Hello,
I have a general career question. I have worked doing administrative law (telecom) for the majority of my career. However, I am sick of law and decided to try and go with my real passion, computers, at 56. I received military training in computer repair many years ago, and also worked as a computer lab aide during college. I''ve been building my own systems for years, and learn quickly on my own. I completed a certification in Computer Forensics (CCE) about two years ago. However, b/c of this economy I've gotten caught in the "chicken before the egg" situation, ie. no job offer without experience, no experience without job. I've been thinking about supplementing my CCE with either
1. an EnCe cert (around $2k) for training OR
2. a cert in HD Data Recovery from either infosec Institute or the Scott Moulton course. I've heard better things about Scott's course, but its considerably more expensive $3K for on-line self study, than the less expensive INfosec course
Look, I am well aware that this will not make me an "expert" in HDD repair at the hardware level, but everyone has to start someplace, right? I figure it should at least give me a "leg up" on those who can only do HDD data recovery at the software level. Plus, I'm guessing that IF a company ever considered hiring me, it would be more attractive to them to send me for the week or so training for EnCe versus a much longer and more expensive HD Data Recovery course. So, my questions are
1. Based on the info I've given, what do the readers think would be more effective combination in getting me a job interview (never mind an offer) in this miserable Obama stewarded economy, the EnCE cert plus CCE, or HD Data recovery cert plus CCE?
2. If the HD Data Recovery cert, what course do the readers think is better, Scotts or the INfoSec program (both on-line self-study options)
Thanks Ahead of time,
MJ DeYoung
EnCE is a smart career choice. It is the more common program, and more commonly asked for on job postings. That said, I absolutely hated the cert process. Their practical has some very poorly worded questions, and emailing them for help solicited a reply that was almost, but not quite, completely unlike any english I had previously seen.
Data recovery is not computer forensics. Data recovery is about getting whatever data you can back. Computer Forensics incorporates some data recovery, but more important is answering questions like who and why. On my exams, the data recovery is a no brainier, the real work begins when I try to find out how it got there and why. Plus, CF has to consider their work in light of the law, etc.
If I were interviewing a EnCE candidate and a data recovery candidate, wouldn't even consider the data recovery candidate. A CF Examiner must be able to do data recovery, a data recovery candidate may not/probably won't have the extra skills needed for the job.
