Re: "Skills gap"?

[Kyle Creyts <kyle.creyts () gmail com>]

I know a lot of people who recently joined the workforce in IT and infosec,
and I know few enough who are happy or satisfied with their pay; part of
the problem is the way paragon status has been conferred upon those with a
trivial set of skills, a good break with the press, and sense of
opportunism.

The role models for some of the younger entrants are very successful, but
not very humble. Many have come to expect higher wages for some of these
skills, with "possession of skills and experience" being defined by the
individual and their evaluator rather than the industry as a whole, or even
a majority. I am not defining a skillset when I say "skills in pen-testing"
or "skills in data forensics" or "firewall management experience," though
it would seem many people believe that these words seem to embody such a
skillset.

It would seem that some standards (I know, it seems hard to keep standards
current with the rapid evolution of knowledge in our field) would greatly
aid in giving these people proper perspective. Knowing more about something
than anyone you know doesn't necessarily make you an expert.

As an industry, we lack some authoritative reference points to help
individuals understand where they stand in knowledge and experience.
Admittedly, we work in a field where young authority seems somewhat
commonplace. Perhaps this influences the perception of those new to the
workforce, or even those who have been around a while?

But who am I to comment? I'm just another young guy, recently having
entered the workforce...
On Nov 24, 2012 9:59 AM, "Rob, grandpa of Ryan, Trevor, Devon & Hannah" <
rmslade () shaw ca> wrote:

> I see a lot of companies complaining that they can't get skilled/trained
> infosec
> people.
>
> I see a lot of experienced infosec people out of work.
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/magazine/skills-dont-pay-the-bills.html
>
> ======================  (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus Mailer)
> rslade () vcn bc ca     slade () victoria tc ca     rslade () computercrime org
> As the harbor is welcome to the sailor, so is the last line to
> the scribe.                      - marginalia by scribe/copyist monk
> victoria.tc.ca/techrev/rms.htm http://www.infosecbc.org/links
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> http://twitter.com/rslade
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