Ethical Hacker Community Forums

The results of the current poll, inspired by our new Career Central Boards, have me curious. I know it has a way to go, but I thought I would bring the discussion to the forums. The poll is as follows:

Best way for you to bolster your career in 2007:
-  Pass a Certification Exam 
-  Attend Courses / Continuing Ed 
-  Get My Bachelors / Masters / PhD 
-  Get Book or Article Published 
-  Teach a Course 
-  Gain More Practical Experience
 
After jumping out to a big early lead, experience was supplanted by passing a cert exam. Now they are neck and neck. No other item even comes close to these 2.

This is the first time I started a forum topic on the main page polls, but this just made me curious why people voted the way they did. I know you could only vote for one item, so please offer feedback on your one vote and maybe even what your second or third choices would have been. Were there any other options not listed that you would have chosen had they been included? If you are not a member yet (as these polls are open to non-members), maybe now is a good time to take the plunge.

Don

PS - To remain impartial, I did not vote.

Hmm, I haven't voted yet but let me talk about what I am thinking when I read this question.  The first two responses work for me.  They are goals that can be accomplished in one year.  The next two, getting a degree and writing a book, seem to me that they will take more than a year and therefore would have had to have been started before or finished after the year.  I'm not sure how teaching a course would help anybody except a consultant for which teaching a course is a viable marketing technique.  The last one, practical experience, now that I think about it is probably the best way to advance in one year.  Getting involved in anything and everything security is one of the best ways to increase knowledge.  This knowledge/experience is the driving force behind interviewing well and being able to perform required tasks associated with security.

My vote, obviously will be the final answer "Gain More Practical Experience."  That said, I already have many certifications, a Bachelors and a Masters degree.  I don't plan on writing a book but I do plan on having monthly security discussion groups which will be the closest I get to teaching a course.  What this tells me is that that majority of the answers do not apply to me.

I hope this helps a little,
Cutaway

I myself voted for "Gained More Practical Experience" because as far as resume goes, I think it adds more value than a certification. The knowledge and skills acquired by practical experience tends to stick with you longer than what you have studied or memorized for a certification exam. Furthermore, I live in the caribbean and down here the majority of employers seek for individuals with experience. And judging by their job postings and how much they willing to pay for a certified professional, certifications here is not nearly as important as work experience.

-  Pass a Certification Exam
At present I think I have enough certs. I might think of getting more towards the end of 2007 or in 2008.
-  Attend Courses / Continuing Ed
Yes, definately, this was a big contender but didn't get my vote. I know my work will be giving me courses anyway whether I want them or not so they'll contribute to my present jobs progress.
-  Get My Bachelors / Masters / PhD
This won't help me at my present stage of my career - perhaps later on in a few years time.
-  Get Book or Article Published
Publishing a book is not realistic for me, however if I was to publish a lot of KB articles it would be noticed by upper management.
-  Teach a Course
No!
-  Gain More Practical Experience
Yes, this got my vote.

Looks like Practical Experience has taken a solid lead and for good reason. For those of you out there that ask about how to advance your career, this poll says a lot. Certs are great, but if you have a mix of certs, continuing ed, have written articles, etc. all backed by practical experience, that's what makes your resume stand out from the rest.

Thanks to all who voted and responded to this thread.

Don