Greetings! This being my first post I would like to give a brief introduction about my self and say that I'm happy to join the Ethical Hacker Network.   Well to start I'm a 20 year old male thats currently enlisted in the United States Air Force working as a jet engine mechanic. I've currently done 2 years and a couple months of service and have about 3 ˝ years to go until my enlistment is served. Now that I've done all my training, got the certs that I need, and things have finally came to a steady pace for me I'm looking at getting setup for a future career in what I love most.  For the past couple of years I've been very interested in various areas of network security and ethical hacking. I've picked up several books that I have either read and/or just skimmed threw for brief knowledge.  These including various “For Dummies” series and a couple that aren't being; visual basic 6 for dummies, visual basic .net step by step, hacking for dummies, rootkits for dummies, visual basic .net for dummies, and visual basic 6 core language little black book.  I've also picked up a couple C and C++ books while I was in high school and learned a little of both languages then but I'm no expert in any programming language.   I'm looking at starting school at the university of phoenix online and pursuing a bachelor of science in IT and information system security.  Before I enroll in the school I'm trying to learn as much as possible and wasn't sure what direction I should go or if even getting the degree is what I need for this career field.  To be honest I'm not even sure how much money I could even expect to make following this career path.  I love everything about network security and ethical hacking from programming to penetration testing.  I even find the computer forensics interesting along with cryptography and virus research.  So basically I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I'm trying to find the correct path to jump start a career some where in the world network security! Also I was curious if any one knew if when you get your bachelors in IT and ISS if any of the certs are tied into the classes or if I have to take addition classes outside of the university. Well I appreciate and help/information provided and thanks for letting me join the network!

Welcome! WOOT for USAF!!!  If you are looking for some cheap IT training/reading material check out the USAF portal.  The Air Force offers free Computer Based Training (CBT) courses on almost every aspect of IT you can possibly imagine.  For USAF members only though.    When I was enlisted the company they used was called Skillsoft so you can try searching for that on the portal.  Good luck.

Awesome, thanks for the feedback, I'll definitely have to check out skillport. I never even thought of looking on the portal for CBT trainings in IT.   I recently picked up a laptop from my roommate it was broken but I managed to fix it and put a copy of backtrack 3 on it and about to set it up for dual boot with ubunto.  As for the cyber command I don't remember the exact projected date for it but i believe there are talks about it coming to barksdale afb which i'm currently stationed at.  Hopefully I will be able to cross train into a IT field position with the air force and work at the cyber command my self because it would be very cheap for them to let me work there as they don't have to pay relocation fees.  As for the details about it I'm unsure about anything they have planned for it and what jobs they will be contracting out.  If I find any contractor job's i'll be sure to make a post to let people know. 

Thanks for the repy Enve,

I have been kind of intrigued by the whole move of the different military branches to move toward Cyber Warfare and whatnot. So, any information you're able to give first hand being in the USAF would be rather appreciated.  Anyway, good luck to you and once again glad to have you at the site.