Help me Choose a masters!

[cocainewhite]

Hi guys,

I have been a bit lost of late, and thought that I would turn to the tech boards of Anandtech to help me find my direction.

I have a Degree in Criminology, but my work experience and passion lies in computers/IT (just a lowly Desktop Support 'analyst' at the moment).

Anyhow, I wanted to combine my degree and my passion, and with the recent surge in Cybercrime thought that I would get some more education while everyone else is participating in a recession. I am asking you because I suspect many of you work in IT related fields.

I have 3 questions

1. I have been thinking of Digital Forensics as a Masters, and I have been looking at a particular conversion course that backfills some of the knowledge I might not have given the fact that I do not have a CompSci degree. Is this a good field to go into? What are the job opportunities and pay like?

2. I would also really like to end up working for a bank or financial institutions Fraud team, I'm sure its not as exciting as it sounds, but I bet its more exciting than your average job. What would be the best Masters for me to do to enter this kind of career?

3. Are any of you actually in a cybercrime related field that would be willing to answer some more specific questions I have?

Thanks very much in advance guys, I been a lurker for a while now, but have never gotten around to signing up.

CocaineWhite

 

[ViviTheMage]

I am not sure what is required to get into a masters in that sort of field without any real background, like a BS in CS, or IT. If you are serious, you might want to ask about that first.

 

[yllus]

While different people enjoy different vocations, I should warn you that in my experience, intrusion testing and digital forensics are some of the most boring and hardest to get into fields in technology. Up here you generally won't get into forensics unless you join a police force and serve in uniform for a couple of years first. Intrusion testing is for the most part just brainless stuff - port scanning and identifying known exploits that can be used, nothing cutting edge.

 

[SwiftWind]

1. Most security IT jobs pay really well. If you really enjoy it then you should look into it. Usually though, those with a masters in IT end up becoming management rather than engineers.
2. There's a lot of money in bank jobs. Keep in mind though that the bank environment is a lot harsher with a high turnover rate. I know people who stayed and made a fortune while others couldn't stand it and left. Its really up to you to try it out. Like I said earlier though, a masters is usually for management, but it might still be a good warm up before you get into the field.

 

[Pegun]

I'm working on a Master's now in Networking and Sys Admin with a focus in security. I switched from the actual computer security degree because it was far too much like a computer science degree in that you get a lot of theoretical and less practical. As Swift mentioned, we are required to take at least 3 business courses because most master's degrees will get you into the management area rather than the engineering or grunt work.

To get into a forensics program I would suggest something like computer security or Digital Forensics, but you are required at most universities to have a background so they know you are serious and have experienced a lot of the stuff they are talking about before you start working on something you might not find as interesting.

 

[cocainewhite]

Hi guys!
This sounds fine! I'm good with computers, but I am far better with people! But to be a good manager, you have to earn respect, and I can't expect people to respect me if I have no qualifications at all in the field I am in, so even if I don't have a CompSci degree, at least I will have a masters in something computer orientated.

Vivi, as I said, this is a 'Conversion' Masters, so its 18 months instead of 12, for the first 6 you are backfilling on information that you wouldn't know unless you have done CompSci.

Yllus, I appreciate the honesty. I feel a bit like I'm stuck in a rut at the moment, my degree is too broad, and I just don't have enough work experience for people to actively recruit me, I desperately need to specialise which is why I am persuing something like this. I've come to the conclusion that there are two types of jobs in this world, monkey jobs that you can teach just about anyone to do, and therefore don't pay too well, and specialist jobs which not everyone can do, and therefore make you 'in demand'. At the moment I am doing the former, but I want to be part of the latter group!

Swiftwind, thats good to hear, I think we all know money plays a large part in choosing a career. I definitely like the idea of working for a bank, the faster the pace the better, I like to finish work on Friday worn out! It seems to make that first beer so much tastier! And hopefully, like you say, it will be a step up over the competition. If it gets me as far as getting me hired into that field initially, the rest is on my own shoulders.

Pegun, I am really hoping digital forensics will be pretty hands on, and give me some practical, real world knowledge that is useful past graduation day. All my friends who did CompSci say that they do enjoying having the background, but when it came to actually doing the jobs they are now in, everything is proprietory and they had to learn as they went. I have been working in desktop support for a while now, but we actually do everything, backups, data restoration, server infrastructure etc

Here is the course layout in case anyone was interested

Stage 1 (Conversion)

Graduate Certificate
Unit Code Unit Name Credit Points
CSI4102 Computer Security 15
CSI4207 Network Security Fundamentals 15
CSG4106 Introductory Computer Forensics 15
CSG4208 Wireless Security 15
Stage 2

Graduate Diploma
Unit Code Unit Name Credit Points
CSI5318 Wireless and Mobile Computing Security 20
CSI5319 Computer Forensics 20
CSG5107 Network Forensics 20
Stage 3
Unit Code Unit Name Credit Points
CSG5104 Special Topic 1 20
CSG5108 Forensic Investigation and Evidence Presentation 20
CSG5109 Mobile Forensics 20

 

[ultimatebob]

IT work can be profoundly boring... security related work in particular. Unless the idea of running network scans and system audits all day sounds fun to you, I'd take your Criminology degree in a separate direction and become a cop or a lawyer or something.

Remember... computers are a fun hobby, but nearly as fun when you're doing it for 50 hours a week trying to make a living at it.

 

[alkemyst]

Get it in Ninja

 

[trevor0323]

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I am in the exact same situation as cocaine. I completed my BS in criminal justice a year ago. After graduating I realized I did not want to be a cop. I pursued other jobs that I could get with my degree (Answer: None)

I have worked the last year in private security making $10.00 and hating my life. I would for kill for that lowly desktop support analyst job you mention and have been applying for jobs like that consistently for the past year. However those jobs seem to be rare around here and I rarely hear back from the company. My interests lie in computers as well and eventually I plan to get my masters in something computer related. I was hoping I could get a job in computers now so I could at least get my foot in the door and have some experience in the field but its tough.

I as well looked into Computer Forensics/Security stuff and mostly what I have learned is that most of the jobs go to people who have worked for the police department for a number of years first. This seems pretty stupid to me since not everyone is interested in working for the police. So I gave up on that long ago as I have no interest in working for the police dept.

What I am still trying to figure out is what Masters program I should go into and what one will accept me even though my BS is not in Comp Sci. I have been thinking about the IT masters or something similar. I would probably end up moving as well since up here they have limited Comp Masters programs.

 

[Zugzwang152]

I'm in IT security. I plan to start work on Master's sometime in the next 3-5 years, but it won't be in IT or security.

In my mind, once you have some decent work experience in IT, a degree really doesn't do much to advance your career.

I'll be going for something complementary, thinking about an MBA or MS in Finance, Accounting, Statistics, or Applied Math. Accounting may be a long shot because I've only done basic business accuonting classes.

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: trevor0323
Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I am in the exact same situation as cocaine. I completed my BS in criminal justice a year ago. After graduating I realized I did not want to be a cop. I pursued other jobs that I could get with my degree (Answer: None)

I have worked the last year in private security making $10.00 and hating my life. I would for kill for that lowly desktop support analyst job you mention and have been applying for jobs like that consistently for the past year. However those jobs seem to be rare around here and I rarely hear back from the company. My interests lie in computers as well and eventually I plan to get my masters in something computer related. I was hoping I could get a job in computers now so I could at least get my foot in the door and have some experience in the field but its tough.

I as well looked into Computer Forensics/Security stuff and mostly what I have learned is that most of the jobs go to people who have worked for the police department for a number of years first. This seems pretty stupid to me since not everyone is interested in working for the police. So I gave up on that long ago as I have no interest in working for the police dept.

What I am still trying to figure out is what Masters program I should go into and what one will accept me even though my BS is not in Comp Sci. I have been thinking about the IT masters or something similar. I would probably end up moving as well since up here they have limited Comp Masters programs.

Maybe you should have thought of job opportunities before pursuing your degree?

 

[trevor0323]

Originally posted by: Hacp

Originally posted by: trevor0323
Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I am in the exact same situation as cocaine. I completed my BS in criminal justice a year ago. After graduating I realized I did not want to be a cop. I pursued other jobs that I could get with my degree (Answer: None)

I have worked the last year in private security making $10.00 and hating my life. I would for kill for that lowly desktop support analyst job you mention and have been applying for jobs like that consistently for the past year. However those jobs seem to be rare around here and I rarely hear back from the company. My interests lie in computers as well and eventually I plan to get my masters in something computer related. I was hoping I could get a job in computers now so I could at least get my foot in the door and have some experience in the field but its tough.

I as well looked into Computer Forensics/Security stuff and mostly what I have learned is that most of the jobs go to people who have worked for the police department for a number of years first. This seems pretty stupid to me since not everyone is interested in working for the police. So I gave up on that long ago as I have no interest in working for the police dept.

What I am still trying to figure out is what Masters program I should go into and what one will accept me even though my BS is not in Comp Sci. I have been thinking about the IT masters or something similar. I would probably end up moving as well since up here they have limited Comp Masters programs.

Maybe you should have thought of job opportunities before pursuing your degree?

I agree, but by the time I was wise enough to realize the problem I had almost finished the major.

 

[RKS]

LLM