School, Job Hunt, NCL, etc.

I kind of like how the material I've been studying is starting to come together.  One of my classes is covering the material for the Certified Ethical Hacker, which...well. I probably won't go for the cert, but I like knowing this stuff as a possible future defender. Anyways, the book only lightly touches on some topics because they expect you to know them already...

And I do. Some of it was covered in my CCNA classes (i.e. networking, the OSI model, ports, etc.) and some of it was covered in various other classes, but it's nice to feel like all those different topics are starting to form a more complete picture.

Oh, and my university had some recruiters from TEK Systems come earlier this week. I decided to drive the hour or so it took to be there. I'm not entirely sure when/whether I'll hear from them any time soon, but from what my professors say they seem to be a big deal.

I also decided to join my school's National Cyber League team. Seems like a nice way to build experience, and they take into account current experience so I probably won't be completely out of my league.

Other than that, it's just a matter of studying and doing homework. And beginning to put out feelers for the job hunt.

Did I already mention that I had to revamp my resume? None of my previous work experience directly ties into the jobs I'll be looking for, so I actually added a section for coursework. It seems weird to me, but I've had a couple of people look it over and they seem to think it's okay. The TEK Systems recruiters actually indicated I ought to expand a bit more (they said the 'one page' requirement doesn't really make sense in their industry, especially if you've got decades of experience, so I probably could have made mine longer. It wouldn't be computer science related, but bullet points on how much I contributed to the various organizations would still show that I'm a good hire. I hate that part, though... Meh. Stuff to work on for the next month or so.)

Final Semester - Slightly Freaking Out

Whelp, this should be my final semester before I graduate with a Master's in Computer Science.  The course load doesn't seem too bad, and it's interesting and all, but that means I'm beginning to think about the next step - finding a job.

And, of course, I want to find a job before too much longer...but on the other hand I need to finish these classes in order to get the right certifications for the job(s?) I want.

And boy are there a lot of possible certifications!!!

I could spend $700 for a CISSP (we did cover most of the material in one of my classes, so if I study well I ought to pass).  Not sure about some of the other certifications listed here, maybe I would need some of them as well?  And yet that's another $700...

Then, well, this semester should be the final portion of study for the Cisco CCNA, which would be another $300.  I could go for that if I wanted a career in networking, but if I go for the CISSP and focus on cybersecurity than I may not need it. 

Another of my classes is focused on the CEH, but I'm not sure if that means I can take the exam at the end of the class (i.e. if the course is through an accredited partner, the cost may be bundled in with my tuition...but the course site said that the certification is separately purchased, so I'm thinking not.  In which case, I would probably need to go for one of the other options, which would be problematic since they focus more on work experience - and have a $999 certification fee.  If I went for that I'd run into the 'you need experience to get the certification, but you need the certification to get the experience' problem.  Which means maybe I'd just have to pay for the training through an accredited partner, except that seems like a bit of a waste since I'll have covered pretty much all of it in this course anyway.  Plus...how long would it take?  I definitely don't want to waste too much time getting the certifications and finding a job.)

I ran into a tech person while playing Pokemon Go the other day and was talking about my possible interests...I also mentioned my interest in virtualizaton, and he responded by mentioning some MORE certifications.  Because of course there are. 

Which, well, now that I think about it is not too surprising...

So maybe I need to get the VMWare certification?  Something like the VCP6-DCV?  Or some of the other VMWare exams?  Those would only be another $100-$250, right?

And that just made me think that I ought to check on the certifications for my other areas of interest.  Sure enough, it looks like if I want to work more with EnCase and digital forensics I should see about getting a GCFE, GCFA, GNFA, or some other such thing. After all, what's another couple thousand dollars?  Or are these the types of certifications you're expected to get after you're hired?

I think I have a solid foundation for just about any of those, what with the classes I've been taking.  But I don't think I can afford to go for ALL of the certifications...

So I probably need to pick and choose which ones will actually lead to the job I want.  It'd be easier if I already had a job lined up, since I could tailor my focus towards what I'd need for that job, but that's sort of a chicken and egg problem.

What a pain.

School Update

Finals are done (finally!), and I'm just waiting for the grades to come out.  I expect 2 As, and the other two classes are somewhere in the B+ to A- range, so we'll see what comes out of that.

During this winter break I set myself the goal of building a virtual sandbox and messing around with analyzing malware.  I bought the parts for a PC previously, though I set it all aside to get through finals week.  Yesterday I put the finishing touches on, booted it up...

And can't get it to work.  It keeps cycling through the reboot process, never displays anything on the screen or gets into the part where I can actually do something with it.  I can probably figure it out (I can search online with the best of them), but I'm not sure the time/effort is worth it...after all, if I spend all break making the computer work I'll never get to the point where I'm messing around with malware.  Or rather (what with the holidays and everything) I might not get much time before school starts up again.

So I'm debating taking the computer to a repair shop, see if they can figure out what's wrong.  I did do some initial tests (i.e. removed various components to try and narrow down where the problem is coming from, re-read the manuals on how to connect various cables, etc) but I'm worried it's something I did wrong with installing the CPU cooler.  I think the choice depends on how expensive it's likely to be.  :/

So anyways.  I figured I'd get back around to typing some of the other things I'd put on hold for the past week or so.

Update

Well, Thanksgiving is done and I've got your typical end of the semester schoolwork to do (a couple of projects, some final exams, etc.)  Oddly enough, I think I prefer doing a computer project over the large writing assignments I've had in most of my previous classes.  I dunno, frustrating though it is when my programs don't work it's still more fun than researching and citing sources for a 12+ page paper.  Plus it's kind of cool to see all my work actually do something.

I visited with the fam last week.  Did our usual holiday movies (watched Justice League and Thor: Ragnarok), played a bit of Pandemic (Season 2, the second legacy set.) 

For those who were unaware, legacy games are boardgames that change over time, based on what you did in previous games.  With Pandemic they tell a story that takes place over the course of a year.  The things that happen in each game will affect your ability to play in later games, so you have to strategize not just on how to win your current game but also on how to set yourself up for success in the later games. 

One of my brothers, my Dad and I have played Pandemic pretty much every time I visit, and we rather enjoyed the first legacy set (season 1).  The only issue is that once your year is up (which can be anywhere from 12-24 games, since if you lose a game you play another game corresponding to that 'month') you can't really go back and play it again.  You've changed up the board, destroyed cards, and done various other things that make it really hard to reset and start over. 

At the same time, that's part of what makes it fun.  Different. 

So anyways, I'm taking a break from my latest homework (dealing with mySQL and databases.  It's not too bad, though figuring out the proper syntax for complicated queries can be a pain.) and I wanted to talk about the Hulu show Runaways.

Since I started off with more humdrum stuff (see all of the above), I decided to write this as two separate posts.

School Update

As a young lieutenant (butterbar) I remember attending my first meeting at my new unit, and realizing I understand hardly any of it.

The military is full of jargon, acronyms in particular.  I had finished the officer basic course with an understanding of most of the acronyms related to the Patriot missile system (AMG, ECS, etc)...and still wound up bewildered by much of what was discussed at this meeting.

So I jotted down every unfamiliar term in my standard/required notebook, and afterwards asked someone what each and every term meant.  Eventually I got familiar enough with them that I, too, could participate in a meeting that would be incomprehensible to anyone unfamiliar with the lingo.

This is actually fairly standard, in my experience.  New unit, new set of acronyms.  It was almost worse when I deployed, because the terminology changed entirely in the few months between when I left Tikrit and returned to Baghdad.  (EJK wasn't something I'd used a lot during my first tour.)

Some of this had to do with the rapidly changing environment, though I suspect some of it had to do with other factors.  Soldiers often joke that someone re-named an existing concept just to get a bullet on their review...

In addition to the lingo, there was always some new sort of system to learn.  BAT.  Palantir.  And in civilian life there was Red Prairie and SAP.

The result of all that is I've got great confidence in my ability to learn new things...and it's almost always the same.  

First, it's almost all new.  You have to jot down anything you don't understand, and ask questions, and ask questions, and ask questions.  Eventually things start fitting together, and you start understanding more of whatever-it-is.  

I brought all that up because, yet again, I'm learning something entirely new.  I have three classes this summer - Computer Programming II (Java), Incident Response, and Malware.  

The malware and incident response classes tie together really well.  On the one hand, I'm sure the material would be easier if I'd already had the Intro to Operating Systems class (registered for fall)...on the other hand, I kind of like doing it this way.  It means when I do get that class, I'll have a basis in security before I even start...and in some ways the material won't be quite as new, so that class will actually be easier.

But for now, I have found myself looking up details on various topics, just to make sure I understand the point.  (Like Windows registries.)

I feel like I've learned a lot already.  And I also feel like there's a LOT more to learn, still.  I've also been doing some side reading.  Part of the immersion process that will help speed things along to the point where I can mentally map out everything.  Some of the material is good, though disjointed or old.  (The Cuckoo's Egg was good for someone completely new to the field, but he's writing about something really really old and somewhat obsolete by now.  Stealing the Network is a bit above my current skill level, though I read bits and pieces in the interest of building those mental connections.  I feel somewhat similar about Practical Unix & Internet Security, which I originally worried was too old to be relevant but saw someone recommend it as still pretty useful info.  I like it, I am learning quite a bit...and some of it is still definitely over my head.  It'd probably help to learn more C or C++ programming)

It's interesting to see just how much hacking and computer crime has evolved.  I think I still had that mental image of some geeky white (male) teenager trying to show how cool he is by hacking into systems.  There may have been quite a bit of that in the past, and they probably still exist today - though not necessarily white, or teenaged, or male.  Still, they'd be the mad scientists/wizards who are able to invent new techniques for getting into a system.

The real issue is that they've managed to industrialize the process.  The mad scientists/wizards create toolkits that anybody can use, even if they hardly know how to program at all.  People who didn't have to spend years picking up the necessary skills.  Now anybody and their grandmother can exploit a vulnerability in order to conduct an attack.

No wonder cyber defenders are getting overwhelmed.

Anyways, in terms of the learning process I'm still very much at the beginning.  I think a cyber security expert has to know the system just as well as (if not better than) the hackers.  Which means assembly language, operating systems, network protocols, processors, macros, and more.

Update

Classes have started, and so far so good.  I find that I'm enjoying them more than I thought I would, even though (or perhaps because) the material is challenging.  I'm taking four courses - Intro to Programming, Discrete Mathematics, a class on the Internet and American Life, and a class on Human-Computer Interaction.

The programming class is teaching Java, and so far it's been kind of fun.  I've had the expected trouble remembering syntax, though the programming environment has improved considerably.  I vaguely recall studying C++ over twenty years ago, and if I forgot to add a colon or got something wrong I don't recall getting a notice before running the program.  I vaguely remember poring over code trying to figure out what I did wrong.  Now, the IDE tells me exactly where the issues are and gives some clue as to what.

The Internet and American Life is neat, because it fits my new interest nicely with my old one.  We're reading various material on internet topics, like privacy or access to broadband.  It's making me dig into topics I've been only peripherally aware of.  So...computer science and public policy, basically.

The Human-Computer Interaction one is interesting, because it's making me think about the various interfaces I've used over the course of my life.  Everything from changes to Windows, to the things we did to modify our Warehouse Management System, to my work with an IT person to develop a Filemaker database.  Dad said that going back to undergrad classes after doing a master's was a hoot, and I think he's right.  (Ask me again when finals and term papers are due!)

I've saved the best (or worst) for last.  Discrete Mathematics.  I kind of love it, though I think it could be quite intimidating if you'd never had anything like it before.  Our first few chapters cover logic and other things.  Propositions, predicates, truth tables, set theory, matrices.  Really, it's quite a lot to cover in the first two weeks!

Luckily, as I said, I've had classes rather like it before.  One was a class on logic, twenty years ago.  Or rather, a class called "the Darkside of Rationality" that covered how illogical we are, but had to cover logic to kind of show how often we aren't.  I think.  Again, it was twenty years ago.  I'm actually a little impressed with how much it's coming back to me.  I'm also drawing on my high school calculus and pre-calculus, where I did get introduced to matrices.

So the course is challenging.  I find myself reviewing the material a lot over the course of the week, and some of it's a little slippery.  But it's also kind of fun, as it reminds me a bit of sudoku puzzles, especially those times when you're able to figure out the number through some fancy bit of logic.

To give you a sense of how intimidating it can be, here's something from the wikipedia on De Morgan's laws:



It's basically saying that if there is some function (or proposition) 'P(x)' that is true for all possible x values, it's the same as saying that "no x exists that is not P(x)"

Okay, that doesn't come out very well when I type it.  Or rather, something that seems so clear in my head is clearly not so crystalline when I try to explain it.  I originally was going to read this off like I do internally but it just doesn't work quite right.  "For all of x, P(x) is logically equivalent to saying that it is not the case that there exists an x which is not P(x)"

It gets even stranger when you realize x can be anything, even a statement like "humans have belly buttons".  So the first part would say "for all humans, humans have belly buttons" and you can evaluate that statement for whether it's true or false.  Those three stacked lines that look like a suped up equals sign indicates logical equivalence.  It basically says that the statement to the left will have the same truth values to the statement on the right.  It's not saying that it's true, or false.  Just that when you evaluate the statement "for all humans, humans have belly buttons", its truthiness will be exactly same as the second half...which can be roughly translated to "there is not a human who does not have a belly button"

You could make x something else, like "cats have hair".  Then the first half would say "for all cats, cats have hair" and the second half would say "there is not a cat who does not have hair", and since we all know that such cats exist we know that both statements are false.  And since the truthiness of those statements are the same, they're still logically  equivalent.

Okay.  I'm leaving it at that.  Let's just say, classes are kind of fun.  I am quitting my job in a month.  Part of me wonders why I gave my workplace such a long notice.  Particularly when something annoying crops up at work.  But I will be training my replacement soon and just have to do one more month.  Then I can start freaking out about paying my bills.  (I did get my certificate of eligibility saying I qualify for 70% of the post-9-11 GI Bill, and submitted all my paperwork.)

Oh, btw, I got all signed up to drive for Lyft and Uber.  FYI - it's pretty common for drivers to use both apps, here.  I don't think there's enough ride requests to stick with one and only one.

I hope that driving will give me the schedule flexibility and income to make things work while I go to school.  I've driven a couple of times, just to try it out.  I haven't done it extensively yet so I don't know how well this will work as a side job, but we'll see.

Anyone reading this who wants to try riding or driving with either company, feel free to use my referral codes.

For Lyft, it's: CHRISTINA93597

For Uber, it's: 6D5BZMZ1UE

Further Updates

I've decided to go back to school, for a second bachelor's in Computer Science.   I've already been accepted to the online program at U of I, Springfield.  I've applied for my post 9/11 GI benefits, though I don't think I'll get 100% (my commitment from ROTC doesn't count towards time in service for this, so when they calculate the percentage it'll be based on the year or so after I finished that)

I feel -  good.  Yet terrified.  But good.

That is, it feels like the right decision.  I've got some more details to work out (I want to study Finance as well.  UIS has a finance minor, but not entirely online.  I might be able to transfer to U of I, Champaign Urbana later.  Maybe.  I've got options and possibilities.)

It feels right... but holy hell, what have I just gotten myself into?!?  I'm going to quit a rather decent paying job (with benefits!) to study something that will require calculus (which I haven't done in over twenty years) in a field where I -  a woman pushing 40 - will definitely not be the norm.  And what will this do to my finances?!?  I think I can find freelance work or a part time job to fill in the gaps, but I'm worried that three months from now I'll be kicking myself for doing something stupid.

So.  Yeah. 

Scary.  But exciting.