confused

nanga

Hi ,
I am a masters student studying IT Mgmt having no work exp. I have a CCNA, Network+,Security+ and am working towards my CISSP and CCDA ( 640-863)
I dont want work on the technical level and would prefer mgmt side in network implementation and network security

Could you guys pls help me out ,like which kind of jobs can i start searching for and what would b the best kind of certification i should look ahead for.

Thanks in advance.

markieman31

If your looking towards management, the CISSP is a nice choice. Eventually, after experience, the PMP (Project Management Prof. i think it stands for) its from the PMI (Proj. Manage. Institute) It is a great management Certification to have, but you need documented hours of management experience and such in order to get approved for the exam. Not sure of all the guidelines and restrictions, but we can look into that later. There are some other management certifications out there, but I'm not familiar with most, can always research. If your looking into getting into management, you might think about looking into some of those too. The technical side of certs don't hurt though, but if you want to stay away from that, there are certifications out there that are geared towards the business professional and management.

Slowhand

You'll need to work for a few years before you'll really get into a management position in the IT industry. You may be able to get into another type of managmenent position with a Master's degree, but it will be very difficult to convince any company to hire you for a senior or supervisory position without any kind of work-experience to show for it. My recommendation, continue working on your certs and get a job as soon as you're able. If you've got your CCNA, I'd say get yourself on the CCNP track, and possibly CCSP if you're interested in security. Shooting for one of CCIE tracks in the coming few years is probably not a bad idea, either. You can start looking at the new generation of Microsoft certifications, since they lead up to doing a high-level cert, in the form of the MCA.

You have lots of options available to you in terms of certifications and job-roles. You will, however, need to have somewhere around 3 - 5 years' experience in the field, probably more, before you're able to move into management and senior positions. Even taking certain certs, like CISSP, MCA, PMP, and lots of others, require a certain amount of documented work experience before you can become certified. To give you an idea of the kind of competition you're looking at, check out Dice.com's job-board. Search for things like "senior network engineer", "security administrator", or "IT manager", and see what kinds of requirements they demand you have for the jobs, not to mention what the job-descriptions are.

shednik

Well i agree with slowhand as for what he has said above....for the CISSP though you will need to gain i believe it was just recently changed to 5 years direct experience in security that will need to be reviewed by (ISC)² as well as a mentor that has their CISSP whom must vouch for you. I may be missing a few details JD or Keatron can clarify better. hope this helps!

markieman31

yeah, there are requirements for the CISSP exam too. In some places, if you sign up somewhere and take a course for the CISSP exam, the instructor of the course will sign off as your "mentor" to help you meet that requirement for the exam.

And I agree too...good advice Slowhand.

keatron

markieman31 wrote:

yeah, there are requirements for the CISSP exam too. In some places, if you sign up somewhere and take a course for the CISSP exam, the instructor of the course will sign off as your "mentor" to help you meet that requirement for the exam.

And I agree too...good advice Slowhand.

Mentor is not the same as endorser. And no, an instructor can't sign off on your experience. If they do, they're violating the 3 page oath they had to sign when they were authorized as an instructor. Actually, if a place is doing that, I doubt the instructors are even authorized.

I was the original proposer of a mentorship program, and we haven't even started to work out any details, heck, the idea hasn't even been approved yet. So trust me, if there's a mentorship program rolling out, you'll most likely hear it here on TE first.

Slowhand nailed it. Look to work in a non-management role for 3 to 5 years. Then set your compass for the sky! By the way, if you can meet the requirements to take the exam and pass but don't meet the certification experience criteria, take it anyway and keep the associate status. This way once you reach the experience milestone, it's just a matter of paperwork and an endorsement, then you're a CISSP.

Keatron.

markieman31

perhaps endorser was the term i was thinking of then. Not sure, not that familiar with the certification other than there are requirements you need to meet beyond passing an exam in order to get the certification, was just attempting to make that point.

keatron

markieman31 wrote:

perhaps endorser was the term i was thinking of then. Not sure, not that familiar with the certification other than there are requirements you need to meet beyond passing an exam in order to get the certification, was just attempting to make that point.

No problem. That's what we're all here for, the get and give clarification.

Just to explain a bit more; The endorser should be someone who can attest to your security experience. While an instructor might be able to attest to your intelligence, it would be hard if not impossible to attest to ones experience just from spending a week with them (especially since the CISSP courses are not very interactive at all, it's more of a presentation and lecture than an interaction. You don't use tools, you don't do exercises (other than maybe answer some review questions).

nanga

hey guys thanks a lot....ye i am gona appear for the CISSP Associate exam. What kind of a job profile i should search for ..i am kinda confused...cause the job requirements in the security filed require ppl to know firewall tech or VPNs.....and stuff...even though i know the concepts i dont know how to configure them.

I am CCNA, N+,Security+ and working towards CISSP andCCDA..

pls let me know ur advise...
and once again thanks a lot for your advise...i appreciate it

Slowhand

Again, the only way you'll learn the things they require of you is going to be to start working as well as studying for certs. The more knowledge you have and the more experience you have to back up that knowledge, the better. If the Cisco road interests you, push yourself up to the professional-level exams once you're done with CCDA. The CCNP, especially, will be very important if you're looking to reach a senior or management position. Since you're looking to do security as your main focus, the CCSP is also a good idea.

The CISSP is going to serve you well, but you have to make sure you have the experience that is required to really put those security skills to use. The reason that (ISC)2 has those job-experience requirements is to make sure all their candidates will be able to do the work that those tested skills represent. It's very much like you said, you know the concepts but you don't have the practical hands-on experience to do the real configuration. This will be the case with everything you study if you don't get any practical experience. Remember, if you're the boss you're not only going to be expected to do your own job, but you should be able to perform the job functions of almost everyone who works under you, if needed.

Another thing worth mentioning, there is no such thing as an IT manager who never touches the equipment or does any of the hands-on configuration; at least, ones who keep their jobs or work for companies that don't go bankrupt. In fact, a lot of places require the senior-level employees and managers to do even more work than the regular technicians and engineers. I guess what I'm trying to convey is that there will never be a time when you don't have to do a lot of work. The competition in the IT world is fierce, and if someone isn't capable of doing their job, the employer will find someone who will. The payoff though, is that you can be paid well and get a lot of job-satisfaction for putting your skills to work. So, roll up your sleeves now, start working as soon as your able, and you'll get the kind of work that you're hoping for before you know it.

Kaminsky

Definately also look into ITIL lvl 1 and 2 and Prince 2 from the business perspective. They will help support your management rather than the technical side.