What is it like... Cybersecurity, Software Development and Software Engineering.

[Sherri is a Cat]

Classes begin on the 19th, in 7 days. Funding for apprenticeships is gone. About 1/2 the class walked out of the orientation after that announcement.

To get a better idea of what classes will be like, I went to the CompTIA website and took all the practice tests for A+ certification. I answered all but 3 of 38 questions correctly. I passed with 92%. I'm surprised how I know, or know enough to figure out what the correct thing is to do. I know those are only practice questions, but I think I might do well in IT.

I've been doing a lot of reading up. Right now I'm leaning toward digital forensics. I've done some financial expenses auditing of small corporations. I really enjoyed it, looking at EVERYTHING, finding the anomalies, generating reports of my findings...

 

[CaffeineAddict]

I would like to know from people who actually work in these fields what it is like. What is good, bad, what do you like about it, what do you not like.

I didn't work in anything related to IT, IT stuff is only a hobby for me, I'll only say cybersecurity comes after software development so if you're serious about it start by learning some languages first and make at least 1 real world useful software.

But like others said IT is broad topic you can't learn and master everything, pick some area of interest and focus on specifics.

As for certificates, it's a waste of money for someone who is just starting and may give you false sense of knowing something.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

I didn't work in anything related to IT, IT stuff is only a hobby for me, I'll only say cybersecurity comes after software development so if you're serious about it start by learning some languages first and make at least 1 real world useful software.

But like others said IT is broad topic you can't learn and master everything, pick some area of interest and focus on specifics.

As for certificates, it's a waste of money for someone who is just starting and may give you false sense of knowing something.

I've been researching the 3 fields I scored high in. Based on my prior experience as an auditor and what I've learned, I'm leaning heavily toward digital forensics, analysis. I have a friend who works in cybersec. He's given me a lot of the same advice I'm getting from all of you.

In my experience there are two kinds of education, real world and academia. I was self employed as a landscape designer, not a lawn mower! I believe that learning without a formal education is one reason I usually think outside the box.

After 5 years I, I went back to school to study landscape architecture. Many things I learned in the real world made more sense after my academic education. In my case both kinds of education enhanced each other, but I'm glad I got a real world education first.

I have a lot of practical experience with PC hardware and software, no formal learning. I think that's why I did so well on the practice tests.

 

[theLegionWithin]

To get a better idea of what classes will be like, I went to the CompTIA website and took all the practice tests for A+ certification. I answered all but 3 of 38 questions correctly. I passed with 92%. I'm surprised how I know, or know enough to figure out what the correct thing is to do. I know those are only practice questions, but I think I might do well in IT.

that's a pretty good score! I did my A+/Net+ over 20 years ago and I really dont remember the passing grade for the certs. 90s percentile I think? sorry to hear about the funding situation

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

sorry to hear about the funding situation

I'm focusing on finding entry level positions now. Even if I won't get paid now I'm not going to pass this up. I can keep going after the A+ cert.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

Class starts in the morning. The beginning of new chapter in my life. Wish me luck!

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

I think the professor is waiting to find out how many people are serious about the course. We probably aren't going to have online access to text books until Friday. So far, I learned what a computer is and how to count in binary numbers.

A computer is a collection of electronic switches with 2 states, 'Off' and 'On'. I never thought of binary as a number system like a decimal system.

The professor told me that Python isn't as useful in cybersec as it once was. My friend who works in cyber security recommended I study it. Does anyone here have an opinion?

 

[CaffeineAddict]

The professor told me that Python isn't as useful in cybersec as it once was. My friend who works in cyber security recommended I study it. Does anyone here have an opinion?

The professor is totally correct.

For cyber security and especially digital forensics you want to grasp assembly and reverse engineering. (not easy for learning)

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

or cyber security and especially digital forensics

Tell me what you think of this...

Yesterday I told him why I think I would enjoy digital forensics. I also have a background in financial accounting and taxes. One job I had was to audit 5 years of unpaid taxes. To do that job I had to know how accounting works, how things should be. Then I examined receipts, credit card statements, billing statements, anything and everything having anything to do with money. Then I compared. Do receipts match billing statements? Do billing statements match bank records? Do they have the equipment and assets they say they purchased? Does the physical item match the description of the purchase? Does everything fit the system? Where do things not match up? What actually happened?

It was basically a giant puzzle. I love puzzles. I always want to know how things work. I get bored and lose interest if my mind isn't occupied and challenged.

My professor said digital forensics sounds like a good fit for me.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

start by learning some languages first

My cybersec friend said Python. You're in agreement with my professor.

What languages would you recommend?

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

@CaffeineAddict

All those receipts, statements, etc. were given to me in 8 or 9 giant Rubbermaid tubs, mixed in with a bunch of trash. Nothing was digital. I started at the very beginning!

 

[CaffeineAddict]

Tell me what you think of this...

To be honest I'm not 100% sure what digital forensics deals with, according to your description if you'll be examining something that's not-a-code then you don't need to learn programming.

However IMO in cyber security digital forensics can go deeper, such as examining malware for which knowledge about assembly and reversing is needed.

What languages would you recommend?

If I'd start over learning programming my language would be assembly but nowdays rarely who uses it, so it's not a recommendation unless you want to be garage hacker.

I'm not sure which language would fit digital forensics, I guess it depends on task that you're working on at some moment, it may cover multiple languages.

Here is a good read, the article says digital forensics is a broad branch, so multiple general computing skills may be required:

What is digital forensics? | IBM

Digital forensics involves gathering and investigating digital evidence in a way that avoids tampering and ensures its admissibility in court.

www.ibm.com

Something that was once of interest to me was malware cleanup and analysis, there exist online academies that teach you for free, however it's difficult to get invitation and even more difficult to get a good teacher.
It consists of analysing logs and and figuring out what malware did, then follows malware cleanup and recovery.

I'd say this is also a kind of digital forensics.
Once you're done in online academy you get special membership on forums that provide this support to help other users clean their PC's.
This job of course is 99% dealing with Windows obviously, and you do it free of charge.

 

[gvisoc]

Hi! I think I'm a bit late to the party, but here are my 2 cents.

Python or almost any other language won't be a deal breaker in cyber security because you're not going to be developing applications for the most part. It will be useful to automate tasks to do your own attacks, yor testing suites and etc. In that sense it could be python or bash or any other, depending on the job to do.

For those in your industry that develop security tools, probably C (and Rust in the near future) is going to be valuable as many of those tools include kernel modules, as we learned thanks to crowdstrike . But still, the user layer of those tools can be anything, even web.

I think learning Python may not be a career defining thing, but learning programming will, and Python is very good for that. What you'll learn solving problems with Python will be useful for other languages.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

I'm just beginning, I know that I could end up going in a different direction. I won't know that until I get there!

To be honest I'm not 100% sure what digital forensics deals with,

It has a lot of descriptions. The description that most appeals to me is to figure out what someone did electronically. That could be malware attacks, crime investigation, nefarious actions by employees.

according to your description if you'll be examining something that's not-a-code then you don't need to learn programming.

The reason I used the accounting auditing example was to illustrate that it can be very complicated to figure out exactly what happened. It requires a lot of attention to detail. If someone doesn't understand how things should be, or how to recognize something that isn't quite right they can't do the job. It can be tedious. For me that kind of thing is fun.

I'm leaning towards figuring out what someone did because they thought they could hide it, get away with it, no one would notice, etc. As I understand it now and without any real world experience, I would be examining digital records of activity so that people can be held accountable. That could be for law enforcement, a business..
That sort of thing.

I think learning Python may not be a career defining thing, but learning programming will, and Python is very good for that. What you'll learn solving problems with Python will be useful for other languages.

Kind of sounds like rendering software, 3D software. Once you learn how to use one of them, it's a lot easier to learn others.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

Finished the module and the quiz. It took all of 2 minutes to answer 10 questions correctly. So far I think I'll be okay.

I found out that I'm actually studying for the Tech+ cert, not CompTIA A+. Since I did so well on the practice tests for the CompTIA A+ and so far the Tech+ seems pretty, maybe I should take both tests at the same time? My professor was alarmed when I asked him about this and advised against it.

It's just a little difficult to listen to someone tell me about the internal components of a computer when I've built and upgraded them before, explain what RAM is and how it's different than persistent storage. Then, listen to classmate's questions about things I already know the answers to...

When I was getting my commercial drivers license I had to take 12 separate tests. They recommended spacing them out over 4 or 5 days with a a couple days rest between them. I studied for them all at the same time, went in one day and took them all in one sitting and passed each one at or close to 100% correct. I'm wondering if I could do the same thing now. This isn't hands on learning. It's academia. I want to get on with things as quickly as possible.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

I promise I'm not bragging. I quit taking notes because I'm tired of writing down things I already know and because I can get to the assessments faster. I read it all in case there's something I don't know. When that happens I write it down. I'm anxious to get into the cybersecurity chapter!!!

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

... I hope I don't regret that statement...

 

[wizardfromoz]

If you can regard the pursuit of knowledge as an end in itself, rather than just a means to an end, I believe that is both desirable and sustainable.

I think you may be doing just that. More power to you.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

the pursuit of knowledge as an end in itself

This has been true for as long as I can remember. If I'm not learning and being challenged I get bored, lose interest and move on.

I finally understand why Bitcoin is secure. I learned about that on Monday. Everyone is adamant that the syste could never be hijacked. This is a challenge for me. They say it can't be done. I would say it hasn't been done YET. There is always a weak link. Our knowledge, understanding and technology continue to evolve...

When I play chess I consider every possible move I could take.Then counter moves for each and what I might do after that. When I was a professional fund raised working in front of busy retail establishments I had to divide my attention when things got slow. I played Sudoku, but I was also 'watching' everything going on around me. Donations were collected in a miniature plexiglass dog house in the table in front of me. I'm the only person that never had their donations snatched up.I saw them coming before they made their first move! If I weren't playing Sudoku I would have bored out of my mind and I wouldn't be able to pay attention.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

Python or almost any other language won't be a deal breaker in cyber security because you're not going to be developing applications

This question is late...

Are those languages or any other languages used by hackers to do their hacking, hijacking, etc? It seems like they would. If this is true, wouldn't it be useful to understand how they are writing malware?

Furrher, wouldn't it be good to know how everything works? It seems to me that a weak link could be in a lot of places, especially since the weak link tends to be a human