Well... the first question I would ask myself is where do my interests lay? I was in the same situation when I came out of college; I had an interest in security (and had actually had an internship on the IT security staff at a local company) but I was not sure which area of security I was interested in. So for me, IT audit was a good fit, you get to see a lot of different environments, methodologies, etc., which will allow you to find your niche in the security field. In addition, it is usually easier for younger people to land a security related job via the audit field compared to other fields. If you know an area that you are interested in (network, application, etc.) then start looking for jobs related to your interest. I enjoyed the audit field because it allowed me to do so many different things... I really didn't want to be the "firewall guy" or whatever.
As for certs, you again need to ask yourself the question... general or specific? If you want something more general, yes, you have to wait to get your CISSP or CISA (or equivalent). But you could always work towards another type of cert (MCSE, CWNA, A++, etc.) that does not require time in the field. If you are looking to do something more specific, I suggest looking at the SANS certs... some people would argue that these are the best certs on the market... bar none. ; Very detailed, very hands on. Hope this helps.
On 8/19/06, Thomas Williams <comcast.net">tlw1mac comcast.net> wrote:
Hi,
I am not too far away from completing the ITT Information System
Security course. This will give me a bachelor degree. I've been told
that there are a number of different things I can get into but no one
seems to be able to tell just exactly what. I was told by one instructor
that the ITT program will prepare me to be able to take the CISSP
certification but I need a sponsor. Yet, when I read up on it, it says
that I need to have 4 years experience in Security in order to be able
to get certification. To sum it up, I have no clue where to go next.
Does anyone on here know for sure how good the ITT program is? What can
I really expect to get when I get my degree?
Tom
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