Questions on where to begin and which direction to head (career)
Gearbox
Registered Users Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hello all! I've been a lurker for some time and finally decided to register. I hope this is the right place to post this kind of thread. 
??:
I am from India and just have completed my engineering in computer sciences. I had initially planned to do masters and also decide on what to do for specialisation but I cannot take up a degree course or a job now due to cirumstances at home. I have to be at home and attend to stuff, now that I am kind of glued to home, I've planned to at least do a lot of self study for the following 8 months.
Now, I am aiming towards a career in software testing / security testing. Im not quite sure how independant are these since on one hand one is about testing software for flaws, bugs, inefficiency etc etc and the other about security of the data handled by apps,networks etc. I plan to do certifications to at least keep me busy enough at home and also make my self learning a bit more organised. Currently all my self learning stuff is from here and there with no fixed path. That has barely lead to any progress.
Questions
- Do I have to choose between application testing / security testing ? Or can both be handled as a specialisation ?
I am aware of CEH certification but that seems a too high a target for now. Ill probably need some steps in between to reach there. I have no clue about which exam/cert is for software testing.
- I am just okay with the stuff I learned in engineering, my uni wasnt that good in teaching. I first plan to get the bases strong in which I dont have much confidence for now, these are some of the subjects I've covered during engineering.
I'd like to know at least what to read or where to begin properly to all the above fields. If there are recommended books for the above please list them. Also I am interesting in doing certifications in the above fields which will help towards a career in security testing. There are too many certifications around and I am confused on which ones to actually do.
- I want to setup a low cost environment where I can do testing. Eg a basic desktop pc + routers + other stuff etc. I don't have much clue on what all would be needed to set up a el-cheapo lab at home. I plan to spend quite a few hours a day in it. If there's any guidance on setting up such an environment and what all I need, that would be very helpful. I can setup stuff myself, I just need to know what all would be essential.
-If things are okay by the next year I am planning for a masters overseas in Europe (have zeroed down on some universities) So by then I plan to be at least pro enough in some fields, specialise in one or two so that I can continue working on them while I do my masters. I want to do masters from a good uni since my bachelor's degree doesnt have much ... value
My major problem is im unware of things happening around, I can grasp concepts quickly, but I barely know where to actually begin. I am not looking for any short term amazing gains. I need a realistic approach so that after some years I can be where I want to.
- That's all I can think of now, I rely on forum members who actually have experience (which I dont) to phase out a plan I can work on towards a career in Application/Security Testing. I plan to stick around these forums since its a good source to know what's up with today's stuff in computers.
Much appreciated and thank you to all.
-Xeno
??:I am from India and just have completed my engineering in computer sciences. I had initially planned to do masters and also decide on what to do for specialisation but I cannot take up a degree course or a job now due to cirumstances at home. I have to be at home and attend to stuff, now that I am kind of glued to home, I've planned to at least do a lot of self study for the following 8 months.
Now, I am aiming towards a career in software testing / security testing. Im not quite sure how independant are these since on one hand one is about testing software for flaws, bugs, inefficiency etc etc and the other about security of the data handled by apps,networks etc. I plan to do certifications to at least keep me busy enough at home and also make my self learning a bit more organised. Currently all my self learning stuff is from here and there with no fixed path. That has barely lead to any progress.
Questions
- Do I have to choose between application testing / security testing ? Or can both be handled as a specialisation ?
I am aware of CEH certification but that seems a too high a target for now. Ill probably need some steps in between to reach there. I have no clue about which exam/cert is for software testing.
- I am just okay with the stuff I learned in engineering, my uni wasnt that good in teaching. I first plan to get the bases strong in which I dont have much confidence for now, these are some of the subjects I've covered during engineering.
Software engineering
Computer architecture & Organisation
Operating systems (Windows and Linux)
System software and administration
Networking
Oracle SQL, DBMS
Java
I'd like to know at least what to read or where to begin properly to all the above fields. If there are recommended books for the above please list them. Also I am interesting in doing certifications in the above fields which will help towards a career in security testing. There are too many certifications around and I am confused on which ones to actually do.
- I want to setup a low cost environment where I can do testing. Eg a basic desktop pc + routers + other stuff etc. I don't have much clue on what all would be needed to set up a el-cheapo lab at home. I plan to spend quite a few hours a day in it. If there's any guidance on setting up such an environment and what all I need, that would be very helpful. I can setup stuff myself, I just need to know what all would be essential.
-If things are okay by the next year I am planning for a masters overseas in Europe (have zeroed down on some universities) So by then I plan to be at least pro enough in some fields, specialise in one or two so that I can continue working on them while I do my masters. I want to do masters from a good uni since my bachelor's degree doesnt have much ... value
My major problem is im unware of things happening around, I can grasp concepts quickly, but I barely know where to actually begin. I am not looking for any short term amazing gains. I need a realistic approach so that after some years I can be where I want to.
- That's all I can think of now, I rely on forum members who actually have experience (which I dont) to phase out a plan I can work on towards a career in Application/Security Testing. I plan to stick around these forums since its a good source to know what's up with today's stuff in computers.
Much appreciated and thank you to all.
-Xeno