CyberSecurity or Network Security

Hey I need some help. I am going for a Computer Network and Security degree but I am thinking about going for a degree with CyberSecurity but the latter sounds more interesting. What are the pros and cons, salary of both. I know a degree does not matter but certifications matters more. What do you guys think about it? Thanks.

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Comments

ChickenNuggetz

I'm not in that particular part of the field, but arent the two one in the same? As for degree vs. certs. vs experience, experience will trump all, but the magic bullet will be a combination of all three! With InfoSec, at least in my region (DC), it pays pretty well. Nearly all the info sec jobs require clearance and fair amount of systems or networking experience.

qwertyiop

To be honest they are just buzz words, ofcourse every institution is slightly diffrnet but those programs are generally identical

CiscoKidd

To backup with qwertyiop said... I earned my master degree a couple yrs ago in Information Assurance (Network Security was the previous name of the program). I looked at the UMUC's program in CyberSecurity and saw that they were basically the same types of classes. Not saying the UMUC program isn't good and you won't learn anything but the term "cyber" I think is just a good word brought on by the marketing dept to attract more applicants since it sounds cooler then Information Assurance or Network Security.

Good Luck on making your decision.

Valsacar

Cyber Security (besides being a buzzword) is a little network security, some on the servers and clients, but the main focus seems to be more policy and less hands on... at least that's been my experience.

WafflesAndRootbeer

Real cyber security is a mixture of computer science (knowing naughty or faulty software/code when you see it), network security (recognizing infrastructure intrusions and holes), and policy application and control (keeping Bob from using his workstation as his personal repository of **** and LOLCat pictures). Know all three and you can call yourself a security expert. Most of the people earning paychecks for security work on the front lines are doing the pure computer science stuff in small companies who contract with software developers to find holes and such while the second and third lines are the networking and policy folks that most people here are looking to become.

JDMurray

The word "cyber" became very popular with the US DoD about four years ago. Nobody has come up with a better word to represent the virtual world of networked communications. The actual term "cyber" was invented back in the 1950's to describe human-computer interaction, such as displays, keyboards, and joysticks. Thanks to Neuromancer and Tron, the term has been reworked a bit.

All that being said, I see cyber security degrees and experience as more sexy and marketable to the government and defense industry than to commercial companies. Just be careful that it isn't being used as buzzword bait to lure people to a sub-standard academic program.