For those of you with M.S. Degrees in Cybersecurity, Information Assurance, etc...

Do you feel that it has helped in your job hunt? Or do you feel you could have easily just concentrated on high end certs.? I would like to move more into the security side of things and probably would have enough experience to qualify for the CISSP. My current job would pay for half of my MS degree but I would have to stay for 4 years, which I am not sure I am willing to commit to. Thoughts?

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pinkydapimp

jmasterj206 wrote: »

Do you feel that it has helped in your job hunt? Or do you feel you could have easily just concentrated on high end certs.? I would like to move more into the security side of things and probably would have enough experience to qualify for the CISSP. My current job would pay for half of my MS degree but I would have to stay for 4 years, which I am not sure I am willing to commit to. Thoughts?

If they are willing to pay for half, thats free money. I am only halfway through my masters. Had to take time off due to life stuff. but what i can tell you is just the few classes i have taken have helped my career tremendously. I say go for it if you think you can stay at the current job for 4 years(is that 4 years after you complete it or begin it?).

jmasterj206

Thanks for the reply. That would be 4 years during. Basically an additional 2 years after school.

pinkydapimp

jmasterj206 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. That would be 4 years during. Basically an additional 2 years after school.

Thats not bad provided your being paid decently. Otherwise, grab that CISSP then re-evaluate.

da_vato

It sounds like you are already looking to jump ship in the next couple of years and they are trying to incentivize you to stay. May I ask why you may not be willing to stay that long? Will you be promoted or transfer to a new section upon completion?

I cannot speak to the job hunt portion because I still have the same job that I had before my masters but I can tell you every little bit helps. How long have you been in IT? As long as you have solid experience, a Masters will help make your resume stand out amongst the crowd. This could also be done with years of experience and high level cert’s though.

Personally I would recommend a Masters because it never expires and is more versatile, and will still be relevant, if you chose to change path such as management, consultant, or whatever.

jmasterj206

The education policy is for everyone at the facility, so it doesn't just apply to me. I have been in IT just a little over 10 years now. As far as leaving the current place short of management I am at the top of the food chain and wear many hats (Security, System Admin, Network Admin). The only place I have to go is management and I am not sure how long the current leadership is going to stick around. It could be 10 years or 6 months.

pinkydapimp

jmasterj206 wrote: »

The education policy is for everyone at the facility, so it doesn't just apply to me. I have been in IT just a little over 10 years now. As far as leaving the current place short of management I am at the top of the food chain and wear many hats (Security, System Admin, Network Admin). The only place I have to go is management and I am not sure how long the current leadership is going to stick around. It could be 10 years or 6 months.

now that i think more about it, i think it makes better sense to get your CISSP first. Especially since you have the experience. With that, you should be able to get a new job which pays much more. And ideally, you can find a place that also does tuition reimbursement. You can study for and pass the CISSP in a few months. Maybe sooner if you have alot of the experience.

bobloblaw

I don't see the CISSP being a huge hurdle for you. Based on your credentials alone, you should be very familiar with a majority of the CBK already. I think you could attain it relatively quick compared to most people.

Mitechniq

I graduated from WGU through the MSISA program, till this day I don't think it has helped me in finding a new job. In fact I haven't seen any job on the market that references a Master's degree. It did help me in pursuing my CISSP as the domains pretty much aligned with the courses I took. But like most have said you have enough experience and certs (CCNASEC) to have a good grasp of the CISSP domains.

emerald_octane

I would get CISSP + M.S. (infact, it's what i'm doing right now) but I would get the CISSP first, every single time if you have the experience. Everything you hear about it is true, once I added it I got 10x replies and many unsolicited requests. My current job required it, so I beat out several other candidates with certs or degrees (very few had both).

cyberguypr

I concur with doing CISSP first. It looks like it may be time for you to look elsewhere and 4 years in that environment with no upward mobility will feel like an eternity. I have CISSP and am going through the WGU MSISA. I just finished a one and a half month search for an Infosec Engineer position and have to say that the Masters was never listed as a requirement. The thing that kept popping up either as required or preferred was the CISSP. SANS certs came in second and OSCP third.

Definitely do both when the time is right, but in most cases CISSP will play a bigger factor in securing a job.

zxbane

I agree with others in the thread, the CISSP will definitely have a much better ROI than the MS degree in terms of marketability and employment opportunities. Also as cyberguypr said, 4 years with no chance at advancement will be demoralizing for sure. Knock out the CISSP and move onto another organization that offers educational benefits such as tuition assistance and reimbursement.

jmasterj206

Thanks all for the advice.