SANS Boston 2014 - Workstudy

j.petrov

Hi All,

After months of waiting I got an email last Friday about being selected to be a room facilitator at SANS Boston 2014, which I am very excited about. I was able to get my top choice of the GSEC course. This was my first time applying for the work study, and will be my first SANS course.

To top it off my company will be paying for my time off to attend the course as well as reimbursing me the costs.

Anyone else attending SANS Boston?

timrvt

yes I'll be there for GCED

j.petrov

I completed the workstudy just last week and wanted to share my feedback regarding the program.

Firstly the work that you need to put in is WELL worth the discount you get. I would highly recommend this program to anyone that is trying to challange a GIAC cert or anyone who is willing to pay out of pocket.

The first day was by far the longest, we had to start working at 6AM and I didn't end up leaving until about 9:30 (would have been 7:30, but I stayed to watch Dr Cole's keynote talk on APT, which was incredible). All the SANS staff members were awesome to work with. Everyone from the office staff to the teachers were extremely nice and willing to share knowledge. A bunch of my fellow faciliators had faciliated before, so its seems you get preference if you have facilitated before and got a good evaluation from your instructor.

As for the course there was definitely a lot of review for me as I passed the CISSP exam in December of last year, however the class material was more practical than the CISSP materials. I had Jason Fossen as an instructor and he was really good. His level of knowledge in every area was a lot deeper than the materials in the books. After the course completed I left with a desire to learn more. I will without a doubt be applying for the workstudy program again in the future.

5ekurity

Thanks for the write-up! What do you think will be next on your list of SANS classes to attend?

cyberguypr

Very nice. Glad you enjoyed it. Be careful, this stuff is addictive. This will be my third year in a row doing the work/study program.

j.petrov

@ 5ekurity, as of now I have three SANS classes on my radar. 501 (gced), 503 (gcia), or 504 (gcih). No idea which one I will do next, I feel like I need to start thinking about specializing.

idr0p

Im glad it went well for you. I seem to never get lucky enough to get selected for work study. How much info did you put in your application?

j.petrov

I just looked back at my application and it wasn't as detailed as I remembered it being. I honestly have no idea why I was picked...

Khaos1911

Congrats on your selection! I was chosen to facilitate at SANS San Antonio starting Monday for GCIH, but I have some projects at work that are keeping me from attending.

j.petrov

@Khaos1911 thats pretty brutal that you can't go. The value of this program is incredible. Hopefully you get selected again for another event.