How to join the infosec community - part 2

In this inclusive episode of the Exploring Information Security podcast, Micah Hoffman, a certified SANS instructor, joins me to discuss how to join the infosec community.

Micah (@WebBreacher) gave a talk at BSides DC last year on joining the infosec community. For Micah it took him a while to get involved. He jumped right into the deep end by going to DEFCON. Several years later he decided to get more involved in the community and quickly discovered several of the benefits from doing that. I had a similar experience, attending DEFCON in the early 2000s. I wouldn't attend another security conference until 10 years later.

There are a lot of benefits to getting involved in the infosec community. You get to contribute and make the community a little better. You get to meet some awesome people. You will have more job opportunities open up. Community engagement shows initiative and allows you to meet people looking to fill roles.

In this episode we discuss:

  • How to meet people

  • What are some of things to watch out for in the community

  • Other resources available for getting invovled

More resources:

How to join the infosec community - part 1

In this inclusive episode of the Exploring Information Security podcast, Micah Hoffman, a certified SANS instructor, joins me to discuss how to join the infosec community.

Micah (@WebBreacher) gave a talk at BSides DC last year on joining the infosec community. For Micah it took him a while to get involved. He jumped right into the deep end by going to DEFCON. Several years later he decided to get more involved in the community and quickly discovered several of the benefits from doing that. I had a similar experience, attending DEFCON in the early 2000s. I wouldn't attend another security conference until 10 years later.

There are a lot of benefits to getting involved in the infosec community. You get to contribute and make the community a little better. You get to meet some awesome people. You will have more job opportunities open up. Community engagement shows initiative and allows you to meet people looking to fill roles.

In this episode we discuss:

  • How Micah got into the community

  • What is the infosec community?

  • Why it's important to get involved

  • Where can someone get involved?

More resources:

What does Jayson E. Street, Dave Chronister, Johnny Xmas, April Wright, and Ben Brown think about security?

In this epic episode of the Exploring Information Security podcast Jayson E. Street (@jaysonstreet), Dave Chronister (@bagomojo), Johnny Xmas (@J0hnnyXm4s), April Wright (@aprilwright), Ben Brown (@ajnachakra), and surprise guests Adrian Crenshaw (@irongeek_adc) and Kevin Johnson (@secureideas)all join me to discuss various security related topics.

ShowMeCon is one of my favorite security conferences. The organizers are awesome and take care of their speakers like no other conference. The venue is fantastic. The content is mind blowing. I can't say enough good things about the even that Dave and Renee Chronister put on every year in St. Louis, Missouri. They know how to put on a conference.

Regular listeners of the podcast will note that I recorded an episode with Dave on ShowMeCon several weeks ago. After that recording he asked if I was interested in doing a recording at the conference. I said yes and thus the birth of this epic episode. This format is experimental. First, it is marked as explicit, because there is swearing. Second, It's over 90 minutes long. I didn't think breaking it up into four or five pieces would serve the recording well. Send me your feedback good or bad on this episode, because I'd like to do more of these. I would really like to hear it for this episode.

In this episode we discuss:

  • Certificates
  • Hiring
  • Interviewing
  • Where to get started
  • Soft skills
  • ShowMeCon and other conferences
  • Community and giving back
  • Imposter syndrome
  • Irongeeks impact on those in attendance