Looking For Some Advice With My Career/Future

Thomas Elliot

Hello. Thank you for taking the time to read my thread.

I have been browsing the site for a while, but I have recently come to a crossroads, and I was hoping that I could get some advice or guidance.

I am 27, I live in DC and I work for a contracting firm that specializes in cyber security.

My background is in business and politics. I also hold a minor in ISOM.
A friend managed to get me a job with this firm and I was set to work in their privacy division. The decision was made to just focus on an entry level position contracted out to the govt.
I have been here around a year and I do not have much to show for it.
I finally learning to A&A systems which I find interesting, but since I do not have a solid foundation in this area, it is a bit over my head.
I have failed Sec+ twice.
As a part of my position I was required to take it and I was given two weeks to study and take the exam. I managed to almost a 700. I read Daril Gibson's book and the CompTIA book.
Second time, I was given a month. I knew the material backwards and forwards. Ended up making a 730.
I am planning on taking it a third time next month. I still know a lot of the material but I have not been able to dedicate the study time I would like to the exam.

Obviously I have a few concerns.
If I am having this much difficulty passing Sec+, should I even continue in this field?
I would like to look at pursuing a MS in Information Assurance/Cyber Security, but as I said before if I am having this much trouble with the basics, do you think it would be a good idea?

I have one colleague who is WGU and she enjoys it. But she has a list of certs a mile long and at least a decade of experience in the industry.
I have another colleague who is around my age, was involved with politics like me but has decided to go into the cyber security field. He is pursuing a MS at UMUC.

My GPA isn't that great.
I struggled in business school because of outside circumstances. But when I went back for another degree in political science, I excelled in my classes. I just could not find steady work in my field. Even after I got my second degree, my GPA did not budge above a 3.0.

Being a political junkie, I enjoy the political aspects of privacy and cyber security. I am trying to figure out a way to meld these two industries and fields of interest into a career.

Sorry for the long post, but I could really use some help, guidance, advice etc. If any one knows of any mentorship type programs centered around this industry, I would be very appreciative to be informed of it.

Thomas Elliot

Well Thanks for the advice guys. 123 views and nobody had anything to say.

paul78

Hi Thomas - welcome to TE forums and I hope you enjoy the community.

I think that your scenario is probably one which is difficult to comment on.

My first initial reaction is that perhaps you simply do not have a predilection for the more technical aspects of IT. But if you do enjoy the privacy and cyber aspects, there are different avenues which you may want to pursue.

The three areas which are not intensive in technology but focus instead on regulations and best practice processes that come to my mind immediately is (a) IT auditing, (b) secure development project management, and (c) privacy law.

Perhaps your educational options could include the following:

1. You mentioned an interest in politics. Have you considered getting a law degree?
2. A light-weight certification like IAPP's CIPP could potentially provide some credentials.
3. Look into auditing credentials like ISACA CISA
4. Look into secure SDLC processes like ISC2 CSSLP.

Some places that you may want to try to get a job:

1. An auditing firm that provides SSAE16 audits.
2. A PCI QSA.
3. A law firm specializing in privacy and/or cyber fraud investigation.

These are just a few quick thoughts but I thought it could start a dialogue to give you some ideas.

If the more technical aspects of IT are not your cup of tea, I would advise not trying to force it.

DoubleNNs

Advice for the Sec+:

Re-read darril gibson's book. Make sure you take all the end of chapter quizzes. And for every question you take, make sure you know why every answer is correct, AS WELL AS why every wrong answer is wrong.

Take notes as you go thru the book. Detailed notes.

Make sure you know all your protocols, cryptography, and ports. Make a chart of them and review them maybe once a day. Easy to get those down and they'll be "Gimme Questions" on the exam. However, most of the exam is on managerial stuff and general concepts. If you carefully read and take notes this should be easy too - a Disaster Recovery plan is... well how to recover systems/business after a disaster. A lot of the terms are intuitive - the name is descriptive enough that as long as you understand everything you don't need to necessarily devote time to memorizing the terms.

After you're done with the DG book, check out professermesser.com. He has free sec+ videos you can watch to solidify the material in your head. I know I used the videos for last minute prep and they were invaluable to me. A trick is also to watch them on VLC player - you can accelerate the play speed to maybe 1.25x or even 2x - get the same amount of info from the videos but take less time to get thru them all. Personally, videos I'm just watching for review I watch on 2x. Videos I'm trying to extract material from I watch on 1.5x. VLC pitch shifts the voice so he doesn't sound like a chipmunk (if you get the latest version of VLC).

Then as last minute prep, comptia.org has a 30 question practice exam. Transcender, Kaplan, and MeasureUp all have demos to their products - usually 5-10 questions out of their pool. And if you have money you could look into buying their products as well. The 3rd party questions will probably be harder than the actual exam (a good thing) and their explanations on the answers are a great learning tool by themselves.

Go thru your studies slowly and methodically and you'll be sure to pass it this time around. You were too close last time.

Good luck and hopefully other members will help you more with your other inquiries.

lmoworld

Definitely agree with using Professer Messer. I used his videos and Gibson's book. Don't let failed attempts shake you. Putting aside an hour or so a day to study will definitely help you in the long run. If you get stuck on something Google it, or come back to this forum and post a question. Good Luck on your next attempt.