Getting into Cyber security, which degree?

Employers will train you
Degrees are worthless

Reply 4

Original post by tim_123

So basically long story short, I'm leaving the armed forces soon and hoping to go to uni to study Computer science.

My main goal is to end up working in cyber security and was wondering if anyone with experience (or an opinion) could give some advice.

I'm currently choosing between two courses, a Bsc computer security and forensics degree from Greenwhich http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/courses/ug/com/gf54

or a Bsc Computer Science (information security) from RHUL https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/computerscience/coursefinder/bsccomputerscienceinformationsecurity.aspx

So, for someone with a keen interest in computer security and all that encompasses, what do you think you would pick?

Original post by James222

Employers will train you
Degrees are worthless

OP, don't listen to the above advice. Completely ignorant and unfounded remark from somebody who has completely no understanding of the wider defence world. All state security (GCHQ/ MI5/ MI6) require their IT specialists to be degree educated minimum, or take an advanced 4 year higher apprenticeship. For private firms, such as the National Grid, this is also true. My friends father is head of the cyber security for National Grid, and his entire team has been educated to at least degree level, some are post graduate.

Both universities are good and located close to the main HQ's of the security services and the private sector, the best thing you can do is focus on the studies and get the best grades AND get work experience in that sector, rather than picking the University that may or may not be more reputable than the other. Your background in the Armed Forces will certainly work to your advantage.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 5

tim_123

OP

16

Should have mentioned, night life and pulling etc is really not what im interested in, been there done that, looking for a career is more important to me.

@James222 - unfortunately most jobs I have searched in the security field seem to require either a degree OR certification (CEH etc). Entry level jobs seem to require a degree outright.

@mezzil - thank you for your response, again I'm not fussed about how one uni is more reputable than another as I know this only gets you so far in life, I was more aiming at standard of degree, career prospects, or if there really is any difference between the two degrees?

Or, would an Msc be a more realistic way of specialising in this field?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 6

Original post by tim_123

Should have mentioned, night life and pulling etc is really not what im interested in, been there done that, looking for a career is more important to me.

@James222 - unfortunately most jobs I have searched in the security field seem to require either a degree OR certification (CEH etc). Entry level jobs seem to require a degree outright.

@mezzil - thank you for your response, again I'm not fussed about how one uni is more reputable than another as I know this only gets you so far in life, I was more aiming at standard of degree, career prospects, or if there really is any difference between the two degrees?

Exactly. This site may be of some use to you when comparing the two. You can see the teaching standards for each individual degree. http://www.whatuni.com/degrees/courses/Degree-UK/qualification/M/list.html

Other than that, all I can suggest is perhaps looking at what employers visit the graduate fairs, the networking prospects (ring up and ask if they have contacts in cyber security) and obviously looking at the module content. Also, maybe if you are thinking of living nearby to the university, have a look what the part time job market is like around the area in cyber security as the work experience here would be another factor that would work to your advantage in your future career ambitions.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 7

Original post by the mezzil

OP, don't listen to the above advice. Completely ignorant and unfounded remark from somebody who has completely no understanding of the wider defence world. All state security (GCHQ/ MI5/ MI6) require their IT specialists to be degree educated minimum, or take an advanced 4 year higher apprenticeship. For private firms, such as the National Grid, this is also true. My friends father is head of the cyber security for National Grid, and his entire team has been educated to at least degree level, some are post graduate.

Both universities are good and located close to the main HQ's of the security services and the private sector, the best thing you can do is focus on the studies and get the best grades AND get work experience in that sector, rather than picking the University that may or may not be more reputable than the other. Your background in the Armed Forces will certainly work to your advantage.

keyboard warrior. Degrees are just a piece of paper to get you in the door, if you cant get into a cyber security from day 1 , work some where similar for a year, dont waste 3 years at uni

Reply 8

Original post by James222

keyboard warrior. Degrees are just a piece of paper to get you in the door, if you cant get into a cyber security from day 1 , work some where similar for a year, dont waste 3 years at uni

I can't tell if you are intentionally being foolish, or are simply a bit silly. You can't get into cyber security without being educated in computer science to a extremely high level. It is simply impossible. Thus the reason why such services ask for Bsc degrees, or a strong set of Mathematical and science A level results for an apprenticeship.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 9

Original post by the mezzil

I can't tell if you are intentionally being foolish, or are simply a bit silly. You can't get into cyber security without being educated in computer science to a extremely high level. It is simply impossible. Thus the reason why such services ask for Bsc degrees, or a strong set of Mathematical and science A level results for an apprenticeship.

mate if you can become PM with out a degree , you can become cyber security nerd without a degree. You can do ANYTHING with out a degree, especially in post millennial jobs like technology you can self teach and get qualifications easily .

Reply 10

Original post by James222

mate if you can become PM with out a degree , you can become cyber security nerd without a degree. You can do ANYTHING with out a degree, especially in post millennial jobs like technology you can self teach and get qualifications easily .

Right, can confirm my previous suspicions were correct. You know nothing or have very little understanding about the job sector.

Reply 11

Original post by the mezzil

Right, can confirm my previous suspicions were correct. You know nothing or have very little understanding about the job sector.

I can forget more about the job market than you will ever learn

Degrees are worth nothing, its all about contacts and experience,
network network network forget university

Reply 12

Idle

2

Original post by James222

I can forget more about the job market than you will ever learn

Degrees are worth nothing, its all about contacts and experience,
network network network forget university

You are speaking a load of rubbish, please find me vacancies in cyber not requiring a degree.

Reply 13

Slowbro93

20

Original post by James222

I can forget more about the job market than you will ever learn

Degrees are worth nothing, its all about contacts and experience,
network network network forget university

Really not sure if you're trolling or not :erm:

Reply 14

Original post by James222

I can forget more about the job market than you will ever learn

Degrees are worth nothing, its all about contacts and experience,
network network network forget university

Oh do grow up.

Reply 15

Manitude

20

Original post by James222

You can do ANYTHING with out a degree, especially in post millennial jobs like technology you can self teach and get qualifications easily .

Most of the positions I've been looking at recently require a phd as a minimum, and some requiring post-doc work.
Computer science and physical science are areas where you actually need the degree because nobody will trust you saying that you know everything you need to know to do a given job. Nobody in their right mind would trust someone with a multi million (or even billion in rare cases) pound piece of equipment unless they had the qualifications to prove they have any idea what they are doing BEFORE the training starts.

You can't learn a physics degree from wikipedia. I should know, I have tried it!

Reply 16

Mad Vlad

19

Original post by tim_123

So basically long story short, I'm leaving the armed forces soon and hoping to go to uni to study Computer science.

My main goal is to end up working in cyber security and was wondering if anyone with experience (or an opinion) could give some advice.

I'm currently choosing between two courses, a Bsc computer security and forensics degree from Greenwhich http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/courses/ug/com/gf54

or a Bsc Computer Science (information security) from RHUL https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/computerscience/coursefinder/bsccomputerscienceinformationsecurity.aspx

So, for someone with a keen interest in computer security and all that encompasses, what do you think you would pick?

The RHUL course is pretty solid. It'll be more theoretical and IA focused than hands-on Cyber/Forensics etc. but if you're looking at a more consultative/advisory career path, it'd be my recommendation. If you're looking to be a bits and bytes technical specialist doing deep dive incident/malware analysis and forensics, you may be better off with a course that's more hands-on. I can't really recommend any particular course (the course I did got amalgamated into another one) as frankly, I don't know enough about them to make that kind of recommendation (getting testimony from people that have taken the course is a good idea...)

Original post by James222

Employers will train you
Degrees are worthless

Yes, employers will train you, but saying that degrees are worthless is false.

Original post by James222

keyboard warrior. Degrees are just a piece of paper to get you in the door, if you cant get into a cyber security from day 1 , work some where similar for a year, dont waste 3 years at uni

You're right in that the degree is the entry method for 99% of people coming in to this field. But you will be hard pushed to find apprenticeships in this field. GCHQ are pretty much the only organisation that are offering them. Everywhere else will require a relevant degree as the entry barrier, or several years of direct experience. So no, the OP will probably have to do a degree to even be considered.

Reply 17