Infosec Newbie

[Age quod agis]

Hi all,

I've been lurking and reading the forums for a bit.

History: been working in Software development for about 8 years and another 8 years in information security. I am planning on leaving my permie job in the next 3 to 4 months and wanted to get some advice.

Although I was very technical at the start of my career (firewalls, Linux), for the past few years I have been mostly managing teams/working on policy and documents/ISO 27001.

How is the infosec market for someone with my background? There seem to be a lot of agents specialising in infosec and a lot of postings on Jobserve and things look good. Is it really a good time to jump in?

[northernladuk]

Well security seems to be a bit of a buzz word nowadays so surely if you are good at it am sure there will be work out there. The question is will you be prepared to travel for that work if it's not available in your area. You will be limited if you are looking at a commutable gig unless you are in London.

I don't think being a pen pusher is an issue in Security. We've got a couple of contract guys in working on the policy and process at the moment.

You could have a look at the historic market using IT Jobs Watch, Tracking the IT Job Market but just be aware it uses scrapes from the job boards and I believe (although I've yet to have come across it yet) there are plenty of roles on there that don't exist and are just CV farming. This might skew the rates/number of gigs the site shows. Might give you an idea of the history or the rates and roles in your area/skillset.

Also keep an eye on jobserve and the like and see how many are popping up. Just remember if you see a gig you have to be a perfect fit for it. Contracting doesn't lend it's self to 'I could do that' or 'With a bit of training I could'. If you don't have the exact skills the next guy applying for it will....

And just to put a slight cloud on it, we've got a lot of changes potentially coming in April next year. You can have a look at the part of the forums called 'The Future of Contracting'. The jury is out as to the exact impact but it's something I think you may need to consider going forward. Some of us contract because of the constant new challenges and would probably still contract even if it was on permie'esque rates. Some people contract for the money and those might be in for a shock come Apr 17. Have to make your own mind up.

[LondonManc]

Hi all,

I've been lurking and reading the forums for a bit.

History: been working in Software development for about 8 years and another 8 years in information security. I am planning on leaving my permie job in the next 3 to 4 months and wanted to get some advice.

Although I was very technical at the start of my career (firewalls, Linux), for the past few years I have been mostly managing teams/working on policy and documents/ISO 27001.

How is the infosec market for someone with my background? There seem to be a lot of agents specialising in infosec and a lot of postings on Jobserve and things look good. Is it really a good time to jump in?

Sounds like a large portion of your current job (forget the T&Cs, etc) could be deemed IR35 unless you were managing a project team and there was a clear deliverable on policies and documents (review, rewrite, greenfield site, etc).

Depends what you want to do though as a contractor rather than in your perm role. Do you think there is sufficient market for project-based work in your sphere of work?

[Age quod agis]

Depends what you want to do though as a contractor rather than in your perm role. Do you think there is sufficient market for project-based work in your sphere of work?

That's what I would like to know

[Age quod agis]

And just to put a slight cloud on it, we've got a lot of changes potentially coming in April next year. You can have a look at the part of the forums called 'The Future of Contracting'. The jury is out as to the exact impact but it's something I think you may need to consider going forward. Some of us contract because of the constant new challenges and would probably still contract even if it was on permie'esque rates. Some people contract for the money and those might be in for a shock come Apr 17. Have to make your own mind up.

Thanks for the heads up. That part of the forum is very dry reading, but I suppose it needs to be dealt with...

[northernladuk]

Thanks for the heads up. That part of the forum is very dry reading, but I suppose it needs to be dealt with...

If you do it will put you ahead of 80% of other contractors to be honest.