Requesting thoughts from a fellow SA

Hi, my name is SSG Billy Spiva and I am an Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO)/ System Administrator at Fort Hood, Texas. I am taking classes with a local college and one of my assignments is to get answers to the six questions below from someone in the professional field that I am looking to enter.

If you have a moment please answer the following:

1. What educational training is necessary for this job?

2. What kinds of work experience will prepare a candidate for this field?

3. What kind of job satisfaction does this field offer?

4. What are the future employment prospects for this profession?

5. Are there disadvantages in this profession?

6. What characteristics does a person need to have in order to be successful in this field?

Also, I will be finishing my associates degree this spring but I would like to know what types of industry certifications and other related qualifications employers are looking for in a candidate.

Thank You

BILLY J. SPIVA
SSG, USA
Information System Security Officer

Where I work a Bachelor's Degree is required.



I work as a Systems Administrator in the NOC\Data Center. I guess knowing as much about servers and industry standards as you can.



Depends on where you go and what makes you happy about a job. Everyone's answer is different based upon their personality and likes\dislikes.



I would say there is always a need for guys to administer the systems. For factual information check out the Bureau of Labor Statistics.



Long hours. Being called to fix things in the middle of the night. Can be stressful.



Easily adaptable and good under pressure as things will break when least expected and you are not in your finest moment.



-MCITP or anything Microsoft Server related
-CCNA
-RHCE or RHCA
-CISSP

There's a ton of certifications out there. Personally I don't have any now but it really depends on what a company is looking for. Some companies swear by certs and others hold no value in them.