The Celebration Continues - Building the Next Generation

  We have arrived at our last week of celebration of US Cyber Security Awareness month!

   I've been posting comments in line with the weekly themes put together by DHS.  This week the theme is Building the Next Generation of Cyber Professionals.

   Whenever information security managers get together, one of the topics is often the talent crunch.  In almost any metro area in the US there is close to zero unemployment in security.  Add to that the coming brain drain as the baby boomers retire, and we have a looming problem.

   On the positive side, we're seeing more university and community college infosec programs.

   But there is more work than people.  The federal government estimates that they need 10,000 new infosec professionals in the coming years.  How is that going to work?

What Works in Tech #Leadership - Keep It Simple

   As I'm heading toward the end of my current job, and getting ready for the challenges of my next opportunity, I've been thinking and reflecting on a few things.  One of these is leadership.

   I've had the opportunity to lead some great programs and teams in my career so far.  I went directly from being a technical individual contributor to management without any formal managerial training.  Earlier in my career I had titles and responsibilities including: software developer/programmer, engineering support, systems administration, architect, systems support, web developer, email administrator, security administrator/architect.  All of these positions can offer leadership opportunities, but this is very different than formal management.

   When I was in purely technical positions I had no interest in management, and couldn't even imagine going in that direction.  But then an opportunity came my way and I started down the "dark path" of management!  And I figured it out as I went along, with some results better than others.