Any NTers Work in the IT/Computing field?

[da703trailblaza]

I'm considering switching my major over to IT focusing on Info Security. And was wondering if any NTers are heading towards that field or are currently init and have any feedback.

 

[da703trailblaza]

bump?

 

[mangudai954]

I'll ask my brother when I get home.

 

[shapeshiftah]

i currently work in the IT field, and a lot of the work i do is in the area of information security (got my CISSP in 2004). these are some of the areas i workin, and the work is VERY interesting:

- penetration testing -/ vulnerability assessments
- password cracking
- server hardening (OS and other platforms)
- cisco PIX firewalls and ASA security devices (have experience with symantec, mcafee, checkpoint, and other security devices, but not recent)
- log analysis
- secure application development
- SQL Server 2005 security
- SCADA security
- security policy development

pretty good money, too.

 

[mangudai954]

Originally Posted by Shapeshiftah

i currently work in the IT field, and a lot of the work i do is in the area of information security (got my CISSP in 2004). these are some of the areas i work in, and the work is VERY interesting:

- penetration testing -/ vulnerability assessments
- password cracking
- server hardening (OS and other platforms)
- cisco PIX firewalls and ASA security devices (have experience with symantec, mcafee, checkpoint, and other security devices, but not recent)
- log analysis
- secure application development
- SQL Server 2005 security
- SCADA security
- security policy development

pretty good money, too.

 

[da703trailblaza]

what is a good salary to expect fresh out of school? I took CCNA back in highschool, but didn't take the cert. test.

 

[eff ecks]

where you a computer science major?

 

[shapeshiftah]

what is a good salary to expect fresh out of school? I took CCNA back in highschool, but didn't take the cert. test.
in NYC, depending on the area of security in which you want to work, fresh grads make anywhere from $70k to $85k.

i'm guessing from your username that you live in the washington dc metro area. i went to school down there, and worked for a few companies down therebefore i moved back to NYC. most recently (2004), i was at the symantec office off eisenhower boulevard in alexandria, virginia, and we hired a few freshgrads to do analysis and intrusion detection for about $65k. these days, you can probably get more.

certs are good, but not necessary. get in the door first, then let the company pay for the boot camp and exam.

 

[uknowho85]

Yeah I'm a System Engineer(Entry Level) in Falls Church VA(I see your from the DMV too). Make sure you get your certifications(Comptia, MS, Cisco, etc). Ihave a BS in Computer Science but employers still wanted me to have Certifications before they would hire me(When I was looking for your job). I do mostly:

*Create users in AD and giving them the proper permissions
*Password resets
*Maintaining and troubleshooting Dell workstations(MS XP Operating System), printers and scanners
*Maintaining and troubleshooting File servers, web servers, and Database servers
*File Server backups
*Maintaining and troubleshooting MS Office Professional 2003 applications
*Updating Financial department database

Just make sure you do it because you like the IT field and not for the money cause you'll hate going to work everyday. I've seen many people make thatmistake. Also, every year you'll be going back to school to get certified in something different to stay abreast of the new technology that comes out.Those certification test aren't cheap...

You live in the DMV, like me, which is the Mecca of IT so you shouldn't have a problem finding a job.

Good Luck

 

[bastitch]

Originally Posted by Shapeshiftah

what is a good salary to expect fresh out of school? I took CCNA back in highschool, but didn't take the cert. test.

in NYC, depending on the area of security in which you want to work, fresh grads make anywhere from $70k to $85k.

i'm guessing from your username that you live in the washington dc metro area. i went to school down there, and worked for a few companies down there before i moved back to NYC. most recently (2004), i was at the symantec office off eisenhower boulevard in alexandria, virginia, and we hired a few fresh grads to do analysis and intrusion detection for about $65k. these days, you can probably get more.

certs are good, but not necessary. get in the door first, then let the company pay for the boot camp and exam.

Are you working for Symantec now?

I know some of the SE's based out of the Bay Area.

 

[daytona 5000]

My uncle told me that IT is a dying field in the US
outsourcing FTL

 

[bastitch]

Originally Posted by DAYTONA 5000

My uncle told me that IT is a dying field in the US
outsourcing FTL

Thing is, IT is such a broad field that while some IT jobs are just dwindling due to outsourcing, others are just fine.

Particular jobs, specifically call center and programming type jobs are susceptible to outsourcing because it's easy to find those skill-sets cheaperoverseas.

 

[mangudai954]

That would make sense, network administrators are in demand.

 

[shapeshiftah]

Are you working for Symantec now?

I know some of the SE's based out of the Bay Area.
i wish. symantec was one of the best companies i had worked for... ever. i'm working for a really small consulting company now, working onprojects with the city of new york. the money is great, and i'm learning a lot, but i miss working for SYMC. back in 2005, when i moved back home, itried transferring to the symantec / veritas office in midtown manhattan, but there wasn't anything open.

edit:

Thing is, IT is such a broad field that while some IT jobs are just dwindling due to outsourcing, others are just fine.

Particular jobs, specifically call center and programming type jobs are susceptible to outsourcing because it's easy to find those skill-sets cheaper overseas.
correct. that, coupled with that the fact that a lot of product development and innovation take place stateside, while some of the more routinetasks take place offshore. i have worked for a few organization where we used offshore support. most of the projects i worked on were enterprise levelapplication development lifecycle gigs, and we had some people doing development and QA in india. but we had a significant chunk of staff located in the U.S.to collect requirements from business users and stakeholders, perform high level design, and perform the bulk of new application development and testing.

just the time difference alone between the U.S. and india makes some staff coordination difficult (we had to have 8am conference calls since the india guyswere getting ready to head home), so we usually let those guys handle tasks that don't require immediate turnaround and feedback.

 

[bastitch]

Originally Posted by Shapeshiftah

Are you working for Symantec now?

I know some of the SE's based out of the Bay Area.

i wish. symantec was one of the best companies i had worked for... ever. i'm working for a really small consulting company now, working on projects with the city of new york. the money is great, and i'm learning a lot, but i miss working for SYMC. back in 2005, when i moved back home, i tried transferring to the symantec / veritas office in midtown manhattan, but there wasn't anything open.

That would seriously be a sweet gig if you could snag it.

I've had a bunch of training over at the Mountain View campus (PureDisk, NetBackup, Enterpise Vault) and just loved the atmosphere out there.

 

[luckyluchiano]

What is a good area to focus on, because I`m doing CIS and still not sure on what area to focus, on because Outsourcing is the devil.

 

[shapeshiftah]

That would seriously be a sweet gig if you could snag it.
yeah, gonna keep my eyes peeled for openings in the manhattan office. still on good terms with my old director at managed security services, so iknow he'd put in a good word for me. veritas backup solutions are the truth. everywhere i've been in the city, it's either backup exec ornetbackup.

:wq
damn, goin way back with VI. i always found it faster to type ZZ.

What is a good area to focus on, because I`m doing CIS and still not sure on what area to focus, on because Outsourcing is the devil.
depends on personal preference. there are so many fields and subfields in IT that there's something for every person's interest andaptitude. whether you like sitting behind an LCD and coding, stacking servers and cabling, doing stuff in between, or none of the above, there is a lot ofstuff to get into. some ideas:

- application development (microsoft .NET, J2EE)
- database administration (oracle, SQL server, db2)
- network engineering
- security
- tech support
- project management
- systems analysis
- software quality assurance
- help desk
- systems administration (linux, windows server 2003 / 200

the list goes on and on...

and don't worry; most outsourcing fears are relatively misplaced.

 

[luckyluchiano]

Originally Posted by Shapeshiftah

That would seriously be a sweet gig if you could snag it.

yeah, gonna keep my eyes peeled for openings in the manhattan office. still on good terms with my old director at managed security services, so i know he'd put in a good word for me. veritas backup solutions are the truth. everywhere i've been in the city, it's either backup exec or netbackup.

:wq
damn, goin way back with VI. i always found it faster to type ZZ.

What is a good area to focus on, because I`m doing CIS and still not sure on what area to focus, on because Outsourcing is the devil.
depends on personal preference. there are so many fields and subfields in IT that there's something for every person's interest and aptitude. whether you like sitting behind an LCD and coding, stacking servers and cabling, doing stuff in between, or none of the above, there is a lot of stuff to get into. some ideas:

- application development (microsoft .NET, J2EE)
- database administration (oracle, SQL server, db2)
- network engineering
- security
- tech support
- project management
- systems analysis
- software quality assurance
- help desk
- systems administration (linux, windows server 2003 / 200

the list goes on and on...

and don't worry; most outsourcing fears are relatively misplaced.


yea being that It's so Vast it's kinda hard for me to really research because it's so many things. I`m in Atlanta so Jobs are everywhere, but I`mreally tryna decide what I want to focus on. Right now I`m a lab assistant at school, so I already do the Networking stuff a little bit, helpdesk work, andcomputer maintenance.

 

[da703trailblaza]

Appreciate all the info shared. I actually live pretty close to Eisenhower Ave. Given the rough economy out there I was thinking of getting an internship toget my foot in the door early. I'd like to land something with IBM (mostly due to location and brand recognition).

But is IS a stable and good focus to take and work in? From the list that Shapes posted networking engineer sounds pretty good.

 

[abstrack]

I work in IT as a developer/analyst. I have a masters in Comp Sci, however it's not something that's needed to do my job.

 

[da703trailblaza]

I know theres gotta be more...

 

[getthismoney]

Im an IT Admin . Pretty much deal with Windows Server , also a bit of microsoft exchange administration. Im currently trying to start a small managed servicescompany. IT is in serious demand right now and is almost recession proof. MCSE and CCNA/CCNP are strong certs to have.

 

[datznasty]

I work as an Information Assurance Security Officer for Fort Sill Military base. I got my Security + but this isn't even my major, I majored in Sports butjust happen to have a solid knowledge base in computers because I always had one.

 

[da703trailblaza]

I feel dumb for keeping on bumping this, but what are bonuses like?

 

[mjbetch]

its all good bro. i'm glad you made this post.

cuz im going to school for IT right now