Need for college, verses formal training and certifications, in the security field.

[Daniel Holiday <dehaul () gmail com>]

First, I am not really in the security field - I am a software
developer, so I do try to write code securely. And it is fun to go and
break things now and again ;)

I think Ray has this totally correct. You really need to be book smart
AND have real world smarts in order to be effective in the tech
industry.

Make sure you get a degree - but while you are getting the degree,
make sure you are taking it to the limit so you have some of the same
experiences as someone in the real world. Pain is your friend. Do not
just do the course work.

And it doesn't matter if you are at Purdue like Ray or some small
college. You can learn a lot if you just sit down and study it.

I spent a lot of time wiring code for AVR micro-controllers (before
this easy Arduino thing), soldering stuff together, making gentoo work
on my cheapie laptop, setting up a computer lab of old computers and
doing things to them to see what would happen - none of these things
were part of the normal coursework.

Ray is also right: DO NOT JUST USE WINDOWS. Anyone who just stuck with
the Windows did not do as well as those that knew how to get any OS to
work. Make your daily OS some crazy linux so you learn.

You will be head and shoulders above all the other candidates for a
job if you put this kind of effort into it.

And even after you get that job, you will have to push yourself to stay current.

Good luck,

dehaul
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