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
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.