GPEN & GWAPT & GAWN or Bachelor degree?

I was speaking with my parents and they gave me an option..pay for me to finish my bachelors or..pay for 3 SANS certs.

#1) I just started my NOC/ linux support position..so by the end of next year I would have 15 months experience and maybe 3 SANS certs..

or
#2) I could finish my bachelors

What would you guys do?

Could I get some type of info sec/ jr pentest gig with option 1?

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Comments

UnixGuy

YuckTheFankees wrote: »

I couldnt find any, could you list one?

This is one:

Note: applicants without a degree but with appropriate industrial experience will also be considered.

Link: Information Security - Entrance requirements - Royal Holloway - University of London International Programmes

again, I see no reason for this unless you really have great experience. It's not a shortcut, It's just for those who have enough experience and training and don't wish to repeat BSc-level classes again.

docrice

A few notes about GIAC certs (SANS provides the training, GIAC does the certification).

As a holder of the GSEC, GCFW, GCIA, and GCIH myself, I will say that the training I received has been first-rate. I don't regret funding most of these on my own, even if they left me with holes in my pockets.

That said, I'm now doing exactly what those certifications cover: firewalls, intrusion detection, protocol analysis, response, and other general network security engineering. I work at a company whose entire business revolves around network security, and I'll say that while I've benefited greatly by the knowledge SANS training has given me and can continue to apply what I've learned, it has not made me an expert nor super competent. Not by a long shot. The real world is much more complex, dynamic, and overwhelming. It's fun, but I'm virtually left with almost no spare minutes these days to casually surf the web for a minute or two.

So from that perspective, I can respect what SANS provides and the status GIAC certifications impart, but there's still no replacement from actually having been in the trenches and doing the work. If I were hiring, I'm not sure if I'd personally prefer a candidate with the degree or GIAC certs with all else being equal.

YuckTheFankees

I greatly appreciate everyone's point of view and knowledge. I still have no idea what I want to do. I do agree that I need to get my bachelors and probably master's within the next 2-5 years, but I can also guarantee I wouldn't get a security job. If I went the SANS/ GIAC route (3 of their certs), I would definitely have a better chance of a company taking a chance on me (even without the degree).

I came up with a third option now (to help get a nice raise sooner rather than later)..currently I'm gaining linux experience, so why not get the red hat certs..apply for linux admin jobs..then move to a security job? Once again the degree might come into play but this time I will have experience and certs.

demonfurbie

the general bs degree at wgu with any kinda of prior college/IT work would be able to get done fairly quickly

then you can get the sec certs after

alot of jobs require a degree not for the knowledge but for requirements of either iso or DoD

im lucky at my current job but the judges i work for wont even let a comp sec person testify with out at least a masters because they will be picked apart by lawyers and thats always the first question they ask "were did you go to school?"

YuckTheFankees

So I decided against SANS training/ GIAC certs for right now. I'm going for my RHCSA and RHCE, find a linux admin job then finish my degree. Since I'm gaining linux experience, I think this is definitely the best way to advance my career. There are a ton of linux jobs of there, so I'm hopeful.