Am I doing it wrong ?

Falasi

I'm not sure if this is the right place to talk about this but I hope you guys can advise me on handling this issue(this is a long post, you have been warned!):
Well to start I'm 28 years old with bachler degree in Information Security, I started my carrier in a company in the compliance section , we tried to implement ISO27002 (BS7799 at first) but didn't work out , my manager jumped the ship when he can and finally after 2 years of struggling (without clear management) it turned out that they just wanted a section called "compliance" just to say that they have one. anyway I left that company and started looking for a job into information security.

I ended up into another compliance job , based on my new boss : they wanted to prepare me to replace the current assist manager since he will retire soon , as a part of nationalization program they follow. anyway this didn't work well since the guy heard that conversation so I ended up doing data entry : converting audit report from pdf into excel (actually typing all points since they scan reports as pictures...). I didn't complain though and I was like "ohwell , I may as well identify areas of improvements!". every day I'll have 30-40 Audit reports of 5-10 pages that I have to summarize which I normally end up staying for few extra hours to finish. everything was cool until they sent the whole section for ISO27002 Lead Auditor course and I was the only one who pass.. not even my supervisor (the soon-to-be retired guy) , then my annual leaves started (2 week..) so when I came back I found almost 400 report. at this point its impossible to finish them off.

finally it turned out that my manager was brainwashed by the guy and both went to our CIO (as we are reporting to him) complaining that I'm not doing my job and I should be fired or asked to resign.

The guy called me , asked me few question , explained the situation and give me the option to move to technical security (Firewall ,IPS, VA etc) I was like I don't have any problem. my supervisor was fine and we almost the same age , I'm cool with anyone anyway. within 3 months I've lead the implementation of IPS , fully set VA process and made it on track. Automated most of the things so even when I'm off. I've actually enjoyed my job. I had sometime and extra money so I started my master studies off office hours. my manager was cool about it as it didn't effect my performance.

I realized that after 4years I have hardly anything to support my experience ,there is no regulation to enforce certificate here but I always loved the idea of having extra paper that at least says that I know something. I've done Security+(self-study) , SFCP (part of the training) then attempted for CISA and CISSP (Self-study) but only cleared the later. This is when my problems started....

The guy flipped 180 degree , I informed him that I managed it only to get "its outside our scoop and it will not help you ever, you have wasted your time" which I didn't take it personally , I was like ohwell , maybe here but somewhere else it sure will be. he started directing all his related tasks to me , don't approve anything until 5 mins before my working hours end so I end up spending 2-3h extra almost daily , then rush to master class. schadule "0 downtime" changes on weekend (which I'm cool with) and finally ended up complaining to the same CIO that I'm overstepping his authorities (the guy will approve something then magically forget about approving it even with an email/signature). finally I had to apologize to him and he cooled off (figured I don't want to start a fight with him and Its better If i started looking for another job).

I'm not into problems and when I started my certification /master studies; I encouraged and helped everyone within the team including him learning and getting better, 3 of 5 employees are starting their master studies . so simply I wanna know:

anyone faced something like this ? did my focus on getting more education and doing self-study was wrong ? should I slow down or keep going to cover my early 4 years of no certification ?

the_Grinch

Never hold yourself back because of others. I would continue to educate yourself, but not bring it up. I think at this point you could probably go where ever you like and it should be fairly simple to articulate your various job duties on your resume. CISSP and your experience, golden ticket if you ask me.

NetworkVeteran

Educating yourself for your next employer on your own dime and time is fine; letting your current employer in on those plans is unwise, as you've hopefully learned. If he is a wise man, he may now see you as only a temporary asset. That would make others the best to assign the most desireable tasks, and you the first to lay-off if lay-offs became necessary. That is also nothing personal.

In the case where 400 reports piled up while you were gone, did you consider what would happen when you left? Usually, one would have an interim plan and perhaps someone trained to fill their shoes temporarily--they wouldn't want the business to fall flat while they were out.

You may be doing alot right, but if three managers complained to your CIO about you, it's worth considering whether you could improve your conduct in some way.

Trifidw

Falasi wrote: »

so I ended up doing data entry

This was the time to leave that company... It is long over due to move on so I'd forget about them but not the 'people' lessons you learnt there.

MrBishop

It's pretty obvious that this guy has major insecurities and is super jealous of any accomplish you try to make to improve yourself. I would hate working in such an environment but I believe this to be the norm for most companies and they will discourage education with long hours and rotating schedules.

I truly believe that getting you education is the most important thing someone can do. The guy is on a power trip, with a huge inferior complex. Persuading others to return to college to finish/complete their education say a lot about a person. Sometimes not all forms of advertisement is good even when you're trying to do good!

NetworkVeteran

Trifidw wrote: »

This was the time to leave that company..

Aye. I'm a humble man and I will happily even grab coffees for the team.. but if doing something outside the job description and my career goals spanned more than a few days, I'd be looking elsewhere.

NetworkVeteran

MrBishop wrote: »

It's pretty obvious that this guy has major insecurities and is super jealous of any accomplish you try to make to improve yourself. I would hate working in such an environment but I believe this to be the norm for most companies and they will discourage education with long hours and rotating schedules.

The norm for most employers is to encourage growth that favors them and discourage growth that doesn't favor them. This is common sense and good business.

OP wrote:

I was like ohwell , maybe here but somewhere else it sure will be.

This is not the sort of comment you make unless you're ready to jump ship.

Is his manager a model of good behavior?

Manager wrote:

it will not help you ever, you have wasted your time

Not by a longshot! But all the OP can do is to improve themselves and the situations they find themselves in. Improving his manager is not withing his scope.

MrBishop wrote:

Sometimes not all forms of advertisement is good even when you're trying to do good!

True.

Falasi

Thanks everyone for your comments , I guess I'll keep doing what I do best (doing my job and cont my studies) until I get better job.

The good thing about our CIO is that when he tries to move me to another team they insist that I'm needed. the guy was like "if the guy don't do anything or making big troubles, why do you still want him?"

Thanks again everyone

networker050184

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

You may be doing alot right, but if three managers complained to your CIO about you, it's worth considering whether you could improve your conduct in some way.

This is what I was thinking. No offense OP, but we are only hearing your side of the story here. Might be time to take a good long look at yourself and why multiple managers have made complaints. Even when I've been in jobs I didn't enjoy I've never had a complaint against me as I continue to work hard and just get it done.

Falasi

networker050184 wrote: »

This is what I was thinking. No offense OP, but we are only hearing your side of the story here. Might be time to take a good long look at yourself and why multiple managers have made complaints. Even when I've been in jobs I didn't enjoy I've never had a complaint against me as I continue to work hard and just get it done.

No offense taken , there is always a chance that I'm doing something wrong (no one is perfect). I'm just taking guidance from the senior or anyone who may have faced the same issue. Hopefully I'll try to fix things with my current manager. I'm in good terms with my old manager as my replacement faced the same issue with the supervisor.