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sys admin vs network security

R

rasczak

Lifer
My boss is currently thinking about splitting my job duties up and bringing in another full time sysadmin and making me do network security only. Is there anyone in the network security field that could chime in about this move? I really do enjoy the sysadmin side of things, but from what my boss tells me, the security side will allow me for latitude when it comes time for me to move on from the company. Thoughts?
 
don't be a jack of all trades and a master of nothing.

system admins are supposed to know some level of network security anyway.

if you do network sec., you have to be the best of the best in that job market/field, 'cuz it's competitive.

admins need leadership skills and comunic. skills.
 
rasczak said:
My boss is currently thinking about splitting my job duties up and bringing in another full time sysadmin and making me do network security only. Is there anyone in the network security field that could chime in about this move? I really do enjoy the sysadmin side of things, but from what my boss tells me, the security side will allow me for latitude when it comes time for me to move on from the company. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

The security side will allow you to start originating or assisting with the creation of policy, these policies typically require the sign off of executives which gives you more face time with them and could lead to better things. I've seen security people "move right along" after a few years in the field while sys admins are just... sys admins.

I've done both jobs and prefer the security side.
 
Not to hijack, but I've been wondering the same thing. My IOS experience is decent. I'm currently a sysadmin, but would like to eventually break off in to security. I need a vpn/firewall security basics rundown though. Are there any good books ya'll could recommend?
 
rasczak said:
My boss is currently thinking about splitting my job duties up and bringing in another full time sysadmin and making me do network security only. Is there anyone in the network security field that could chime in about this move? I really do enjoy the sysadmin side of things, but from what my boss tells me, the security side will allow me for latitude when it comes time for me to move on from the company. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

am i the only one paranoid enough to think hes getting fired after the new guys learns the ropes there?
 
xSauronx said:
am i the only one paranoid enough to think hes getting fired after the new guys learns the ropes there?
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nah, my boss knows i'll probably eventually leave the company. he's a really good guy who's pretty much looked out for me since i stepped into the project. he also realistic and knows that good money could be made if I gain new skills, take classes and such.
 
fire400 said:
don't be a jack of all trades and a master of nothing.

system admins are supposed to know some level of network security anyway.

if you do network sec., you have to be the best of the best in that job market/field, 'cuz it's competitive.

admins need leadership skills and comunic. skills.
Click to expand...

I think just the opposite. There are tons of mediocre linux/unix admins and tons upon tons upon tons of mediocre windows admins. Network security folks are harder to come by imho.
 
slag said:
I think just the opposite. There are tons of mediocre linux/unix admins and tons upon tons upon tons of mediocre windows admins. Network security folks are harder to come by imho.
Click to expand...

yes this. There are thousands of slackers in computer security. there shouldn't be, but thems the breaks. I work with a dozen 20 year-experienced "computer security professionals" who failed the most retardedly easy test (Security+). some multiple times.
 
Security. I did it.

But know (sorry Fire400) that your communication skills, admin skills, and project management skills will be hit hard in security.

I work for a real enterprise with more that 45000 nodes (I think it is 70000 now including handhelds and other network devices), worldwide, in more that 300 cities. The stress is much higher. The problem solving is much harder and can be highly demanding. A mistake at the firewall level can shut a company down. Folks think that losing an email server is bad. Lose all connectivity and you discover that the days of a server being out were such a vacation. The battles are bigger, but in theory the rewards are bigger too. I do know that I get more calls about being a security engineer from headhunters than I did on the OS client/server side.
 
When looking at the long term as security 'expert' you can more easily do consultancy later on than you could as sysadm. Which means that you can make significant money. And if you don't like it you can become sysadm again, but with added security expertise.
 
One consideration I can give is a conversation I had with our Sr. Network Admin yesterday. He said, and I tend to agree that our worlds are blurring and merging. He said he likes being specialized in what he does but sees the future being so intertwined that it'll be less and less normal to have a dedicated network only guy.

In our case, this looks like it's slowly becoming true, I'm a Sys Admin with a focus on Storage, Virtulaztion (Vmware), Backup/Recover/DR, and countless other areas as well.

With VMware the physical networking is becoming less and less.

With network solutions like HP's Procurve, that can be managed/configured all through a GUI. VMwares virtual switches, etc. So much of the network guys function is being overtaken by Sys Admins like myself.

Just my 2 cents.
 
lokiju said:
One consideration I can give is a conversation I had with our Sr. Network Admin yesterday. He said, and I tend to agree that our worlds are blurring and merging. He said he likes being specialized in what he does but sees the future being so intertwined that it'll be less and less normal to have a dedicated network only guy.

In our case, this looks like it's slowly becoming true, I'm a Sys Admin with a focus on Storage, Virtulaztion (Vmware), Backup/Recover/DR, and countless other areas as well.

With VMware the physical networking is becoming less and less.

With network solutions like HP's Procurve, that can be managed/configured all through a GUI. VMwares virtual switches, etc. So much of the network guys function is being overtaken by Sys Admins like myself.

Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with your boss. By default I'm a sys admin, but I've configured our firewall and IDS systems, I'm in charge of setting up HBSS, as well, as do all of the vulnerability testing and subsequent patching, auditing, and audit review as well as backup/recovery. I've also, started to get a grasp of Unix and Oracle. Soon, we're upgrading our test infrastructure and production systems to Win7/2k8. I love what I'm doing, which is why I'm torn. On security side with a lot of the new implementations being mandated, we need a full time network security engineer. I've got a few days to think about it. So I'll mull it over the weekend and let my boss know by Monday.
 
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