Re: To go to University - For the CISSP etc. - Good idea/Bad idea???

[Stephen Mullins <steve.mullins.work () gmail com>]

I'm not sure how things work "down under" but in the U.S. there is a
great deal of age discrimination against young IT workers.  You can
pile on cert after cert and develop the kind of real skills that most
IT professionals don't have but you'll run into a brick wall.  Why?

Think about it.

If they bring you on without experience (experience really means that
you showed up somewhere and collected pay checks for a period of time)
and you fail, their judgment is now in question.  If they bring you on
at 1/3 the Senior guy's pay and you perform well and demonstrate
technical mastery far above what is expected, management looks at that
as a reason to fire the Senior guy and replace him with another "kid."

It's a lose-lose proposition for the senior IT guy.  You'll be stuck
on the help desk for years and years.

Go to college.  I believe you have 3 year programs there, yes?
Reasonably priced tuition, yes?  This is a no brainer.  Study computer
science for 3 years and use your free time to do real learning.

Anyone that has been through the college system (in America) will tell
you that a degree proves nothing more than the ability to read and
write reasonably well and enough of a work ethic to do the work
assigned.  If you want to actually be good at something it takes more
than clocking in and clocking out 9 to 5 Monday thru Friday.  That's
true in any field of human endeavor.

When you are done you'll be a "new grad" rather than "some kid."  By
the time you're in your mid-20's the age discrimination starts to fall
off and people might even take you seriously.  With those certs you've
already demonstrated more motivation and legitimate interest in IT
than most.

That's my opinion.

Steve Mullins

On Thu, Aug 6, 2009 at 4:26 AM, Hy Zaret<hyzaret () gmail com> wrote:
> Greetings & Salutations to all!
>
> I've been training myself for a while, and have recently came to the
> conclusion that University would be my best choice.
>
> The main reasons I made this decision are;
> • Social reasons
> • Educational advantages
> • Takes years off the experience needed to take the CISSP
>
> I'm writing on these mailing-lists for two reasons;
> • To find out what you think of my choice (not locked in yet!!!)
> • For advice on which course to go for (Sydney, NSW, Australia)
>
> I am wishing sometime in the future to begin a career in IT Security.
>
> Although being under 18, I have still found time to achieve various
> certifications; including CompTIA's Security+, three Cisco
> certifications & a Microsoft accreditation.
>
> Also, for the last 4 months I've been working full-time on the 1st
> Level of an IT Helpdesk.
>
> Am very open to ideas, so would be interested in reading & answering
> your replies!
>
> Thank you for reading this,
>
> Hy Zaret
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> This list is sponsored by: Information Assurance Certification Review Board
>
> Prove to peers and potential employers without a doubt that you can actually do a proper penetration test. IACRB CPT 
> and CEPT certs require a full practical examination in order to become certified.
>
> http://www.iacertification.org
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------
This list is sponsored by: Information Assurance Certification Review Board

Prove to peers and potential employers without a doubt that you can actually do a proper penetration test. IACRB CPT 
and CEPT certs require a full practical examination in order to become certified.

http://www.iacertification.org
------------------------------------------------------------------------