Why do I see most of the people complaining about certs the same ones
who don't have them. If you have them then you know that they are only a
baseline. You can assume that a person with some cert at least has a
good knowledge of the test criteria and can complete something. That's
all. It's the same with a college degree. It will only get you in the
door. Back it up with valid experience and that's what most employers
are looking for. The certs and degrees show that you can complete
something and that you have the ambition to work on something.
-----Original Message-----
From: listbounce@securityfocus.com [mailto:listbounce@securityfocus.com]
On Behalf Of Devin Rambo
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 9:21 AM
To: 'Nathalie Vaiser, RFC, FMM'; security-basics@securityfocus.com
Subject: RE: RE: Value of certifications
I don't have a bachelors degree. I see quite a few job offers that
require one. I only did one year of University (10 years ago) in
Marketing.
Would doing night classes in a University program (or online program)
relating to IT be helpful? I've seen some a degree 'Information Systems
Security' that may be interesting. It would be expensive and take a long
time to finish part-time. I'm not sure if I'm better off with
certifications or a bachelors degree (academic and real-world is also
very different I believe)
I am working for a web hosting company right now as a Level I Systems
Administrator, so my position is not really giving much security
experience (only a little here and there as it pertains to some security
issues or abuse issues.). My employer will not pay for certifications,
so I'm on my own there.<<<
You're actually in pretty good shape without realizing it. The job
you're in is a very good place from which to build your skills. In my
experience, employers love it when their workers actively take steps to
learn more. When I was learning SQL Server from a book and by setting a
server up at my house to learn on, I told my boss at the time that I
would love the opportunity to participate in any projects where I could
get some real-world experience using the software. Two days later, he
assigned me a project working on implementing the new help desk
ticketing system that used an SQL back-end. I learned a lot from doing
that, and my employer gained someone with some SQL skills without having
to go out and hire a new DBA.
So I would recommend doing a similar thing. Talk to your boss and tell
them that you're really interested in learning more about InfoSec, and
that you'd love the opportunity to work with your InfoSec team on any
projects that they are working on. Any employer worth working for should
recognize that this is a win-win. You get upgraded skills, and your
employer gets an employee who is a more valuable asset to the company.
There are lots of university programs worth looking into. It sounds like
the 'Information Systems Security' program you've seen might be the one
offered by ITT. As a graduate of ITT, I'd advise treading with great
care. The money you'll pay to go to school there is IMHO far more than
the value of the knowledge you'll attain - they basically treat
everything as though it's a survey of the material in question, which
isn't as in-depth an immersion into the material as you'll want for
$30K. Studying security or any other IT-related discipline in a
classroom has value, but not as much value as those skills you attain in
the real world. The relativity of that depends on where you decide to
study.
My two cents. Hope that helps.
Devin
Kaleida Health's economic impact on Western NY exceeds $2.2 BILLION annually.
Check us out at: www.WesternNYshospitalofchoice.org
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This email transmission and any documents, files,
or previous e-mail messages attached to it are
confidential and intended solely for the use of the
individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you are not the intended recipient, or a person
responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient,
you are hereby notified that any further review,
disclosure, copying, dissemination, distribution, or
use of any of the information contained in or attached
to this e-mail transmission is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this message in error, please
notify the sender immediately by e-mail, discard
any paper copies, and delete all electronic files
of the message. If you are unable to contact the
sender or you are not sure as to whether you
are the intended recipient, please e-mail
ISTSEC@KaleidaHealth.org or call (716) 859-7777.
