DHS bigwig 'adamantly opposed' to degree fetishism

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/26/no_degree_needed_for_infosec_pros/

By Jack Clark in San Francisco
The Register
26th February 2013

RSA 2013 HR and in-house recruitment types should get rid of the myopic idea 
that to work in IT you must have been to university, says a Department of 
Homeland Security honcho.

Many "corporate and government jobs actually require a college degree or 
equivalent work experience," DHS deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity Mark 
Weatherford, told El Reg at security circus RSA on Monday. "I am adamantly 
opposed to that idea."

Though many of these jobs specify that equivalent experience is acceptable in 
lieu of a degree, "there's still an expectation" among bureaucratic 
organizations that wannabe security workers will have gone to university.

This expectation can make life difficult for candidates, Weatherford said, 
noting he'd been in interviews where otherwise sparkling candidates were probed 
about their lack of university experience. "They just melt," he said.

[...]


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