# Network Security Career



## ShaneisaGhost (Jul 2, 2014)

Hello my name is Shane,I am 20 years old and I am looking for some help with getting into Network Security/Cyber Security. I am starting from scratch as I have no college or IT experience, just alot of computer use as a kid. I really hope this is the right place to ask if its not I apologize for being on the wrong topic. I am looking for an IT career and Network Security really caught my eye these past few months. I have more than a few questions. One is' where do I start? I live in Portland Oregon and there's about 4-5 colleges to choose from including ITT tech and Decry. I heard ITT tech is way overpriced and I was better off starting at a community college or other because there credits don't transfer. Next would be about full time or part time schooling. I feel that this is a personal one but if I where doing full time I think ice be able to get financial aid to live in apartment and have extra money for car and essentials. And it would take 4 years in full time school and twice that much for part time? Any help is much appreciated thank you.


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## ShaneisaGhost (Jul 2, 2014)

Also another question. When looking for a college what should I be looking for in particular? Should I maybe not get into ITT tech or devry and go to a 2-4 year that has credit transfers?


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## Patrick (Apr 15, 2012)

Hi Shane,



> I heard ITT tech is way overpriced and I was better off starting at a community college or other because there credits don't transfer.


Bingo! Let me start off by saying that I _never _really recommend attending tech colleges/schools as opposed to community > university. Why? I personally went to one to see what it was like, and it was a very large waste of time. I wish I started off going to community and then switched to university. I learned the hard way and have since turned things around, so I do my best to always help those out that are thinking of tech schools.

Tech schools do a really good job of selling you a lot of fluff. The recruiters they use really don't have any interest in what the hell you're going to be learning, just so long as they get the paycheck for getting you to sign up.

Now this isn't to say that every tech school is _bad_, but they really are not even close to the educational environment you'd receive going from community > university. In IT we're thankfully blessed with a lot of employers caring about your field experience, and in today's world although education is always important, there are a lot of successful people in IT without any college education at all because of their field experience. I cannot speak for all employers, but I know many will also of course check your education. I know for me at least education is very important, so eventually getting my master's is something I am working towards.

I for one know if I was an employer, if I was interviewing two people with the same field experience, but one had a bachelor's in CS/EE vs a tech college/school degree, I would personally lean towards the bachelor's person. They have the same field experience as you + better understanding of a professional classroom/working environment.

I'm sure others will chime in with much more advice regarding your other questions, but I wanted to weigh in on your tech school question.

Regards,

Patrick


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## ShaneisaGhost (Jul 2, 2014)

Wow that was fast, thanks a ton for the info Patrick. I'm really leaning towards a community college now.I have several in my area with this field.


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## Patrick (Apr 15, 2012)

My pleasure, good choice if you ask me!

The phrase - _'It's too good to be true'_ is about as close as it gets to describing tech schools. On paper it looks great, but in reality it's a pretty crappy environment for people who have the capabilities to do much more.

A lot of the teachers/professors that are in the tech schools do it as a second job at night to make extra cash on the side, so many really don't take it seriously and you get a half-assed education.

It sounds like I have a hatred for tech schools, but once you've actually been in the environment and compare it to the university environment for CS/EE, it's really night & day. It's not just the environment in general, but the students _care _a lot more too in a university setting.

-- Also, I forgot to mention, as you noted, you cannot transfer credits from a tech school to a community college. They don't even see them as valid.

Regards,

Patrick


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

For a completely opposite view, I attended a tech school and am now a CIO for a midsized company in Oregon. Been in the IT field 21 years now. I attended 6 months hardware training and 6 months Novell Netware training. I then took my seven exams to become a CNE. That got me in the door at Symantec. From there I worked for a HP var, Hyundai and now the company I am with now.

I did come in with 20 years of construction/project management experience and being a bit more mature than I was at 20yrs of age [early 30's] I had the self discipline/focus to get the most out of the tech school training.

But as any college grad will tell you, college does not train you for a job. Working the job does that.

If I were to suggest a course of action I would suggest become Cisco certified and then go into the firewall security arena. 

CCNA Security Certification - IT Certifications and Career Paths - Cisco Systems

I do the hiring for my department so I can tell you experience and attitude outweigh college credentials. Real life IT isn't what you find in the books.

One advantage a tech school has is it is usually a shorter period of time than college courses and it gears you specifically for a entry level job. The sooner you work in any aspect of the industry the faster your knowledge/skill base grows.


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## Patrick (Apr 15, 2012)

Indeed, like I said, there are tons of people in IT from all different parts of education (from no education to lots of education). It really all depends on how you want to go about things. As Wand3r3r and I put it, in IT, field experience and your overall attitude is what's important.

Also, something I forgot to mention. I would argue that the *most important thing *is networking. Who you know will (IMO) get you *FAR *as long as you never stop networking/making friends in the right places. So long as you have the personality, experience, and drive, you can go far.

Regards,

Patrick


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