High School
Take as many computer science courses in high school as possible—especially those in IT security, programming, and database management. Information technology security consultants frequently interact with colleagues and customers during meetings and phone calls, via e-mail and online collaboration software, and through written reports, so it’s important to develop excellent communication skills by taking English and speech classes and joining the debate club. If you plan to own a consulting firm, be sure to take classes in business, marketing, mathematics, and accounting. Other recommended classes include psychology, social studies, science, and foreign languages.
Postsecondary Education
You’ll need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in computer security. If your school doesn’t offer such a major, you can earn a degree in computer science, programming, networking, or database management and a minor in computer security, or you can earn a graduate degree in information security. Some employers—especially large consulting firms such as Accenture and EY—prefer to hire consultants with a master’s degree.
Certification
Undergraduate and graduate certificates in Internet security, database management, computer science, programming, risk management, and business management are offered by many colleges and universities. For example, Harvard University offers a cybersecurity graduate certificate to those who complete two core courses and two electives. Contact schools in your area to learn about available programs.
The IEEE Computer Society offers a certificate of achievement to those who complete the following security-related courses: Foundations of Software Security, Secure Software Design, Managing Secure Software Development, Cloud Governance and Security, and Secure Software Coding.
Other Education or Training
A variety of webinars, conference seminars, and other continuing education (CE) opportunities are provided by professional associations, government agencies, and product vendors. For example, the CERT Division offers in-person and online CE classes such as Fundamentals of Incident Handling; Practical Risk Management: Framework and Methods; Insider Threat Program Implementation and Operation; Secure Coding in C and C++; and Managing Computer Security Incident Response Teams. Other opportunities are provided by the High Technology Crime Investigation Association, Information Systems Security Association, (ISC)², SANS Institute, Association for Computing Machinery, IEEE Computer Society, CompTIA, and the Institute of Management Consultants USA.
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