BlueWolf's Howl

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January 15, 2003

Digitally Dangerous

The other day someone said that I could be more dangerous with a laptop than most people could be with a high-powered rifle....

I think he meant it as a compliment. He was trying to make a point about computer security being as important as physical security.

Security is now a hot field. There's plenty of people (in Security) making big bucks in a hard-pressed economy. And the droves of people chasing those salaries are growing. Security certs are hot. But it's a silly chase.

I remember reading an article about the stock market... It was an expert who was talking about amateurs "chasing performance." People would hear that this or that stock was hot and they'd gobble it up. By the time they got there, the great performance was all over and the big bucks were already made. Then the next big stock star would come on the scene and they would flock to it...and so on... They weren't making money because they were chasing performance. All the big money was being made by people on the very front edge of the wave - those who got in early and bought ridiculously low and sold when the prices rose with the stampede. They were people who knew the value of companies and the value of stocks. People with vision.

The cert field is the same way. People are chasing performance. Whatever cert is hot ends up being the cert to study for... And they find one disappointment after another.

Find what you like to do in the field. Enjoy it. Certify in it. Keep current on the new changes. You'll have happiness and you'll have experience when the flock comes to your sector. And while you're waiting for the crowd to arrive, you'll enjoy what you're doing...

Posted by BlueWolf on January 15, 2003 03:39 PM