Hello First time poster, I came across this forum while researching Computer Security careers for my high school son, who is a junior in High School and interested in that career field. Some questions if the audience has the time to answer them. He is very good in math and science and loves tinkering with computers. We live in Texas With that said 1) is there any recommended "track" or college degree (general purpose Computer Science ?) for this field Ideally he stays in Texas and attends either UT Austin or Texas A&M. 2) What are the certifications he should think about ? CompTIA Security and Network+ and SSCP seem to reappear frequently but there are ALOT of them and I just don't know which one is better 3) I ** assume ** this career field will remain "hot" but what are your opinions ? My son will not graduate college and enter the job market until at least 2020 or 2021. 4) Is there any part-time employment or jobs he should seek to help his learning, before college ? 5) Any other tips, ideas welcome. Thank You everyone
Computer security covers a very wide range of subjects. There's security of the operating system, the software, the internet traffic and content, network security which can include servers, user PCs, routers, firewalls, encryption, etc. Has he expressed interest in any particular aspect of security? If he hasn't decided on what he wants to focus on, he might consider getting into beta testing software, especially security applications. While not formal education, it can be an education in itself. If nothing else, it could help him narrow down what he is and isn't interested in. The security field is too big for anyone to master everything.
If you can be a bit more specific regarding his interests, someone can probably give you more detailed information. There's several professionals here from different aspects of the security field, ranging from IT specialists to software developers.
There's a ton of computer fields, if he even still wants to get a job in that some 6 years from now (interests change). The first thing you need is a good grasp of basic computer upkeep, including learning how to build systems from parts. Have him learn to secure his own home computers and get into Unix things like Linux/BSD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Software_Distribution He's well old enough to join computer forums himself, and follow https://www.schneier.com/ and https://krebsonsecurity.com/ There's also TONS of stuff on Youtube these days that'll teach almost anything you'd want to know about computers. He can look over my book thread: https://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/wilders-security-book-club.371326/ Personally I've heard the colleges and jobs teach/require all sorts of unnecessary certifications that by the time you acquire them, everything you've learned has changed anyway out in the real world.
Could check out itprotv which offers IT training courses for certificate preparation with a 7 day no cost trial period. Courses in Microsoft, Apple, CompTIA and more. http://join.itpro.tv/twit/
United States Army or A University with an associated Army Reserve Unit. Among these schools that are taking part in the program are University of Washington, Norwich University, George Mason University, Drexel University, University of Colorado and University of Texas at San Antonio. http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest...don-unveils-us-army-cyber-school-headquarters http://www.afcea.org/events/augusta/14/documents/BucknerMedicalTechNet2014.pdf http://defensesystems.com/Articles/2015/02/18/Army-Reserve-cyber-warriors-partnership.aspx http://www.arcyber.army.mil/
