MSc

[SallyAnne]

that is why I said decent roles and to progress. If you are looking to work for a Charity and that kind of ilk and move slower - of course what you say is right - but if you wanted to go the corporate route - what I say still stands even today.

WTF?!?

You're talking permie speak. I spotted at least 4 permie words in there. I feel dirty just reading it

 

[expat]

I am not disagreeing with you - but put a CV in front of any hiring manager and if one is from say Oxford and another is from OU - you can pretty much bank that in 9.9 times out of 10 it will be the Oxford that gets it.

In the case of a higher science degree, at any rate from Oxford rather than Cambridge or Imperial College, that would be a sign of an ignorant hiring manager (which I suppose does happen)

 

[M_B]

It is an "online university" actually

Liverpool is offerring a full online course in Information Security that I really fancy. There's no distinction between it and the on campus MSc either, which is good.

I did an IT MSc at Liverpool Uni in 1998 and I have to say their standard of teaching was utter g@sh back then. It may have changed since though and online may well be better.

 

[Mich the Tester]

...that would be a sign of an ignorant hiring manager (which I suppose does happen)

Just occasionally, yes.

But then you have to wonder whether you really want to work for such ignorant people; I don’t; that’s why I’m a contractor, and as long as I can keep finding contracts I’m quite happy with my income. I really don’t want a senior executive position if it involves working with ignorant jerks and speaking corporatese, even if it does pay umpty quazillion pounds a year.

 

[chris79]

Agree with you - did my GMAT got an offer from LBS and binned it and took a 18 month role and saved myself 40k and just earned another 180k. Unless you are wanting to get fast tracked into the corporate upper worlds sooner - it really is a waste of time - in fact it's a waste of time anyway - it's merely a tick on the CV for the old boys network.

But some people still get hung up on it and want to do them.

But I digress - it was an MSc this was about.

Sometimes it's more than just money.. agreed it cost me a years lost income but it bridged me from technical into management, as well as opened me up to a lot of business areas which I previously had little or no knowledge about. For me it served its purpose and got me doing the stuff I wanted to do, the money I will recoup further down the line I'm sure (in comparison to my earnings without it).

That's why I say don't try and live off your MSc as a means of selling yourself, 90% of people you sit in front of don't really care, it just helps show them you are at a certain level.

 

[SallyAnne]

I mean have you had any career experience in the security space? If not, where's the value in doing a Masters tailored to IT Security?

Consider what a potential client would think when faced with a CV showing experience in dev or Oracle but then has decided to get an MSc in ITSec.

Just a thought...

Ah I see - my job is very much involved in Information Security, so it fits perfectly.

 

[ratewhore]

Ah I see - my job is very much involved in Information Security, so it fits perfectly.

God help us all!!

Actually, if you want a distance learning MSc in Information Security, you want the Royal Holloway MSc. It's the most well respected and recognised MSc in the industry.

Or just take your CISSP like every other monkey who's ever walked past a firewall GUI and considered themselves a security expert...

 

[pmeswani]

What makes you think the OU is 'crap'?

Because the OU is in the top 10 Universities for many of their faculties, therefore it must be crap... right?

I've been with the Open University since 2001, and not had a major problem with their delivery of courses or cost.

 

[Mich the Tester]

Because the OU is in the top 10 Universities for many of their faculties, therefore it must be crap... right?

I've been with the Open University since 2001, and not had a major problem with their delivery of courses or cost.

I've been very pleased with them in about the same timeframe too.

 

[pmeswani]

God help us all!!

Actually, if you want a distance learning MSc in Information Security, you want the Royal Holloway MSc. It's the most well respected and recognised MSc in the industry.

Or just take your CISSP like every other monkey who's ever walked past a firewall GUI and considered themselves a security expert...

Even though Royal Holloway is the best for delivering MSc's for Information Security, I personally couldn't afford the cost and the time off. I hope to get my post grad within 2 years and my Masters a year after... however the cost of the Masters conversion is quite high.