Qualifications

Ok I live in the UK, Im currently 17 and am just entering my second year of A levels. However I need to start thinking about what courses I want to do at university. I am very intrested in security but when i looked through job seeker websites all offers required previous exeperiance in the field and little on what else they would look for. I was just asking if anyone in the security profession could give me guidance on what employers would be looking for. At the moment I have looked into computer science courses and a course about networking (setting up and maintaining). Thanks.

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I am very intrested in security but when i looked through job seeker websites all offers required previous exeperiance in the field and little on what else they would look for. I was just asking if anyone in the security profession could give me guidance on what employers would be looking for.

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I live in the United States of America I work for a major ISP. What employers have a tendence to look for is certifications, degrees aswell as job stability and experience. Also, they love resumes. So next time you apply for a job in the (computer field I'm assuming) make sure to add/make a resume to your application. Hope this helps. Computernerd22

I myself just landed a great computer consultant job. I had no experiance in the IT except for the fact I was attending Iowa state for computer science. I just happend to be in the right place at the right time though. I was working as a bartender in a cyberbar here in town and one of the regulars, after I got off work, sat down and we had some beers and just BS'd for awhile. We started talking about computers, turns out he was a marketing manager for this computer consultant corp. I impressed him and he hired me. I have met a few security consultants in just the past few months I have been working for Octogon ( thats the name of the computer consulting corp.) and in talking with them they either got the position by previous experiance in one IT position and earned there way into a security position. Or they got a great education. Either way it will take time and persistence. It took me about a year to finally find someone who would look past the fact I don't have a degree. Most universities have internships. That is a great way to get experiance. Might want to check that out. If nothing else start at the bottom and work your way up, get your A+, MCSE or whatever and get a s@#% job of fixin printers and work your way up till you have enough qualifications to the job you want.

I agree with all of the above but even if your experience is creating your own Yahoo Security group and focusing on security issues this helps, also make it a point to join and become active in groups like this.

Myself I started as a 4GL Programmer, then got into hardware, now I run my own consultancy as well as have several educational clients. ONe Man Band Stuff, I left School at 16 and sort of drifted into the IT community.

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Originally posted here by hellforgedangel
Ok I live in the UK, Im currently 17 and am just entering my second year of A levels. However I need to start thinking about what courses I want to do at university. I am very intrested in security but when i looked through job seeker websites all offers required previous exeperiance in the field and little on what else they would look for. I was just asking if anyone in the security profession could give me guidance on what employers would be looking for. At the moment I have looked into computer science courses and a course about networking (setting up and maintaining). Thanks.

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Having just completed my BSc in Comunication Technology at the University of Paisley, my advice would be to consider firstly what University you would want to go to, and what degree you feel would be the most appropriate for your future employment choices.You will require a mimimum 3yrs at University, possibly 5 depending on degree, for example Computer Science. Most UK Universities offer the same course / degrees with options, for example Paisley run an optional Network Security module, but is only done on the second semester of each academic year, and can clash with core degree program classes. The Communications Technology degree includes the 1-4 semesters of CCNA. Please bear in mind any advice offered here from our US members re educational matters , will be totally different to our system here in the UK with regard to qualifications and progression. Search the UK Universities web sites as a starting point, to give you some indication of what is available

Also look into interships. My last year of college I got into a cooperative education program working net admin for a financial advising company, and after graduation they just kept me on. Internships are definately a big plus, and great for building contacts.

Off subject here but I just noticed something that caught my attention.

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I was working as a bartender in a cyberbar

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cyber......bar?

explain

/me drools


hjack

cyberbar cybercafe internetcafe
All acronyms for clubs gathering lamers around windows boxes and playing counterstrike..
Also they seem to attract lot's of mugu's and scammers and other people doing shady things (anonymity)

As for employers, IMHO they are looking for relevant working experience..
Usualy certs and diploma's don't matter as much as experience, this counts for small firms more then for larger companies..

While degrees and certifications are nice, they aren't always a hard requirement. I started out as a software tester with neither...just alot of hours spent teaching myself code. Being able to market your abilities well goes a looong way.

When I'm doing interviews I tend to look at their schooling, certs, relevant work experience and skills, the whole deal. Make sure you have checked your resume for grammar/spelling mistakes. I can't believe how many people I've tossed out simply because they couldn't run the spell check on their word doc.

If you can, grab a whiteboard and a knowledgable friend and have him ask you questions to explain on the board (common interview technique here at least). People tend to ask you to do things like explain the architecture of project 'x' you worked on or explain how you'd implement a linked list in the language of your choosing. Getting used to this ahead of time can save alot of frustration later on and possibly keep your mind from going blank when you're put on the spot. Logic problems can also pop up alot.

Beyond that, you just need to tailor your skills and resume to be relevant for the position you are going for. Alot of job sites such as monster, hot jobs, dice, techies.com, etc will have job listings and usually tell what the employers are seeking out. There are also alot of job mailing lists where recruiters can get your resume or they send out their latest listings. Sec focus has a good one for security jobs.

Also, willingness to learn and trustworthiness are key attributes to display for a prospective employer, and are sometimes more important than certs or degrees. Take me for instance, I'm a net admin wth no certs and just recently got my MIS degree. How'd I get here? It's because the guy that hired me wanted someone that 1) he could teach himself and 2) he could trust with the sensitive data a financial advising company handles. If you can answer a techical question with "I don't know, but just hand me a manual and put me to work", then you just boosted your marketability in the job market significantly.

Hey thanks for the feedback guys/girls. I think i am going to try and get lots of work experiance over the summer (been to help admins at my dads work a few times already). I will also have to start reading lots me thinks :)

Coming from a background of strictly blue-collar workers (9 - 5 unions) it is very odd that both my elder brother and I have jobs in the IT field.

I got my job on a friek accident. I started webdesign at around 14 years old just toying around with you basic tags. I love it and started to look into more computer systems. After formatting my parents HD a few times and reloading the OS's and drivers I realized I sorta liked this stuff however sports took priority to anything else.

I sorta forgot about the computer deal (everyone once in awhile I would tap around a throw up a quick page on angelfire nothing major). However, I got a small internchip job filing papers, stapling, copying papers, making coffee (the bitch job). I was 16 at the time they hated their webdesigner he was horrible and was a cocky *****. So, one day he decided that he wasn't going to come in. We needed something changed on the website and they announced over the PA system that if anyone had any knowledge to come to the CEO's office. Well I walked in unsure of myself hopeing to see at least one other person there but alas I was the only one. She knew me from seeing me around the office and invited me to sit down. She asked me of my previous experience and so forth I explained that I had no real training just sorta toying. She asked, "have you ever done web design before?" Well since I am pretty outgoing I replied, "Oh yeah, no problem!" (inside i just wanted to go **** myself). Anyway I was given the info to create the change. I quickly made the change headed back to the CEO's office told her it was done and handed her a printoff of that change (Something I have always done I still like a papertrail) she didn't even look up nodded and I turned and left. Three hours went by and I was continuing the bitch work thinking back on 15 min of supremem powered I weilded over the entire site. Over the PA again came the CEO's voice asking for me by name to come to the office ASAP. I thought I crap what did I screw up. So I headed up the CEO's office. I walked it acting like nothing was wrong (scared shitless inside). She offered me a seat again. I sat and she explained to me how she would like to get rid of their current webdesigner I told her, "you gotta do what you gotta do." She nodded and told me to meet with her the next day at 11 am.

The next day I walked into the office and satdown. She was on the phone and I waited for about 15 min. She hung up sipped her coffee and looked at me she told me that I acted alot older then my age. I thanked her for the remark. She nodded then she asked me if I would like to take over complete and full control over the website. This would include a hefty raise and my own office and a departmental allowance (that needed to be spend on computers) so I sat back in the chair let our a sigh** and replied, "I hate making quick rash decisions but, Yes! I will take the job."

Well since then I have moved up in the ranking and now I am head of the IT department and the goto guy when things fall to ****! But with it come more raises and stuff. I know I am truly blessed and it sorta fell into my lap. It is a great opportunity for me (being only 19) I am extremely greatful.

I am sure if you apply youself to this you will get it, it is not always about taking classes (although It will help) alot of it is being in the right place at the right time. I am still taking college classes and I would encourage you to do that same but don't always focus on the degree you need to understand it thats what matters (at least to me).

- MilitantEidolon