Getting in contact with IT Professionals?

I title this IT professionals and not cyber security professionals because I suppose this practice could apply to any type of field.

I am a college student looking to get into the cyber security field, while surely everyone would like the top paying jobs in the field (CSO/CISO/Director of Security/Security Manager etc)

I was wondering if you guys knew a way I could get in contact with these security professionals personally and I could talk to them almost like a mentor figure and ask them about their path to success etc so I could get a sense of direction in my path to a good career.

I was thinking about getting on LinkedIn and searching around but I just don't know, these people probably wouldn't spend their time talking with me or be too busy anyways.

Thoughts?

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kelleycl22

I, too, would like to get in touch with more individuals already in the field. I'm currently using our corporate social media site and LinkedIn to connect with people.

Mike R

I'm also in a similar position as you. I'm working on a CCNA and would like to find someone to ask various questions. I'm trying to break into the field and make as few as mistakes as possible so I don't waste time or money. These forums are great if you can visit them every day or two, but eventually finding a mentor or a Networking group would be great.

BerkshireHerd

Just Do It!

I got my foot in the door 2 years ago by reaching out to a VP at a local regional bank. I asked for a 20 minutes of his time to get any advice he had to get into the field. Long story short he left before I could meet with him, HOWEVER, he actually gave my name to the guy taking over and the new VP reached out to me directly via LinkedIn. I came in and interviewed before even officially applying for a position.

Long story short, I spent a year on Desktop Support, networking with InfoSec, when they had an opening I was the first person on their list.

danny069

BerkshireHerd wrote: »

Just Do It!

I got my foot in the door 2 years ago by reaching out to a VP at a local regional bank. I asked for a 20 minutes of his time to get any advice he had to get into the field. Long story short he left before I could meet with him, HOWEVER, he actually gave my name to the guy taking over and the new VP reached out to me directly via LinkedIn. I came in and interviewed before even officially applying for a position.

Long story short, I spent a year on Desktop Support, networking with InfoSec, when they had an opening I was the first person on their list.

Great story and great advice! Also don't come off as pushy or self-entitled, be humble, polite, and take both acceptance and rejection with gratitude.

techfiend

If you're in USA check out Find your people - Meetup for groups. They members are very welcoming in my experience.

tedjames

Join your local ISSA (or similar organization) chapter, go to meetings, network with other professionals in the field.

jcundiff

what others have said above, or talk to those of us here in the InfoSec field... Its a broad field with lots of sub-areas of expertise, just look at the (10) now 8 domains of the CISSP cert to get an idea of the specialization areas

dmoore44

Meetup is one of the best places to hook in to professional interest groups, to include InfoSec or hacker meetups. Also, check to see if there's an OWASP chapter nearby. Ingragard might be something to hook in to as well. Depending on age and comfort level, you might also check to see what sort of cybersecurity related clubs are available at your local university.

tbgree00

Also check out your local VMUG chapter if you have one. We tend to get a ton of people from different disciplines in IT, not just Virtualization Engineers. Go there, talk, and get to know some of them. I'm sure someone has an InfoSec person on their team.

Another way I could think of is to find someone you respect and just email or tweet them saying you'd like to talk to them. If someone is blogging they probably want to help people and you may make a good contact that way. It'd probably be good for you to have a way to communicate (skype, hangout, etc) before you contact just in case you get a quick turnaround.

Lastly everyone on here is so nice you could probably PM someone you respect and they would talk with you.

Russ5813

Lots of helpful/knowledgeable people here in the TE community. LinkedIn is a good resource, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a better method than just going out and meeting IT/SEC professionals. Also keep an eye out for businesses starting up or branching out into your area-- their management will sometimes host local meet-n-greets for PR/recruiting purposes.

Psydrox

tedjames wrote: »

Join your local ISSA (or similar organization) chapter, go to meetings, network with other professionals in the field.

I'll have to PM you when I get 10 posts haha.. Can't do it yet, but I have plenty of questions! I wonder how would be the easiest way to meet the InfoSec people on this forum?

techtia

FarmersOnly.com

cyberguypr

HA! Those of us living in the Midwest corn fields have that as our homepage. I have found all sort of pros there except IT pros.