Security Basics mailing list archives
RE: Masters in Information Security/Assurance
From: Chuck Taylor <h00k00k () gmail com>
Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 17:05:08 -0400
James, eh.... I can see what you are saying a little, but let's be real. Getting those "high-level" positions takes a little more than a degree. Don't get me wrong, if you are competing with the IVY league folks, then sure, go ahead, but the demand in IT professionals is so great, that a degree even from a "night-school" will do just fine. We all know that a degree means you can finish a program...it is how you progress post-degree that separates the men from the boys. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way offended, since one of my degrees is a "night-school" degree. I can tell you that my degree did not get me my job, it simply gave me another nice credential to put behind my name. I am sure most people who take the degree are not taking it to land their first job. They are probably taking it as career advancement, in which the "night-school" degrees will do just fine. I guess it comes down to what you really want...a big name with a big college loan to pay off, or a solid degree, even from a "night-school", that is pretty much paid off by the time you finish. Work paid for my degree, but I am pretty confident they would not have given me the money to pay for a degree at a big name school. Many people who take the degrees online take them for their convenience. Many moms and dads struggling to work full time and raise families can't stay on-campus and afford the debt of a big name school degree. I can hear my wife now if I stated I was moving on-campus. LOL!!! I have been on both sides of the table, hiring and being hired. No one has ever said to me, "Where is that school located?" or "Sorry, your degree does not measure up." Any sound job interview for an Information Assurance position is going to be equivalent with the experience you have. I would hire the guy with 5 years of experience and a "night-school" degree over a Purdue graduate fresh out of college, hands down, as long as the guy with the experience is worth half as much as he should be after 5 years. My best job interview involved a gentlemen saying to me, "If I look at your resume, I can tell you have the brains. Now lets see if you know what you said you know on your resume." I got the job, but turned it down for various reasons. My advice is that your school of choice will always be based on where you are in your life and not on whether degree A is worth more than degree B. It is not true that a degree from Purdue or Iowa State is "always going to win out over "night-school" degrees". I do have some advice for you though... Before you throw blanket statements like this around, be aware of your audience and the diverse lives of the people looking for the degree. I strongly encourage the "night-school" degrees and can tell you based upon my experience, a degree is only worth the weight of the person that earned it. Sorry, all, for the long message. Please direct all flames to /dev/null. D3nw0 On Fri, 2008-05-09 at 15:30 -0600, Nelson, James wrote:
A degree from a major university with on-campus residency requirements such as Purdue or Iowa State is always going to win out over the "night-school" type degrees. Look for full-time faculty with terminal degrees (Ph.D., J.D., D.Sci.). Schools with part-time, non-terminal degree faculty are seen to be "training" as opposed to "educating". This may be biased and unfair, but it is how the world works. I'm sure many very good people come out of those programs and have successful careers. But, if you want a high-level position, and you want it soon, it helps to have a "name" degree. As a very viable option, consider an good MBA program supplemented by a CISSP, CISA, or SABSA CSA certificate. My research shows that this is the big dollar combo. Keep on learning! Jim James A. Nelson, Ph.D. Chartered Security Architect ________________________________________ From: listbounce () securityfocus com [listbounce () securityfocus com] On Behalf Of Deepak Nuli [dnuli () purdue edu] Sent: Friday, May 09, 2008 1:55 PM To: security-basics () securityfocus com Subject: Re: Masters in Information Security/Assurance I am currently pursuing my Interdisciplinary Master's in Information Security from Purdue University. It is similar to the MSIA program in ISU. Check out the link for more information: http://www.cerias.purdue.edu/site/education/graduate_program/ . CERIAS, Purdue is considered to be the best research group in the field in US. ( http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2008a/080502SpaffordRanking.html ) . If you have any specific questions regarding the course let me know and I will be glad to answer. Jon Gucinski wrote:I received my MSIA from Iowa State University in 2005...as a disclaimer, I also did my undergrad there. One of the unique things about their program is their roll-your-own setup. It's an interdisciplinary program, between the business, political science, computer science, computer engineering, and mathematics departments. Since everyone has their own objectives, it allowed students to choose their home department and course of study to best suit them, while still getting a core curriculum of general IA topics. The faculty were mainly excellent. I do know they offer an online certificate (short of a full masters), if travel is an issue. Before staying at ISU for my grad work, I was also accepted to the MSIA program at Northeastern University in Boston. Comparing the two programs (at the time), I felt that ISU's had a more developed program that I'd gain more from. In terms of value...that's going to be largely a personal/subjective decision. For me, I felt that my undergrad work left me poorly prepared for a career in InfoSec. The in-depth work I did going straight through to the MSIA definitely fixed that. However, it did put me in a bit of a quandary...my education significantly outstripped my work experience when looking for a job and I feel that it may have scared away some prospective employers. However, it did intrigue a few as well, and it landed me an excellent job, well in advance of where I thought I'd be at my age. Hope that at least begins to answer your question. If you've got more specific questions, fire away. -Jon-- Deepak Nuli, Master's Information Security Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) Purdue University 765-496-6767 (off), 765-631-1416 (cell) http://www.linkedin.com/in/deepaknuli
-- Chuck
Current thread:
- Re: Masters in Information Security/Assurance, (continued)
- Re: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Chad Perrin (May 09)
- RE: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Krzyston, Randy (May 09)
- RE: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Brandon Louder (May 09)
- Re: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Jon Gucinski (May 09)
- Re: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Deepak Nuli (May 09)
- RE: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Nelson, James (May 12)
- Re: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Elizabeth Tolson (May 12)
- RE: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Brandon Louder (May 12)
- RE: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Jon Gucinski (May 12)
- RE: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Josh Brower (May 12)
- Re: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Jon Gucinski (May 09)
- RE: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Chuck Taylor (May 12)
- Re: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Louis Lerman (May 13)
- RE: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Deepak J. Mathew (May 19)
- RE: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Richard.Patterson (May 20)
- RE: Masters in Information Security/Assurance jmacaranas (May 20)
- RE: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Chuck Taylor (May 09)
- Re: Masters in Information Security/Assurance Elizabeth Tolson (May 09)
- Re: Masters in Information Security/Assurance nnp (May 09)