I have to agree with what most others have said.  An intelligent person can be taught the technical skills needed in a position, but you can't teach someone how to be personable.

I started out in this field after tending bar for nearly 10 years, and deciding on a career change.  I've been told flat out that I've won jobs over more technically qualified applicants because of my inter-personal skills and proven dedication to customer service.

In the meantime, because of having these opportunities, my skill set has grown considerably, making me even more marketable.  (not to toot my own horn, or anything  )

Also, I know that p0et started this thread nearly a year ago...how has the job search gone?

So THAT'S why my toast was burnt and my milk sour this morning!

Not so sure I want to be a Penetrated technician 

So, all last week I was in Virginia for a CISSP bootcamp with Vigilar Intense School.  Six 14 hour days later, I sat for the exam.

My instructor was Larry Greenblatt, someone endorsed by Clement Dupois, and rightly so.  Larry was by far the best instructor I've ever had.  I highly recommend that anyone with the opportunity to meet him do so.  (Check out his web-site)

I won't know for another week or two how I did on the exam, so I'm just trying to relax now that it's over.  One thing is for certain, though.  Pass or not, I've gained an immesurable amount of knowledge to take with me in my career.

Thanks to Larry.

p.s. - boney, this is the "Ethical Hacker" site, and it would be less than ethical for me to post any of the exam questions.  Besides, they say that there is a rotating pool of approx. 7000 questions anyway.

Congrats!  That's a great first step.  I know how it feels being in your shoes myself not so long ago. 

Don't look down on the support jobs.  They are a great way to get your foot in the door, and if you're with a good organization, they'll recognize what you're capable of soon enough.  I started on the help desk at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.  They didn't pay much, being a non-profit organization, but the experience I gained more than paid off.  You see, I was lucky enough to be in an organization with a VERY small IT staff (7 of us total), that was more than willing to help me along.  Because of our small staff, I was able to get a lot of hands on.  Everyone pretty much did everything.

Just because the job description says "Help Desk" or "User Support" doesn't necessarily mean that it will be mind numbing.  Look for a spot in a smaller organization, get what you can from it, then turn the corner into something more suited to your career goals.  It won't happen overnight, but I've managed to nearly double my salary in less than three years with some hard work and the fortune of having some fantastic managers who recognized it.

Start my bootcamp Monday, followed by the exam next Sunday.  Wish me luck, I've been reading my butt off trying to prep for this thing.

Looks like you ARE in the right spot!   

I'm pretty new to the field, having been in the IT field in general for about two years.  I took a course at Johns Hopkins University that was presented by Joe McCray of Learn Security Online and soon joined his site.

After seeing that Chris Gates and Craig Hefner were regular contributors to EH-Net, and checking out their articles, I found myself checking this site each day as part of my routine.

As a relative newbie, I was very timid to post for the first time, as I'd seen so many others get flamed on other forums.  I soon realized that things were different here.  I've learned quite a bit from the other members, either directly, or just by reading through the forum archive.

Keep up the good work, guys and girls, and thanks for having me.

Gates,

How much time are you going to get to spend at the Con when you're planning all these beer calls?   

I gotta be stuck in a boot camp that week instead of hanging out in Vegas with all the other geeks and nerds.  Next year!

To quote Joe McCray, quoting Zig Ziglar :

"The only thing worse than training good employees and losing them
is NOT training your employees and keeping them."