Firewall Wizards mailing list archives
Re: Network Security Certification
From: David Collier-Brown <davecb () canada sun com>
Date: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 07:47:42 -0400
On the other - and to my mind, more important - hand, one thing that such a qualification will never provide is a demonstation that the possessor of said qualification has got a "CLUE"(TM) [1] - viz: a deep comprehension of the issues of network security, rather than the mere ability to parrot-rote the "N" different software security certification systems that are in use worldwide.
Actually, certifications have a long and (dis-)honorable history, and often start at a level **between** parroting and expertise. Consider the old terms '`apprentice'', ``journeyman'' and ``master'': An apprentice is learning something, and probably spends a lot of time parroting his masters without interpretation. He does not know the rules, just parts of them. He works under direct supervision. A journeyman has learned something, and is ready to put it to use. He knows the rules, and how to put them into practice. He may have been selected to journeyman rank by his master or may have passed an examination. He works without supervision, but his work is inspected by a master. A master knows the rules, how to apply them and when to break them. He has proven this by doing a ``master piece'', and his peers have elected him to their rank. (phew!) I just went through a course on (analytic) project management, to put beside my experience doing the work. If I aspired to the rank of journeyman, and expected to do that task all the time, I might be well-advised to stand the certification exam for journeyman. And if I did it full-time, I'd expect to wave my certificate at the customers to say ``see, I'm a journeyman. I can do this stuff''. The customer might want to bring in a consultant (a real one: a master) to write the requirements and inspect the completed work, but that's their call. --dave In a different life, I was the consultant brought in to specify and inspect. The person doing the <work> was a journeyman <worker>, but a master project manager. -- David Collier-Brown, | Always do right. This will gratify some people 185 Ellerslie Ave., | and astonish the rest. -- Mark Twain Willowdale, Ontario | davecb () hobbes ss org, canada.sun.com M2N 1Y3. 416-223-8968 | http://java.science.yorku.ca/~davecb
Current thread:
- Re: Network Security Certification Anton J Aylward (Apr 28)
- Re: Network Security Certification Bennett Todd (Apr 28)
- Re: Network Security Certification darrenr (Apr 29)
- How do we do our job? (was Re: Network Security Certification) Bennett Todd (Apr 29)
- Re: How do we do our job? (was Re: Network Security Certification) darrenr (Apr 29)
- Re: How do we do our job? Bennett Todd (Apr 29)
- Re: How do we do our job? (was Re: Network Security Certification) Marcus J. Ranum (Apr 29)
- Re: Network Security Certification darrenr (Apr 29)
- Re: Network Security Certification Bennett Todd (Apr 28)
- Re: Network Security Certification Paul D. Robertson (Apr 28)
- Re: Network Security Certification David Collier-Brown (Apr 29)
- Re: Network Security Certification Bruce K. Marshall (Apr 29)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- Re: Network Security Certification Shane Mason (Apr 29)
- Re: Network Security Certification Marcus J. Ranum (Apr 29)