If it was free, what would you do? 2

[perrymans]

I have the opportunity/capacity to take as many computer based IT training courses as I want in just about any area I want, and it's all free! I am having somewhat of a difficult time deciding which path I should take. Unix, Network+, A+, NT Admin, 2000 Admin, Oracle, Cisco, SQL, C, C++, COBOL, VB, and so on. My question is, what do you all see as the best career to seek?

Thanks. Sean.

 

[dwmatteson]

Of course, it all depends on what you like to do. People who like tinkering with hardware might not find database administration to their liking.

After you've considered some areas you find interesting, I'd suggest looking at some industry-related web sites and trying to find out which of your areas of interest have decent job growth potential. For instance, there seems to be a lot of growth potential in networking and in databases.

If you want to pursue a career in networking, you'd do well to ground yourself in the basics: take an A+ course (I know, it's not entirely networking, but there are some rudiments, and it provides a good general grounding), a Network+ course, and maybe look into Cisco Certified Network Associate training.

These are good foundations for a career in networking, and (except for the CCNA) vendor-neutral. Don't expect to land a job with a huge income with just that background. After that, you'd have to figure out what specific direction you want to pursue. You might consider different network OSs: MS Windows 2000? XP? Novell's Netware? Linux? There's plenty more to do after that, but those would seem to be good starting points.

If you wanted to go the database administrator (DBA) route, you'd want to get basic knowledge of relational database design and theory. You'd also need to be very familiar with SQL. Take the SQL course if databases seem interesting -- all of the major products (e.g., Oracle, SQL Server) go from there. If you hate SQL, it's a good bet that DBA is not the best career for you.

I'll look around my bookmarks and see if I can come up with some specific sites for you to peruse. In the meantime, you might look at the discussion boards on

http://www.brainbuzz.com

and some industry certification sites like

http://www.comptia.com

or

http://www.certmag.com.

Hope that helps,

Don

 

[fireweaver]

Hello Don,
I stopped by this thread because of the title. I am currently attending college courtesy of the Veteran's Administration and I could continue floundering around, but I need a focus. Could you tell me how to find out what operating systems and/or languages are used by the federal government? That is, I am interested in working for the government after school is finished. I hope to work as a computer specialist, or use computer skills in a forensic type setting. My specialty in the Army was telecommunications/networking. I checked out the FBI's page, and wrote an email question to the "computer specialist"; but I haven't received a reply yet. Any thoughts? Thank you for your help.
Beth

 

[dwmatteson]

Hi Beth --

Good question! I'm not really sure exactly how to find out about what systems are in use in federal government (I actually work in non-profit). I surfed over to the FBI's web page and looked under employment opportunities, but the job they had didn't specify any particular OS skills. Instead, it seemed to indicate that a broad knowledge of various IT solutions would be what they were interested in the most.

Of course, it's not really in the FBI's best interest to advertise what systems they have running in any sort of detail. That would be sort of like an advertisement saying, "Here's what we use. Find the exploits in these OSs and you can make us look really bad!" I imagine that emailing their IT folks is a good strategy.

If you're really interested in computer/network security, you might be interested in the Computer Informatino Systems Security Professinal (CISSP) certification. As I understand it, it's pretty much the holy grail of security certifications, and it's not easy to get. You can find details at

http://www.isc2.org.

(Incidentally, I think that the cost for that exam was recently approved for coverage under the GI Bill.)

CISSP requires mastery of some 10 or so security domains. These are covered in a single 6-hour, 250 question multiple guess exam. There aren't all that many CISSP types floating around, so I imagine they're in pretty high demand.

Also, given your interest in forensic computing, I'd recommend getting your hands on just about anything on computer incident response such as :

[ul]
[li] Hacking Exposed (ISBN: 0072127481) by Joel Scambray, Stuart McClure, and George Kurtz[/li]
[li]Network Intrusion Detection (ISBN: 0735710082) by Stephen Northcutt, Donald McLachlan, and Judy Novak. [/li]
[/ul]

Just to be clear, I'm no expert in network security, but I've been favorably impressed by these books every time I've sat down to look at them in the library.

 

[perrymans]

Fireweaver,

The federal government uses every system, OS, language, and architechure that exists. I work in goverment contracts and we have, just in my limited dealings, equipment running HP-RT, HP-UX, Solaris, some have Ethernet, ATM, and some FDDI. I can tell you that if you want goverment work, are a computer person, and want lots of money, the D.C. area is it. Any goverment contracting company up there has too many open jobs to even look at them all. Lockheed martin gaurauntee's you, at your interview, to talk with three divisions, and that at least one will give you an offer! You were prior military so you may have a clearance. Big plus if it's a TS.

USresources, Inc.
540.667.7802

has recently contacted me for an FBI contract involving almost 100% travel setting up over 700 site networks worldwide. Since it is 100% travel, you can be based out of anywhere. They fly you out at the beginning of the week and send you back at the end, free of charge.

Also, go to

http://www.opm.gov

and click on USAJobs. This is where the government lists their current job openings. Prior service are giving special treatment.

By the by, how long were you in and how long have you been out? Are you still within your initial 8 year obligation? The free services I receive is from

http://www.Navylearning.com

which has over 1000 free IT courses, and hundreds of other professional courses. These were leased by the Navy and put on the web for active, reserve and retired use. I am out, but I am still listed in DEERS because I reenlisted in the IRR (Inactive Ready Reserve). That is the time between signing up and going to boot camp, and the time I got out (after 6 years) until the 8 year obligation. Nobody realizes that they get an Green military ID card and all of the benefits of an active duty member. I am not a reservist. I do not drill, muster, report, shave, or anyhting. As an IRR member, my benefits are no different so I get to use this Navy site. One thing I learned was that the Army has better schooling oppurtunities than anyone else, so I am sure they have the same sort of thing. Just a thought for you.

Sean.

 

[fireweaver]

Hello Don,
Yes, I noticed they were not specific, and I can certainly understand that. LOL After all, my job in the Army included physically protecting my site, (node) from any intruders! After reading your post, I am considering the information security field. I will continue with the basics, and check into the sites and books you mentioned. Plus, I sort of like the idea of being the security specialist.....being the expert. ( Hehehe,I was just daydreaming about being "The Expert". You know, wearing a suit like the "men in black" and when I arrive at a site with security holes, a swirling mist of dry ice surrounds me!) Well, I guess it's not all about money! LOL
Thank you for your help and advice.
Beth

 

[fireweaver]

Hey Sean,
Actually I get my education money from Vocational Rehabilitation, I was receiving the G.I. Bill, but that didn't pay everything (books, tuition, fees, supplies) like the Vocational Rehabilitation does. On the down side, you have to be at least 20% disabled to get rehabilitated. I was in the Army for 8 1/2 years, and received an honorable discharge. My clearance was Secret, I was being investigated for the TS clearance when I chose to attend the MSE (Mobile Subscriber Equipment)school. I didn't need the TS for the 31F school, so that was dropped. (The investigations cost the DOD a lot of money, and if you don't need it, you won't get it).
I will certainly check out the sites you mentioned. I would love to have 100% travel, but I don't think my kids would appreciate it! They are still young (grade school) and they need me more than I want to travel....sigh. Short trips would be okay. My children do remember my trips to the "field", and understood it was part of what I did.
Thank you for your thoughts,
Beth

 

[elizabeth]

Beth, if you like the idea of security, just thought I'd mention an intern joined a company I used to work for. She had worked in Security in IS in the Army. She found she was absolutely swamped with offers from the private sector when she left the Army.