RE: University Degree or CISSP

["Spahn, Louis" <LSpahn () wilsoncook com>]

I have been in industry for a while and just obtained my CISSP and I
have an Associates degree, working toward BS now. The reality is certs
and degrees are just a HR function. You can be very qualified on paper
and not have the necessary skills to do that job. I have seen this in
both cases but more so with degree people and low level certs (such as
A+ or Network+) than high level certifications such as CCNP/CCIE, RHCE
or CISSP. 


I do have to disagree with one thing though. Certain certifications,
such as the cissp, require much more study than almost any college class
I have ever taken and cover a lot of information. There is no midterm
gauge of how you are doing, you test- then pass or fail, period. Also in
college you have a peer group to work with which generally is not
available to people seeking high level certifications. This, in my
opinion, helps build confidence in the material and your ability which
is key to success in almost any field. College does force you to learn
skills outside your technical base which are important. I have to write
security briefings for our VP once a month so the English and technical
writing I took in college is important.

I guess the reality is you have to be well rounded as well as have
technical expertise. You need both. I would find a program that prepares
you for the CISSP while obtaining your degree. Kill two birds with one
stone.

Lou Spahn
Network Security Engineer
CISSP,MCSE,CCNA

-----Original Message-----
From: nds2a () alumni virginia edu [mailto:nds2a () alumni virginia edu] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 10:33 AM
To: security-basics () securityfocus com
Subject: Re: University Degree or CISSP

I'd go for the University degree. I think it gives you a much better
understanding of a larger range of material than a certification. For
example, you may get to spear-head your own computer security projects,
possibly working within a team, conduct tests and report results to an
actual audience. Although this could be done in your spare time, it's
much more meaningful and you may gain more experience from doing it in
an academic environment. As far as industry acceptability, it's
important to realize that more people are getting degrees nowadays.
Therefore, it may definately be to your future advantage to have one as
well. Also, its certainly possible to do some certifications while
you're getting your degree. But I don't think studying for a
certification is in anyway comparable to earning a degree.