Non-CS/E&E major trying to get into this field, any advice would be welcomed

moses zhang

Hi,

I am a math major senior from Rutgers University(international student on F-1 visa). I have already got my CCNA R&S and Cisco 300-101 Route, and now i am working on Cisco 300-115 and Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP). Hopefully I can get the CCNP R&S very early next year, and OSCP Feb or Mar, 2016.
I have some programming knowledge, mainly Java and Python. Surly, i would like to learn more if i can meet the two goals above.
My plan is to go find a job that can give me real world experience on Cyber Security and/or Networking Engineering. After two or three years, I will go to a graduate school, and study CS or Cyber Security.
The question is, which kind of internship/entry level jobs should i apply for?
And, if my current profile can not help me find a job, what should i begin to learn in order to find a job of this kind? (MCSE, RHCE? )

Thanks!

capwap

I was a math major, too, and it has not helped in finding networking jobs. But your certifications should help. Without experience, you may have to start low on the pole, say helpdesk, but you'll probably be able to work your way up quick.

If you really want to do cyber security and network engineering, I'd say skip graduate school. Not that it's a total waste, but it's just an inefficient investment. You'd be better off gaining job experience and working toward higher level certifications like CISSP or CCIE, depending on exactly what you decide to do.

moses zhang

hi capwap, thanks for the info! so what kind of task one normally assigned when doing helpdesk?

ratbuddy

Just curious, why aren't you leaning towards development roles? That's where a math degree can really pay off.

moses zhang

hi ratbuddy, do you mean software engineering? well, i am working on that too, but with less time and effort. some of my friends(CS graduate) who just got good offer from big companies in the city also suggested me to do software engineering, but personally i find networking more interesting. right now, i am mainly focusing on networking engineering, but yes, i would gradually to learn more software engineering. after all, i am still young.

ratbuddy wrote: »

Just curious, why aren't you leaning towards development roles? That's where a math degree can really pay off.