Wise and powerful forensic experts I beseech ye!
I have my Msc In Digital Forensics, as well as my Meng in engineering, I have roughly 4 years of experience.
I keep getting told I am too inexperienced to find employment, so I have been saving up and think it is maybe time to invest in some industry certs.
My problem is there are so many around, and I am fairly confused as to which one to go for.
I already have a fairly decent knowledge of forensics, and have been studying myself due to this interest, so I am not exactly sure I will learn a whole lot from getting certified, so anyone which can teach me something new I am very eager to get,
I was looking at - CHFI, CCE, EnCase (which I am pretty certain I cannot afford) or even broader security qualifications such as the CISSP.
Can anyone advice? I saw some great posts about the value of certifications, and arguments over the CHFI.
Certs are the only thing I can think of to try and boost my resume right now, as , at least, they can prove I know something.
Any help is appreciated.
Here are mine CISM, CISA, CISSP, SSCP, CEH, CRISC, TICSA, IAM, MCSE, MCP+I, MCP, CNA, CCNP, CCNA, CCDP, CCDA, CCSA, Security +, Network+ and I-Net+ (Have a few others but cannot remember them right now)
I am taking a single class next week from Infosec Institute that will prep me for the CCFE and CHFI (never take a prep class unless you are already in a position you could pass the exam). If I am feeling frisky I will also go grab the CCE as it covers the same material as the other two. I have the book on the back of my toilet for the PCI and have just not gotten around to taking the CASP but will pass it this year so I do not miss anything on my performance plan (aka no chance in you know where at a bonus).
The reality is that none of these certifications really mean much when it comes to hiring time (I hired over 300 people in the last three years). I run a security org and so I always ask for the CISSP (just means you can talk about security without sounding like too much of an idiot) but I would hire the right person who did not have one.
I am suspicious you are not highlighting the experience you have (4 years is reasonable) against the jobs posted. Or you are trying for jobs for which you are really not qualified. Could be a little of both and in that case you just have to be a fast talker. If your goal is forensics and you do not have the experience to fit the bill then get into a large organization using some other skill you have and eventually get yourself moved into a forensic role. I do not list forensics on my resume but have been doing it for over 20 years. It is a sub skill of security that pays very well for a few and for the rest of us is something we do when we need to, but the rest of the time we make our bread and butter off of the larger security field.
When I was looking for my first job out of school I took every job posting and crafted my resume so that an idiot could match my qualifications to their posting. You could read any part of the job posting and match it to a section in my resume that matched. Give it a try. What do you have to lose? And good luck!
I found this entry through a search and InfoSecCow's answer was helpful to me as well, but I could use a little additional advice. I'm a 26 year veteran law enforcement investigator (detective for 13 years, unit and division commander for another 10) and as part of my job, investigated many computer crimes. While our state lab (I'm in the US) did the actual forensics, I was trained in seizing computers and arrested many, many bad guys for computer crimes. I would like to pursue a career in digital forensics and am looking for the best education route to fill out my experience and make me employable in the field. I have all the evidence, court, criminal justice stuff down pat - I just need to develop the technical skills. Any and all advice much appreciated.
Scott
Might I also ask the most-promising fields for the work - such as civil vs. criminal, corporate, etc? Thanks.
Shoot me an email Scott. Cmore@77@verizon.net