Am I being too specific?

CIO

I started my IT career 8 years ago mainly doing desktop support and some low level server admin tasks. A year ago I decided to start focusing on info sec specifically wireless network security (blue team side) but having a hard time finding a company that is willing to give a chance.


To date I have the ITIL, A+ & Security+ and a B.S. in IS. Currently I'm studying for the CEH & CASP and will look into the Cisco security track (CCENT > CCNA Sec > CCNP Sec) & the OSWP. Since I'm unable to gain some network security experience due to my current role, I decided to build a home lab to practice some of the concepts while studying for these certs.


Does anyone think I'm being too specific and should focus on network security in general? I welcome any tips/suggestions.

Also i'm willing to relocate for the right position.

dmoore44

Yeah, I think so. Blue team is usually used in the context of SOC members who perform threat detection and response operations. Think threat hunters and incident responders.

If you're specifically wanting to do something with wireless networking and security, then you'd be better off focusing on getting a wireless network engineer position.

EnderWiggin

General network security would be the next logical step career-wise. The certs you're working on are good steps as well, I wouldn't change anything there.

TheFORCE

If you are working for a company that already has an infose team or is using security tools or products, see if you can get read only access to those and look at how the tools work, if you can't get access, look at the documentation for those solutions, plenty online. You will get more knowledge about infosec from actually using infosec tools, this will help you get into the various roles. I practice this approach and find it that its more effective.

CIO

I really appreciate the feedback and suggestions everyone. I will continue on the current path that i'm on and look forward to landing a real info sec role in the future.

Danielm7

Agree with the others, I can't imagine a lot of positions that do only wireless network security. For reference, my company is 10K+ people, they have 1 person, a CCIE, who handles wireless, and she does double duty in helping with switching. They don't even have a dedicated person for wireless security specifically.

Simrid

It maybe worth looking at some vendor natural wireless certifications to try and get a good understanding of wireless technologies, the CWNA, CWNP and more specifically CWSP.

Here is a link to the website - https://www.cwnp.com/it-certifications/

mbarrett

CIO wrote: »

I started my IT career 8 years ago mainly doing desktop support and some low level server admin tasks. A year ago I decided to start focusing on info sec specifically wireless network security (blue team side) but having a hard time finding a company that is willing to give a chance.

To date I have the ITIL, A+ & Security+ and a B.S. in IS. Currently I'm studying for the CEH & CASP and will look into the Cisco security track (CCENT > CCNA Sec > CCNP Sec)

To focus on wireless network security, you should be #1 applying to these kinds of jobs as you see them posted, #2 do CWNA (at least) and look towards CWSP. Also the SANS GAWN certification is very good in this area. The CCNA Wireless is very similar to CWNA but focused on Cisco technology.
Your current certs look more like a general security person. The CEH or CASP are more for people experienced in the field and they both state that experience is required...make sure you meet these requirements.
If you are able to interview for wireless security positions, find out what they are looking for & compare it to your own goals. Solicit feedback about areas they think you need to be stronger for what they are looking for. That will give you an idea of what you might want to work towards for these types of jobs.