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Who here is a network security specialist?

K

KoolDrew

Lifer
I am a Senior in High School and need to do a Career Project for English class. One of the requirements for the project is to interview somebody that has the career you have chosen. As you can tell from the title, the career I have chosen to do a project on is a Netowork Security Specialist. So, if any of you here that do happen to have that career would answer a few questions for me it would be very appreciated. The following questions are some I came up with, but feel free to add any extra information.

1. Why did you choose this career?
2. What do you like most about it?
3. What do you dislike most about it?
4. How much should somebody expect as a starting salary?
5. How much should an experienced worker expect as a salary?
6. What courses did you take in college that helped you the most with this career?
7. What is a typical work day like?
8. If you could do everything over again, would you do anything different?
9. Would you even pick the same career if you could do it all over?

Also, this is not just a school project. Our teacher actually wanted us to pick a career we might actually be interested in. It's not like she just randomly handed out careers and had us do them. So, when answering the questions please keep that in mind. This is just as much for me getting information about the career then it is just getting the project done.
 
Crap, had nice post for you then the topic got moved...

1. Why did you choose this career?
-I didn't, it chose me
2. What do you like most about it?
-always something new
3. What do you dislike most about it?
-always something new, high pressure
4. How much should somebody expect as a starting salary?
-it depends, probably 60K
5. How much should an experienced worker expect as a salary?
-sky's the limit, experienced people demand 150K+ in an average market
6. What courses did you take in college that helped you the most with this career?
-none, The Internet was used only by universities
7. What is a typical work day like?
-Strategy meetings, set direction and roadmaps. Currently have a team that is evaluating Cisco NAC and Vista's security solutions to pick them apart and see how to use them both.
8. If you could do everything over again, would you do anything different?
-get a degree in business (MBA)
9. Would you even pick the same career if you could do it all over?
-maybe, but I'm to the point that I want to make money off of others hard work, not mine.

You have to have a strong foundation in networking to understand and be proficient in network security. That takes time and experience...difficult/impossible to learn that in school. I'm not really a network security specialist though, better described as network and security architect.
 
One question spidey, if you learned much of what you know in the field what was your first job? From what you say it seems like a network security architect wouldn't be hired for that job right out of school.
 
Originally posted by: InlineFive
One question spidey, if you learned much of what you know in the field what was your first job? From what you say it seems like a network security architect wouldn't be hired for that job right out of school.
Click to expand...

Not that I could imagine. Generally requires at least 5-8 years direct experience.
 
Originally posted by: spidey07
Originally posted by: InlineFive
One question spidey, if you learned much of what you know in the field what was your first job? From what you say it seems like a network security architect wouldn't be hired for that job right out of school.
Click to expand...

Not that I could imagine. Generally requires at least 5-8 years direct experience.
Click to expand...

What I was getting at is that you just said that most jobs require 5-8 years of direct experience. But what kind of job do you get after college so that you can start building up that "direct experience"?
 
Originally posted by: InlineFive
What I was getting at is that you just said that most jobs require 5-8 years of direct experience. But what kind of job do you get after college so that you can start building up that "direct experience"?
Click to expand...

Help desk. Jr. admin. Intern while in college.
 
You need more questions on the path of that career.

That particular specialty will take several years to reach. You will have stepping stone jobs along the way. Find out what good ones are. Many jobs in the computer industry start with simply a 1-2 year stint as a PC tech of some form or another. May or may not apply here.

There is also a vast amount of knowledge required. This will be a mix of..
School / College
Formal Technical classroom training
Mentor assistance
Self-study (a LOT of this).
Industry specific product training.

Your interview should include where/when/how to get such training as well as details about what would be appropriate, where to start etc.


I would also suggest getting some contact info from someone and pulling a real interview. This is too heavy for a forum.

Want to get a guaranteed A on the project even if your interview turns out to be very mediocre? Do three of them 🙂 Going beyond the requirements will help on this project but even more so when you actually start to chase your career.

Looks like spidey would be interview #1. If you're polite you might snag 10 minutes of his time via phone. 🙂

Good luck!
 
The reason I suggest a phone instead of forum interview is this response from spidey

1. Why did you choose this career?
-I didn't, it chose me


I read this an immediately I want to say:
Really? In what way? What career were you trying for or in when this one found you? Was it an opportunity knocking or something nearby you jumped over to?

Stuff of that nature.
Static questions should be the starting point for an interview but by themselves you'll only get one line answers in many cases (through no fault of the person you are interviewing)
 
There is some inherent problem in devising a questionnaire for such a New profession.

The questions would fit professions that are well established and have a specific track for long time (like becoming a Lawyer a Doctor etc.)

Most senior IT pro of various types did not choose their current career out of High school because it was not an option at the time.

I.e. the questions have to be adjusted to track career development in time.

Or, interview a Junior that started in the last few years.

I doubt that Spidey chose is current career when he graduated from High School.

:sun:
 
1. Why did you choose this career?
Been doing it most of my life
2. What do you like most about it?
Love to troubleshoot problems, and do a good job. Feels rewarding
3. What do you dislike most about it?
IF something messes up I'm responsible for. Happens to everybody, but can be humbling.
4. How much should somebody expect as a starting salary?
Depends on where you live, and what organization you plan on working for.
5. How much should an experienced worker expect as a salary?
Depends
6. What courses did you take in college that helped you the most with this career?
MCSE/CCNA courses, and going out on my own, and obtaining Security based certifications. Security+/CISSP
7. What is a typical work day like?
Sit on my laptop, monitor newtork usage, troubleshoot any problems with the network/desktops, monitor firewall logs,
8. If you could do everything over again, would you do anything different?
No, I picked a good route. Going to a Technology Center to learn basic A+, Net+ stuff. Go to a techical college that teaches real world Networking MCSE/CCNA/Linux/ etc. Stay away from 4 year schools that teach dead programing languages instead of networking.
9. Would you even pick the same career if you could do it all over?
Yes, definatly. Best career in the world. Wouldn't rather be doing anything else with my life.
 
I guess I'll jump in as well. Unlike most, I chose and started this career while still in high school. I will omit the salary questions...

1. Why did you choose this career?

My initial interests were in programming...began with C in middle school and moved up the ladder as I learned more. Eventually got tired of it and began looking for different fields that sparked my interest. Around that time my High School started offering the CCNA Academy to seniors. It provided an easy senior year and more exposure, so I decided why not. Graduated the academy, took my CCNA that summer and I havent looked back since.

2. What do you like most about it?

Ever changing technologies.
The need to approach problems from multiple angles and apply troubleshooting different from what most are used to.

3. What do you dislike most about it?

same as above...its a love/hate relationship 🙂

6. What courses did you take in college that helped you the most with this career?

None. Most everything I know is self-taught, so going into college I already knew 95% of the material.

7. What is a typical work day like?

Day to day usually consists of checking network management, notification, radius/firewall logs, tickets, voicemail, messages, etc. Day to day stuff is the same old, its the projects that are exciting and offer new experiences. Couple weeks ago created and deployed a secure wireless solution, now I am working on migrating towards MPLS.

8. If you could do everything over again, would you do anything different?

I would have went to college right out of high school and finished asap. Now I'm stuck working full time during the day and school at night. SCHOOL SCHOOL SCHOOL!

9. Would you even pick the same career if you could do it all over?

so far...yes. give it a couple years though.
 
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