I totally agree with you guys about age being an asset, however being 23 and only having 2 years IT experience, I have some worries about being able to break into the forensic field once I have finished my degree.
What would you suggest that would make me stand out from the crowd?
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Nick Yates 

Well Sancho, just about anything will make you stand out if others don't have it, but nothing will if others do. So, you'll have a degree and 2 years IT experience. That's more than others with neither have but will not enough if the the person beside you has a degree, 2 years IT experience and another year doing forensics.

So, the trick is to to as many things that will help you stand out.

1) Volunteer if possible for law enforcement. Initially do anything. As they get to know you, they may (don't know, but may) let you work with the computer crimes unit.

2) Volunteer to assist anyone doing any forensics anywhere. You may have to sign non-disclosure agreements etc, but I think you can understand why.

3) Get certifications. You often see the question "Which certification is the best?" I'd say, "The one You can get." No matter which cert you get, there'll be some employers who don't care, some who don't like the cert you have, some who don't understand, and some who think THAT cert is cool beans. The first two groups you can't win with but haven't lost anything either. Someone in the latter two groups will be the one who hires you. Now if you say, "I'm confident I can get this cert or that, but can't afford both." only then do we really have the basis of a conversation.

Hope these thoughts help.
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Dennis 

I had a few questions please. I've graduated this June and completed MSc. Forensic Computing with Merit from Staffordshire University.

I posses good theoretical knowledge on policies and procedures for forensic analysis but less practical knowledge. I would like to take an year's gap before considering myself to apply for a CF analyst.
Could you please give me some advice. What level of experience/knowledge do companies expect from a fresh graduate.

Also, I'm very fresh to this industry and am starting to do some practicals. From salary point of view, are there a few fields which would get me a higher salary. Sorry it is an awkward question but since I'm willing to open myself to learn anything, I might as well focus myself to the higher paid careers. Could you please give me a list of few jobs that are high in demand but possible for a fresh graduate to achieve. ex. network forensics or mobile forensics, etc.

Lastly, after completing my MSc, is it wise for me to go for training courses offered by EnCase or similar courses. I would rather not do another training that is more theoretical in nature.  

Speaking about age and experience, what about a 40 something individual who has no experience in the IT or forensics but has an undergraduate degree in computer forensics and two certs(CCE and ACE), with the third cert (EnCe) happening within two months? What are the odds of this person securing their first job in the field? So far not good. I'm hoping the EnCe helps. Will have to do some thinking if I still cannot break in after having all three certs.  

Maybe you will have better luck than I, tibbs66. I got my Associates in Computer Forensics, plus A+, CCE, and ACE certification. Despite all my applications, I haven't even gotten an interview.  

Greetings,

The ACE certification carries very little weight in the industry. It is pretty trivial to pass and doesn't even do a good job of demonstrating familiarity with FTK, much less forensics in general.

I'm not sure how useful a computer forensics degree is, and you both demonstrate why. I've seen all sorts of ads for forensics programs touting the great job market once you graduate, but I've never seen signs of that great job market, even for experienced people.

Certifications alone will not get you interviews, alas.

- Find another way into the company and then try to transfer over once you're in.
- Make a name for yourself in some way. Part of my motivation for writing analyzeMFT was to get my name out there and to demonstrate dedication, knowledge, and ability.
- Find someone you know at the company to walk your resume around the normal processes. (Linked In is pretty good for tracking down people you might know at a company.)
- Use professional networks such as your college alumni office.
- Network. (Where in Illinois are you, tibbs66? Drop me a line....)
- Consider a related field like incident response or ediscovery.

-David
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CISSP, CCE, EnCE, Licensed Private Investigator (CA) 

I would also suggest E-Discovery. It seems the barrier for entry is low and its a great way to get experience. That is how I got my start.