
> > (not too far along) who's always been interested in the security 
> > field. I chose CS for a major since it was the closest thing. 
> > Recently=20 my college began to offer a full BA in Infrastructure 
> > Assurance, their=20 version of a security degree. My only worry is 
> > that the degree plan is rooted in the school of Business and 
> > therefore requires a large core of business classes and not as much 
> > technical work (a copy of the requirements can be found here 
> > http://business.utsa.edu/undergraduate/degrees/is/BBA_IA.pdf). At 
> > this point I think I've thought the issue to death in my head and I 
> > could really use some outside input. Any thoughts?
> >
> >    Daryl Walleck
> >
> >
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethical Hacking at the InfoSec Institute. Mention this ad and get $545 off
any course! All of our class sizes are guaranteed to be 10 students or less
to facilitate one-on-one interaction with one of our expert instructors.
Attend a course taught by an expert instructor with years of in-the-field
pen testing experience in our state of the art hacking lab. Master the skills
of an Ethical Hacker to better assess the security of your organization.
Visit us at:
http://www.infosecinstitute.com/courses/ethical_hacking_training.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------