SANS Orlando - Work Study

LWB250

Has anyone who applied for work study in Orlando gotten a confirmation?

Cuse0311

I received an email confirmation when I first applied, but have not heard anything back just yet. I know that SANS usually doesn't start notifying anybody of their decisions until 4 to 6 weeks from the actual event date. So hopefully we will hear something within the next week or two.

LWB250

I was told by SANS that it was going to be last Friday. Apparently not. This is the closest I’ve ever known them to go on SANS Orlando. In years past we’ve know a couple months in advance. It sort of messes things up for a lot of applicants not knowing on such short notice, I would think.

Thanks!

LWB250

Been out of circulation due to a family member having surgery. Got the notification from SANS I was accepted for Work Study on Friday, March 8th! Looking forward to another great SANS Orlando and some very long days....

Cuse0311

Awesome congrats LWB250! I was placed on a waiting list. Which class are you facilitating? 

LWB250

SANS Orlando was, as always, a first class SANS event. Fantastic class, top-notch instructors, excellent events and a blast networking with my fellow security folks. There is no equal.

Looking forward to SANS Orlando 2020...

Cuse0311

Glad to hear that you had an awesome time! Good luck with your studies! I hope to make it there next year.

LWB250

I'll be sitting for my GCDA cert in August, most likely. Looking forward to doing work study again, too, I hope.

Infosec_Sam

I hadn't ever heard of the SANS work-study program, so I'm just checking it out right now - that's a pretty good deal! Would you say that's very competitive to get accepted?

Cuse0311

LWB250 said:

I'll be sitting for my GCDA cert in August, most likely. Looking forward to doing work study again, too, I hope.

Good deal. I would like to hear more about that course if you don't mind. That's a new one isn't it?

LWB250

I'm not sure what the criteria is for acceptance. At SANS Orlando I would say that easily half, if not more, of the participants were new to the program. To grasp the scale at a national event like this, there were about 30 or so work study participants, one or more for each class. Some got their acceptance well in advance, others not until a few week prior to the event. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the process, but that probably because we're seeing it from the outside.

I've done it three times, but been turned down once out of the four times I've applied, so being a veteran is no guarantee that you'll be chosen. That being said, there were people in this cohort who have done it 5-7 times or more.

It's a fantastic opportunity, but a tremendous commitment as well. You start the day before the event to prepare everything for the attendees. A lot of physical labor and long days on the front and back end. For the most part you'll have no problem attending class and getting the full benefit of the training while you're there.

I feel honored and privileged to be able to participate in the program. It gives you insight into SANS that you would not normally experience, and allows you to totally understand the commitment to excellence and the customer that SANS, its employees and the instructors have. I've never experienced an organization like it.

What's sort of funny is how every time I've participated in Work Study I come home totally exhausted, saying that I'm done with it and I'm not doing it again. A few months later I see the notification for the next year's event and I just HAVE to sign up. Once you've been a part of it you can't help wanting to do it again...

Infosec_Sam

LWB250 said:

I'm not sure what the criteria is for acceptance. At SANS Orlando I would say that easily half, if not more, of the participants were new to the program. To grasp the scale at a national event like this, there were about 30 or so work study participants, one or more for each class. Some got their acceptance well in advance, others not until a few week prior to the event. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the process, but that probably because we're seeing it from the outside.

I've done it three times, but been turned down once out of the four times I've applied, so being a veteran is no guarantee that you'll be chosen. That being said, there were people in this cohort who have done it 5-7 times or more.

It's a fantastic opportunity, but a tremendous commitment as well. You start the day before the event to prepare everything for the attendees. A lot of physical labor and long days on the front and back end. For the most part you'll have no problem attending class and getting the full benefit of the training while you're there.

I feel honored and privileged to be able to participate in the program. It gives you insight into SANS that you would not normally experience, and allows you to totally understand the commitment to excellence and the customer that SANS, its employees and the instructors have. I've never experienced an organization like it.

What's sort of funny is how every time I've participated in Work Study I come home totally exhausted, saying that I'm done with it and I'm not doing it again. A few months later I see the notification for the next year's event and I just HAVE to sign up. Once you've been a part of it you can't help wanting to do it again...

Wow, thank you for going so in-detail about that - it sounds like it would feel super fulfilling! I bet a bit of manual labor feels good every once in a while too!

JoJoCal19

I liked it being at the Hyatt better than when it was at the Disney Swan and Dolphin hotel. I was at the Rapid7 booth this year. I still have the itch to do the Work Study again. I really miss it! I’m going to talk to my management about the logistics of it. My job doesn’t really allow for short notice of being selected so I’d have to figure that out. 

LWB250

Agreed. I think the Hyatt is a much better venue for a lot of reasons. If there was a negative it would be the limited options for food, especially at lunch time.

I've been notified as early as two months prior, but it seems to vary without any clear reason (to me.) Go ahead and apply, the worst thing that can happen is you decline. You won't be the first person to do it.

johndoee

LWB250 said:

I'm not sure what the criteria is for acceptance. At SANS Orlando I would say that easily half, if not more, of the participants were new to the program. To grasp the scale at a national event like this, there were about 30 or so work study participants, one or more for each class. Some got their acceptance well in advance, others not until a few week prior to the event. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the process, but that probably because we're seeing it from the outside.

I've done it three times, but been turned down once out of the four times I've applied, so being a veteran is no guarantee that you'll be chosen. That being said, there were people in this cohort who have done it 5-7 times or more.

It's a fantastic opportunity, but a tremendous commitment as well. You start the day before the event to prepare everything for the attendees. A lot of physical labor and long days on the front and back end. For the most part you'll have no problem attending class and getting the full benefit of the training while you're there.

I feel honored and privileged to be able to participate in the program. It gives you insight into SANS that you would not normally experience, and allows you to totally understand the commitment to excellence and the customer that SANS, its employees and the instructors have. I've never experienced an organization like it.

What's sort of funny is how every time I've participated in Work Study I come home totally exhausted, saying that I'm done with it and I'm not doing it again. A few months later I see the notification for the next year's event and I just HAVE to sign up. Once you've been a part of it you can't help wanting to do it again...

This is so me!  

I am like the heck with this, I would rather do OnDemand.  With these large events you are setting up all these rooms and thinking ...was it really worth it LOL