Morning June,

I will try and help from a generic perspective as I am not in the US so cannot comment on the education establishments, and also job titles to some extent as they do seem to be alot more verified than Europe and Asia in my experience.

Even though computer security has been about for a long time, it is becoming alot more mainstream and as a result more college / university courses are popping up but many are in their infancy. I have been involved in some reviews of a couple of courses here in the UK, and sadly I do think they are a little lacking in various areas.
I would look for a course that covers networking, security and programming fundamentals to give you a good base and common understanding. I would then also like to see modules on risk assessment and risk management, computer laws and regulations, and perhaps some forensics in there to.

Business as you mention is also important, as its key for getting the message across, understanding what your business / customers needs and goals are.

I am probably an idealist, so this may not all exist, but I think it’s a good start and idea of where to focus. From here you can they later in your education look to where you want to focus, penetration testing, consultancy, forensics and more.

Hope this helps a little, and don’t forget doing your own research and education is important to, and you have made that first step by joining this community.

All the best.
Dale

Ever think of the military as an option?  It helped me a bunch and don't regret it once.  I received experience, college for money and a secret clearance.

I don't know where you are geographically, but Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, and Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh offer great IT security related degrees.  You should schedule some visits based on research of universities that you are interested in and see first-hand what their programs entail.

There are a LOT of areas that IT security encompasses job-wise.

I actually just went back to school.  I am doing an online program in Computing Security at Drexel University.   Drexel has a pretty good reputation for degrees in technology.   My program seems like it has a good coverage of information security areas. 

I second what Dale indicated about covering various fundamentals, especially networking and programming.   Having a low-level understanding of the technology you are trying to secure goes a long way.   

There are tons of different jobs out there in information security.   Once you have taken some courses, considering enrolling in a summer co-op or internship.   While there are some universal responsibilities, each job will vary quite a bit.   I am a consultant, and I get involved in forensics, pen testing, security assessments, data recovery, networking, and a bunch of other tasks.   I don't really have a typical day.  By the time you pick up the fundamental knowledge required to land an internship, you will be able to focus on a particular area of information security.  An internship will allow you to see what it's like out there for yourself. 

Some organisations have graduate programs, so if you have completed a degree in computer / information security they may well consider you for a junior role in the InfoSec Team.

Myself, I started off on a help desk role whilst at college, then some database and inventory stuff, then network administration, then IT systems analyst, then a little mobile communications, then network architect, then network / security architect, then security and risk consultant, and currently Security Manager.

I worked whilst in education as much as I could, summer breaks and all sorts, part time etc etc. These gave me a few advantages, experiance, and also one by one working in different organisation in different roles to understand what was / wasnt right for me.

I think most people come from a networking background of some sort, but I think thats because there hasnt always been the more direct security routes that are starting to exist today.

Just a quick comment.
Remember even if your not doing a security role, security is still your responsibility within the organisation you work for.

Security wont work in a silo environment, however this is how many organisations function in reality.

Thanks for the reponses.
I've about 1.5 yrs. till I finish my college (Engineering- comp. sc.), so that's still some time to decide for the career roadmap.