As promised this is my plan thread. I am putting this out here so I can have something concrete to look at. This started off as a response on one of the forums that I am a member of: http://www.techexams.net/forums/security-certifications/58374-q4-2010-2011-security-cert-objectives.html
I have been tormented for a few months about what I want to do next. My heart was telling me one thing and my head was telling me another. Well I told them both to shut it and I am now going with my gut. My gut is telling me that I want to be different from Joe IT out there and I need to think differently and study differently. As many of you know, I want to be a security engineer and although I currently hold the title Network Security Admin I feel like I am not as l33t as I want to be. So I am thought long and hard about what I want to do to get myskills up and this is what I have come up with. I will start off with my cert goals and then work to my non cert goals:
Cert Goals
Security+ - October 9th 2010
- I want to complete this test so that I can round out my basic security knowledge and work towards building a firm foundation in security.
LPIC-1 (November/December) 2010
- Sharpen my *nix ninja skills
SSCP
- The reason why I want to do this test is two fold. The first is to further strengthen my core security knowledge. The second is that this will help reduced the amount of time required for the CISSP. I also think it will be good review for the GSEC
ITIL
- This one is for HR people and because I need to understand more of the service and business side of IT.
C|EH
- I may drop this test if I need to save the money. I want this test to validate my basic pen testing knowledge. The elearnsecurity looks pretty good so I am thinking about dropping this and going for that instead. It would have to be after the SSCP (passing and endorsement) since I can get 40 cpe credits for doing it (which that along almost makes it worth it).
GSEC
- This test represents a mini goal of mine. First I want it simply because of the weight that SANS certs carry in the IT community. Second I feel that this will be the basic knowledge I must obtain in order to feel a little more comfortable with my OS security knowledge. I want to know more but this test is sort of a baseline for how much I want to grow at least in that area. If I don't obtain this level of knowledge I will be pretty pissed off.
GCIA
- This is the exam I really want. This test represents what I'd really like to do (network analysis and so on). I want to have this level of TCP/IP knowledge and so on before the end of next year. I am willing to cut down a few other test in order to be able to afford the GSEC and GCIA because both of them are $900 to challenge. Studying is a must for both. I plan at least 2-3 months of dedicated study for the GSEC and 3-4 for the GCIA.
Possible:
Start the new CCNP Security track
- This is also an option I may do as it will be much more affordable to do than the SANS certs. If I do, I'd really like to do the new SNRS (which will now be called SECURE)
Cert Goals
There is a bunch of non cert goals I have but I will try to keep my scope to an IT nature:
Learn perl, python
Learn Windows/Linux security
- I have much more interest in Linux so I just want to learn about the essentials of Windows related administration and security
Get to LPIC-2 level of linux knowledge
Learn IPv6 (and IPv6 security) well enough for enterprise deployment
Read 25000 pages
Graduate A.A.S in Network Engineering and Software development w/ Honors
Enroll in an BS program
Join 2-4 professional groups
I have a feeling that the cert goals are going to be difficult to keep especially the SANS certs due to $$$ and all but we will see. My first objective is to keep my family feed and our budget in order. Courtney in a ninja when it comes to the number so I know that if I give her my plan she will make it happen. I just need to stick to my goal and try not to change it so much. If it comes down to it, the ones I really want are GCIA and GSEC. I am on the fence about C|EH. I want SSCP but not as much as GSEC. If I drop SSCP I might drop C|EH as well and fill my time with GSEC, GCIA, ITIL and maybe LPIC-2 or something else. I just need to look at the dollars and cents.
These list will grow and shrink as I add things and check things off. Stay tuned!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
update
Ok now that I have had my time to [be a] bitch. I have my Security+ booked for OCT 9 3pm. I am going to track my studies here. I will also publish my official cert goals for now - EOY 2011 in a few hours. Next up, finish some homework and study crypto.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Lets talk about me for a moment
Dream until your dreams come true- Aerosmith
This could turn into a long post so feel free to skip it. This is a very strange time in my life. I have two life changing events that happened/happening this week. The first is I started school again after being out for the summer quarter. I can see the finish line, just three more to go and I can be out of Sinclair which would be awesome. The second which has some good and bad mixed with it is I am working my final two days at my weekend job. On the plus side, I get to have a weekend again (yea!!!!) on the downside is the fact that we will no longer have that money. I am all about a dollar (like 4 quarters) so that bothers me. Probably after what happened early this year I am very cautious and worried. My wife says she doesn't think I rest when I sleep. She's right. Worry is worring me all of the time. It is really hard to explain. It is sort of like the feeling when you think someone is watching you or when you feel something behind you but nothing is there. It is like a blanketing shadow to clings on to your thoughts and sticks to your soul. It is very difficult to get rid of.
Another thing. I wanted to get the security plus done on the 30th of last month. Well it didn't happen. I haven't sat the exam yet. I haven't sat an exam since Feb and honestly I am a little rusty. I honestly don't feel like doing it. I want to feel like doing it, but I don't. The worst thing about it is I know that I need to do it, I know it have (some) value in my career but I just don't feel up to it. I want to kill that thing before the end of the month but lately it seems like things are just so crazy, I just want to get through the day and go to sleep. I will get done with it soon because I feel like doing the LPIC-1.
I am a dreamer and a big picture guy. Truthfully I would be best served as an executive or an owner of a company. Sometimes when you are a dreamer it becomes hard to bring that into reality. I have huge dreams, things I don't even want to share with anyone because it would be so hard to even get them to believe me. Dreams that are bigger than IT. But sometimes my dreams change and morph into something even bigger or different making it harder and harder to walk the path to get to them. I am a big picture guy like I said and the dream is so vivid and bright that the glare hides the details, the steps, the path. Like staring into the sun and then trying to plot a path. It is blinding and madding. Sometimes I wonder if what I am seeing is really nothing more than a reflection of what I think my dreams should be and if I cannot see my true path because I am transfixed on someone else's Sun. Who knows. Vision's are a dime a dozen but truth and clarity is hard to find.
In Dream On, there are words that go, "Dream until your dreams come true". This is a load of bull. Dreaming doesn't produce anything but more dreams. You actually have to act and acting is difficult. Cole (hey Cole!!!) said she tries to make 90 day plans. I did make some as well but I don't think that will work for me. I think I need to think short term like 30 days tops. Too far out and my imagination gets the best of me and I become disappointed when I cannot live up to the dream of what I should be. Take this security plus for an example. Even though I don't feel like doing it, it truly bothers me that I don't have it. When I started this year off I had huge plans: MCSE:Security, CCNP, all sorts of stuff but I so far have only done 1 cert this year (CCNA:Security) and that bothers me. I am a member of this forum called Tech Exams and I see these guys (and girls-like Cole) murder certs all the time. It bothers me on a fundamental level that I am not as far ahead as some of them. It shakes my roots and hurts my core. Why? Because in my mind I should be bigger than superman and I know I can be. So when I am not living up to my potential it bothers me. When I am eating fattening food it bothers me because I feel like I should look like superman too (minus the whole being white thing). Whenever I don't do my very very best it makes me feel like I didn't do anything at all.
Sorry guys just venting and such. So yea at any rate. No more dreaming, time to act. Security Plus before the end of the month. LPIC-1 before the end of the year and I will bring my sexy back for next swimsuit season because I will be rocking a speedo. Haters get at me!!!
Well man life is just crazy.
This could turn into a long post so feel free to skip it. This is a very strange time in my life. I have two life changing events that happened/happening this week. The first is I started school again after being out for the summer quarter. I can see the finish line, just three more to go and I can be out of Sinclair which would be awesome. The second which has some good and bad mixed with it is I am working my final two days at my weekend job. On the plus side, I get to have a weekend again (yea!!!!) on the downside is the fact that we will no longer have that money. I am all about a dollar (like 4 quarters) so that bothers me. Probably after what happened early this year I am very cautious and worried. My wife says she doesn't think I rest when I sleep. She's right. Worry is worring me all of the time. It is really hard to explain. It is sort of like the feeling when you think someone is watching you or when you feel something behind you but nothing is there. It is like a blanketing shadow to clings on to your thoughts and sticks to your soul. It is very difficult to get rid of.
Another thing. I wanted to get the security plus done on the 30th of last month. Well it didn't happen. I haven't sat the exam yet. I haven't sat an exam since Feb and honestly I am a little rusty. I honestly don't feel like doing it. I want to feel like doing it, but I don't. The worst thing about it is I know that I need to do it, I know it have (some) value in my career but I just don't feel up to it. I want to kill that thing before the end of the month but lately it seems like things are just so crazy, I just want to get through the day and go to sleep. I will get done with it soon because I feel like doing the LPIC-1.
I am a dreamer and a big picture guy. Truthfully I would be best served as an executive or an owner of a company. Sometimes when you are a dreamer it becomes hard to bring that into reality. I have huge dreams, things I don't even want to share with anyone because it would be so hard to even get them to believe me. Dreams that are bigger than IT. But sometimes my dreams change and morph into something even bigger or different making it harder and harder to walk the path to get to them. I am a big picture guy like I said and the dream is so vivid and bright that the glare hides the details, the steps, the path. Like staring into the sun and then trying to plot a path. It is blinding and madding. Sometimes I wonder if what I am seeing is really nothing more than a reflection of what I think my dreams should be and if I cannot see my true path because I am transfixed on someone else's Sun. Who knows. Vision's are a dime a dozen but truth and clarity is hard to find.
In Dream On, there are words that go, "Dream until your dreams come true". This is a load of bull. Dreaming doesn't produce anything but more dreams. You actually have to act and acting is difficult. Cole (hey Cole!!!) said she tries to make 90 day plans. I did make some as well but I don't think that will work for me. I think I need to think short term like 30 days tops. Too far out and my imagination gets the best of me and I become disappointed when I cannot live up to the dream of what I should be. Take this security plus for an example. Even though I don't feel like doing it, it truly bothers me that I don't have it. When I started this year off I had huge plans: MCSE:Security, CCNP, all sorts of stuff but I so far have only done 1 cert this year (CCNA:Security) and that bothers me. I am a member of this forum called Tech Exams and I see these guys (and girls-like Cole) murder certs all the time. It bothers me on a fundamental level that I am not as far ahead as some of them. It shakes my roots and hurts my core. Why? Because in my mind I should be bigger than superman and I know I can be. So when I am not living up to my potential it bothers me. When I am eating fattening food it bothers me because I feel like I should look like superman too (minus the whole being white thing). Whenever I don't do my very very best it makes me feel like I didn't do anything at all.
Sorry guys just venting and such. So yea at any rate. No more dreaming, time to act. Security Plus before the end of the month. LPIC-1 before the end of the year and I will bring my sexy back for next swimsuit season because I will be rocking a speedo. Haters get at me!!!
Well man life is just crazy.
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