Security Certs. vs MS InfoSec. Degree?

inc0mplete

Hello. I am a new comer to these corners and I have finally established my flavor of security to be pursuing. I will be attending my last year in college for IT with a concentration in security. Afterwords, I plan on getting my feet wet with a little Sys. admin + MCSE.

After some time, do you think a masters in InfoSec would be more beneficial or Certs? You, as an employer, would you be more enticed to meet with me if I have a masters from Columbia(my target school) in security or my BS with CEH, MCSE, MCSE:security, OSPC, etc.?

Growing up I realize that time is expensive. I'm sure there is a median where I can perhaps do both, but would it be redundant? Overview of the Columbia courses show relevant if not equal information to Security+; CEH and some OSPC.

Thank you in advance for any reponses.

[EDIT]
Post-Script: I have been doing some mild research; is SANS an acceptable learning area for security? It seems like a university/institute for just security. Have any of you experienced much gain from SANS?

dynamik

I don't think doing both would be redundant at all. I'm sure there'd be some overlap in material here or there, but I wouldn't let that dissuade you from taking both on. Certs vs. degrees threads pop-up semi-often, but the consensus seems to be that both are valuable pieces of the puzzle. You can certainly get by with one or the other (or neither), but you'll go the furthest with both. Oh, and that puzzle is also composed of various other pieces, such as experience, who you know, and luck

Is SANS accredited? I've only looked at it briefly.

inc0mplete

Dynamik. You get an A+ for being the most helpful today! Although I am new to this community, you have answered all of my questions thoroughly and with great input!

But I am not sure if SANS is accredited, I have a ton of "data to enter" at work lol.

dynamik

Heh, you're basically asking the same questions I've asked verbatim, so it hasn't been too much of a burden on me

Definitely read through the old posts in the Security forums. I've gone through them all myself; there's a wealth of information there. If you're looking for a more technical blog/forum, check out this as well: The Ethical Hacker Network - Home

Oh, and I did notice that was your first post earlier, so here's a belated "welcome" to you

shednik

Hi inc0mplete,

I will throw my 2cents in as well...like dynamik said both would be the best option. If it were me personally? Depending on your background I would say go for the MS first if you can only do 1 at a time. I'm working on my masters of infosec currently and it's taking up a good bit of my time, but I'm learning alot in the process. There are alot of good schools to choose from for infosec I would look for a school in the list on this website National Centers of Academic Excellence - NSA/CSS. These schools have the backing of the NSA & Homeland for their infosec ciriculum. Then once you have started through the program and are nearing completion you can decide what arena you really want to specialize in because the infosec field is as broad as the medical field...also have a look at this post here. http://www.techexams.net/forums/security-certifications/24759-need-helping-chosing-security-certification.html

I hope thats a little help for ya!

UnixGuy

Any path is good, as long as you put the effort and be genuine in learning and practicing.

Personally, I'm planning to earn security certs and then I'm thinking to pursue MBA...this is my 5 yrs plan...it could change though.

Good luck, and welcome to the forums

JDMurray

SANS is not currently regionally accredited by CHEA, but they expect to be in 2011. However, the courses offered in their Masters degree program won't be the same workshops as in their SANS InfoSec program.