Me and my job

What annoys you?
Politics, low pay and politics! Decision-making based on things other than excepted best practices or the IT security policies that are already established; bean counters without IT security awareness placed in charge of the purse strings.

Of what are you most proud?
I'm proud of taking an insecure network and playing a leading role in making users and their network services far more secure. I was an early adopter of network behavior and anomaly detection (NBAD) and IPS. I am very proud of five years of steady progress in my field.

How do you describe your job to average people?
I tell them that it's my job to protect the computers and their users from viruses, worms and other threats on the internet. My wife tells her friends that I learned everything I know and got my job because of Duke Nukem3D. That used to make me mad, but perhaps there is just a little more truth there than I would like to admit.

SKILLS IN DEMAND

Looking ahead in 2006
Expect increasing demand for security professionals who can bridge the gap between policy, business process and technology.

Need tech interpreters
Companies are searching for people who can interpret new rules and map them to security solutions.

Compensation values
Compensation in this field varies by location and experience with base salaries ranging from $95,000 to $150,000 per year, plus bonus