Re: Is Infosec for me?

[krymson () gmail com]

1- Nice question, and something I wouuld implore you to candidly ask any security recruiters you meet, see on this 
list, or on blogs, etc. They'll definitely be an authority on this, I think. Maybe even hiring managers... I'd love if 
some posted their thoughts, even behind pseudonyms.

2- I think you'll need to be especially up front about your felony to any potential employers. And it might be 
something you want to bring up only in person, never on the phone or email or your resume. (I have no idea how quickly 
you need to be up front with it, like on a resume, but I would try to leave it for a face-to-face interview). But you 
certainly can't hide it.

3- I think this just means you need to try extra hard to get a potential employer to give you an initial chance. Sure, 
some jobs will be closed to you for HR reasons, but I think plenty others will remain open. You just have to make sure 
no one is tossing your resume into the trash just because your name came up on the list. You just have to convince them 
to give you a chance and trust your skills.

4- It could be worse, if I may be so brash as to compare felonies. You may have committed murder, violent acts, or 
computer fraud/hacking; i.e. things I think make a direct impact on how you may act ethically in this job. There are 
worse positions to be in.



<- snip ->
Hello all. I was contemplating entering the IT security field. I do
have some experience in IT in general and I have seen some good
questions lately on this list about how to get into security. My
question has not really been covered.

I was reading the book entitled " Infosec Career Hacking" and I came
across a part that if true is a problem for me entering this field. I
wanted to post it out here to see what others thought rather than just
giving up based on the author's opinion of the subject.

When I was young I did some real stupid things. I had a bad drug habit
which landed me in prison for a felony sales charge. Now I have a
felony for life. I have long since passed that stage in my life and
have not even gotten a speeding ticket since then. I know it was
stupid but I cannot take it back now and ultimately that problem got
me off drugs so something good came out of it. In the above mentioned
book it basically said pretty bluntly that if you have a felony you
can forget ever having a job in this field. My question to all of you
is what is your experience with this if any? Can any of you in the
field attest to or deny the relevance of that statement?

I am putting myself out there so I would hope everyone on this list is
mature enough not to pass judgment for my actions, rather just give me
the information in a non biased manner.Should I forget it before I
even think about making the jump or is there hope for me yet? The
charge I am talking about has been over 10 years ago and I have been
off of parole for almost 5 years.

Thank you all in advance for your time in responding to this matter.

Bob

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