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NIT (Ninja in Training) looking for guidance.
From: infolookup at gmail.com (infolookup at gmail.com)
Date: Wed, 13 May 2009 11:11:31 +0000
I am somewhat right where you are and since SANs and other training are currently not in my budget what I normally do is look over the various conference presentations once the are release, I try to recreate some of the proof of concepts, and recently I have been hanging out and downloading tons of information from SANs reading room. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: Robin Wood <dninja at gmail.com> Date: Wed, 13 May 2009 10:17:29 To: PaulDotCom Security Weekly Mailing List<pauldotcom at mail.pauldotcom.com> Subject: Re: [Pauldotcom] NIT (Ninja in Training) looking for guidance. A similar question was recently asked on the security focus pentest list, have a look at the archives for Elizabeth Tolson <elizabethtolson at gmail.com> date 17 April 2009 15:11 She is starting at a different level to you but there are some answers that may help. My suggestion is find an area you are interested in and start digging in it. Either get involved with a tool, modifying/improving it if you can or just using it and giving feedback, maybe write a tutorial for it, or find an area that you don't think isn't currently explained well for beginners and have a go at documenting it yourself. The more you put yourself out there and get involved the more and quicker you'll learn things. Don't worry if things you put out seem too easy, remember, if you struggled before you learnt the skill then others will also be struggling. Robin 2009/5/13 Dancing Dan <d4ncingd4n at gmail.com>:
I was in your shoes at one time. I changed careers without a degree at a time when I was the sole support of my stay-at-home wife and small children. Here are my suggestions: 1. Believe in yourself. You will face setbacks along the way but, you must never give up. Part of the reward of the accomplishment is the difficulty of the task. Your task will take time and much effort but, it can be accomplished. 2. Learn to understand business principles and not strictly technical issues. You will need the ability to communicate your ideas to the business people. If you can speak "non-tech" as well as "tech" you will demonstrate your value. 3. Learn to deal with people, even difficult people. Enemies can harm your career, allies will build your career. Listen to other people. Realize that you can learn something from everyone. Do not fall into the "alpha-geek" trap that can limit your career. 4. Be prepared to do more than is expected. Be willing to help others. See #3. 5. Network. Look at the ISSA, Infraguard, etc. Put a profile on LinkedIn. Volunteer for charities or non-profits. Build a reputation as someone that is knowledgeable, dependable, enthusiastic, and pleasant. If you are incredibly talented and completely unknown, you are limiting your options. 6. Be patient for the right opportunity. Realize that some companies will not hire you without a degree regardless of your skills. Be prepared to "pay your dues" for a period of time in a demanding position with little reward. Remember that salary is only part of the equation. After a certain point, opportunities for training/advancement can out-weigh salary. 7. Pursue free training as much as possible, obtain certifications as your experience and skill level permits. Always reach a little higher than where you are now. Invest in yourself. 8. Don't lose sight of why you are working. Make time for your family. Your children will grow up way too fast before you realize what happened. Make sure you put away some money for retirement and your children's education. 9. Learn a broad variety of skills. I recommend working as a Sys Admin for a while to gain skills and experience. Good Luck! BartNick, Hey we all got to start somewhere. the best advice i can give is from my own experience. Earlier in life i was almost done with med school when i realized computers wouldn't sue me for making a mistake :) I started out as a lineman for the local cable company, quickly moving into cablemodem installs, then up to a tech support role in the call center. from there i took a couple of certs got a+, mcsa, security+. i completely relate to the money situation, when i was doing this i had 2 in diapers, wife stayed at home. What i found out is investing in yourself will pay off. a year later i got mcse + security and ccna, within 3 months i was able to double my salary. 8 years and several certs later i hold a director level position for a large BPO firm. Keep in mind these things are not going to happen overnight. Take a chance and invest in yourself and it will pay off in the long run. Good luck!! start off with the fundamentals.... get some network / system admin time under your belt. in due time youre security chi will develop - Vinny_______________________________________________ Pauldotcom mailing list Pauldotcom at mail.pauldotcom.com http://mail.pauldotcom.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pauldotcom Main Web Site: http://pauldotcom.com
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