Re: Career Choice

[Joseph Forbes <jftitan () gmail com>]

Kirk, 

  I will second Britton's thoughts on what will be needed of you once
you graduate from school. I can also admit that it is true that the
two options available to you are real. Either have a very nice resume
that shows that you have spent your time wise, and well during school
within the security field. OR know someone within the field to give
you the heads up on a opening within the job market, or company
needing administrators.  I have been in corporate scale network
solutions for over five years, and I am just now finishing up my
Bachlers degree in Network Security.  Of course I have been a
fortunate person within my teens to already be involved with
technology.  I started young, and I have a resume to show for it.

  If your not already working for a company as a "lowly" tech, then I
suggest to get your feet wet and get into it. Course, if your already
in a high paying job, and making the choice to expand your horizon,
then stick with your job, however start volunteering for anything
technical/network related.

  If your in San Antonio (which I would bet not) then I can offer a
Intern position...  just follow the signature.


On Tue, 8 Mar 2005 13:11:42 -0500, Britton, Jeff B.
<JBBritton () lmus leggmason com> wrote:
> I've been in security for appx 2 years now, and I can't begin to tell you
> how much programming experience helps.  An overall programming language
> class is critical - to understand the building blocks of all languages, both
> sequential and object oriented.
>
> Not only do you become capable of automating many parts of your job (which
> in turn saves time and $$...something every manager likes to see) but you
> are also able to get a much better handle on specific vulnerabilies/expoits
> and how they directly affect whatever you are investigating.
>
> Be very careful when you get into MIS or CIS... I was a COSC major and can
> tell you that CIS and MIS are much broader degree's, and for lack of a
> better term, much easier than COSC or similar.  If you want to break into
> the security industry right out of school, you'll probably need one of two
> things...
> 1. A darn impressive resume
> 2. An inside contact to get you a job
>
> Best of luck.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Richard Kirk [mailto:saviente () gmail com]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 8:10 AM
> To: security-basics () securityfocus com
> Subject: Career Choice
>
> I am currently a student at DeVry University studding Network
> Communications Management. My true concentration is in security
> forensics.
>
> In any case the more I looking into vulnerabilities and network flaws
> the issues come from within the programming of the
> application/protocol etc. and most assaults use multiple programming
> languages to execute these attacks.
>
> I have two questions, the first is should I be learning how to
> program? My current studies have only one programming language course
> (Intro to Java). Second, will the Bachelors degree I'm getting help me
> get into the field I'm looking for or should I change my major to
> something else such as MIS or CIS?
>
> Thank You for your time
> Best Regards
>
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-- 
Joseph Forbes  "Don't Forget to Salt the Fries!"
Network Security Administrator
SwapNEtwork eXtreme, Inc. 
jftitan () satx rr com (jftitan () swapnetx com)
cell 210.834.3450 fax 775.415.9280