Career Information please?

[T_LeBlanc]

First a little background on myself. I am 25 years old, have been in college for 5 years off and on, but have still yet to complete my degree as I've been going back and forth between career fields and the pressures of college life(at least the first few years in college). I started off at LSU in the computer science field even though IT Security/Computer Forensics is what interested me, but wasn't offered anywhere around my area except ITT Tech(which is way out of my price range). I ended up dropping out of LSU after 2 years because I was having problems with programming and calculus. Although I despise calculus and somewhat dislike programming, I know that i can get through them pretty easily as I'm an intelligent person, just was 18 and 19 at the time and was too interested in partying. I took a year off then started back in nursing, only to realize I jumped the gun because I felt like I had wasted so much time already that I wanted to do something I could make a good living with. Now I'm ready to get this show on the road and get my IT security degree, even if it means moving away from home.

I'm sorry for the long intro, just wanted to give a little background on myself. Now to the real questions;

1. My 2 roommates and I are moving to Sarasota, FL in a few months and I found a school that offers an associate's program for Network Administration and Security. So my question is, would it be better to find a 4 year Bachelors program somewhere or would a 2 year degree+some certifications suffice?

2. With an IT Security degree, what possible jobs could I land?

3. How good is the career field as far as job openings and advancement?

I guess I'm just looking for any information that will help me make the right choice as far as the route I go to get into this field, and and information about opportunity after I achieve the degree.

I'm sorry for such a long post. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Tarrant64]

I personally went with an Associates in Network Management. I went 3 years through a 4 year college to get my degree in Computer Science - but you know what? There wasn't really much in terms of hands-on networking tasks at the 4 year college. It depends on the college but I found that a community college that focuses on career paths was a better option for me. After that I just pursued certs in the direction I wanted to go. I've gone from from help desk to network administration, and am now an IT Manager. Some companies care about the 4 year degree, but I feel the people hiring for the best jobs are going to look a little deeper into what you studied, 2 or 4 years.

I think if you're going to be a programmer/developer or something it may benefit to stick with the 4 year degree in something like Computer Science. I hate calculus too, and I can do it. And I despise programming, and I can do that too. It took me a couple years to get it into my head that a 4 year degree in Computer Science was not going to help me in any kind of real world network administration so I opted to go to a career orientated college for the associates degree and I have greatly benefited with the experiences there.

 

[T_LeBlanc]

Thanks for your feedback. I'm leaning towards a 2 year "network administration and security" degree, and getting my A+, Network+, Security+, and CISCO certs. I'm just trying to get some feedback from people that have actually gone through it and are established now. So thank you.

 

[C7J0yc3]

As long as you get a degree that is really all that matters. Work experience is what counts. You get certs because they are required by a company for a position, but again certs usually mean next to nothing.

I can not stress this stuff enough and too many people in our field forget it. Just because you go to MIT and get a degree in Network security doesn't actually mean you have what it takes to do a job in network security. You know the concepts but not the practicals.

As for your certs, you have some redundancies there. Your better course of certs would be A+, MCITP, CCNA, and CISSP if you want security there. That will cover any desktop, server, network, or security question you have. And remember that as a sysadmin, or a "sole" it guy a lot of your skills get rusty because you are sucked into the same group of tasks day in, day out. As those certs cost money which you may or may not have, I would suggest getting your MCP or MCITP and CCNA, and then if a company wants to have you get a cert let them buy it.

 

[a little off]

I can give you my answer based on my observations working in IT Security for 10+ years....YMMV

1. A Bachelor of Science will help get you past the HR people if there is a requirement for that. For Security, I have seen a lot of job postings for Security stating CISSP is required, I will more then likely get mine, but it's only to get pass the HR censors, the cert itself is like all other certs. After 10 years working in the field, the only thing that a BoS is going to really gain me is the ability to get pass tough HR censors/rules if I wanted a Managerial job function, which I really don't.

I don't have a Bachelors and I have a few Certs because my boss made me get them and I have FDE, SSVPN, LogLogic, PKI, and Port Protection/DLP upgrade/builds all in my 6 month future. One of my co-workers has a MBA in IT and about 6 SANS certs and all he does it FW changes because he's an idiot. A BoS/Associate/Random cert does not replace practical knowledge.

2. Security Analyst, maybe a Security Admin.

3. As far as Job openings, in my neck of the woods, it a bit small and I live in a metro area 2 Million+ people. New York/LA maybe a lot different. I would check Monster to get a gauge on things in the area you want to live. As far as advancement, it can be good. I have seen a lot of people come to security from other areas because they thought it would be good/cool, sometimes it work for them, sometimes it doesn't. More then likely those position would be higher then a fresh grad, so it may leave space to move up.

On general career suggestions, I'll offer this:

Know what you like do to from a 50,000 foot view, and find a job where you can do that. I really like fixing/building things and I like instant gratification from doing that just. I also tend to like Server/Host based Tech.

Example: A couple of years ago I took over a FDE project from someone who started it (but didn't finish) and left the company to take a better job. The person didn't do a bad job at setting it up, but there was a lot of things to provide polish to (Fixing), and roll out to the rest of the company (Building). Spent about 6 months doing that and one day got to push the "Go" button and watch as thousands of machines started checking in as the encryption process started (Instant gratification).

Example 2: I have Forensics Cert and HATE forensics. I don't get to really build/fix anything and there is really no instant gratification from it. I find it long and very boring. I only have it because my boss wanted me to get it. If I don't have to renew it, I'd prefer to save the company the renewal fees and not get it. If I were to get laid off tomorrow, there is zero chance I would ever tell a prospective employer about it unless serious desperation kicked in.

The last thing I would say is IMHO, there are 3 general areas of Security; Host, Server & Network. If you are take a job working on FW changes, you are mostly working with tech that is Network based, take a job dealing as a McAfee admin, and it's likely Host/Server. Want to deal with logs and getting data out of/into them, might be a bit more server based. The point being is it's a lot easier to ask your boss to work on a host based project if you are already work on a host based project. I do know smart people that are well versed in all three areas, but I know a lot more smart people that only focus on one or two of those areas.